{"id":18027,"date":"2012-09-17T07:00:03","date_gmt":"2012-09-17T12:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=18027"},"modified":"2012-09-17T14:56:27","modified_gmt":"2012-09-17T19:56:27","slug":"life-after-the-epa-whats-next-for-al-armendariz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/09\/17\/life-after-the-epa-whats-next-for-al-armendariz\/","title":{"rendered":"Life After the EPA: What’s Next for Al Armendariz"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Photo courtesy of EPA<\/p>

Al Armendariz was the regional administrator for the EPA. He resigned after comments he made about enforcement came to light.<\/p><\/div>\n

In April, a\u00a0video surfaced<\/a>\u00a0of Dr. Al Aremendariz, the regional director for the Environmental Protection Agency<\/a> (EPA), speaking to a group of locals in Dish, Texas about how to enforce pollution rules.\u00a0\u201cIt was kinda like how the Romans used to conquer those villages in the Mediterranean,” Armendariz told the group. “They\u2019d go into a little Turkish town somewhere, they\u2019d find the first five guys they saw, and they\u2019d crucify them. And you know, that town was really easy to manage for the next few\u00a0years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shortly after the video came to light,\u00a0Armendariz resigned<\/a>. Now he works for the\u00a0Sierra Club\u2019s Beyond Coal campaign<\/a>\u00a0in Texas, which aims to stop coal power plants and mining. Aremendariz recently sat down with StateImpact Texas to talk about his career with the EPA, and his new work with the Sierra Club.<\/p>\n

Q: <\/span>I want to talk about your tenure with the EPA. Looking back on it, what were some of the highs and the lows?<\/p>\n

A: <\/span>I’m very proud of the work that I did with my staff at Region 6. They’re hardworking, dedicated public servants. You know, the majority of water and wastewater plants throughout Texas and neighboring states have been funded or partially funded with federal financing that came through the EPA. So when people in Texas drink clean water or have sewer systems that don’t put sewage into their creeks and rivers, I’m very proud of the fact that the EPA helps to keep Texas clean.<\/p>\n

Some of the highlights of my time there was the Clean Air Act<\/a> work that we did in Texas.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I’m very proud that we took some very strong steps to improve the transparency of industrial emissions<\/a>. So people who live near these facilities have a better idea of what these factories are putting into the air.<\/p>\n

And I would probably call it both a high and a low, but the BP oil spill.<\/a> While it was an extremely unfortunate environmental insult to the wetlands of Louisiana, I really did get to see the best of the EPA. The staff that I worked with — the wetland scientists, the emergency responders, and everyone else I worked with \u2013 all left their families for weeks on end and dedicated themselves to helping protect Louisiana.<\/p>\n

Related<\/h4>
Posts<\/h5>