Former EPA leaders to discuss changes at agency in Winston-Salem talk

Federal regulatory offices are under scrutiny from the Trump administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency is among those going through major changes. Some of the issues the EPA is facing will be discussed during a public conversation in Winston-Salem next week.

The talk will feature former EPA administrators Gina McCarthy and Janet McCabe, who both served under Democratic presidents.

Stan Meiburg will moderate the conversation. He spent nearly 40 years in the agency and now is executive director of the Sabin Center for Environment and Sustainability at Wake Forest University.

Meiburg says protecting the environment doesn’t have to be an us-versus-them proposition because there’s common interests in clean air and water.

"There’s been a significant revisiting of environmental protection policy in the new administration, and this is something that will have consequences for all of us for years to come," he says. "Not just climate change, but other things such as exposure to toxic chemicals in the environment.”

Meiburg says part of the focus will be on things people can do to promote green policies at the state and local level.

The Future of Environmental Protection talk will be held Tuesday night on the campus of Wake Forest. The event is free but reservations are requested.