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The Environmental Protection Agency is bringing back its Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (POLITICO Pro, subscription).

What’s going on: EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin on Monday announced the selection of six new CASAC members (and a new chair) to replace the members the administration dismissed in January 2025.

• “The committee is charged with providing independent advice to EPA staff during the statutorily required reviews, which are supposed to ensure that the standards are adequate to protect public health and the environment in light of the latest research into pollutants’ effects.”
• The seven new appointees are Dr. Louis Anthony Cox Jr., who chaired the committee during the first Trump administration; retina surgeon Brian Joondeph; Fotios-Christos Kafantaris, an air permitting manager for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management; Katherine Kistler, an environmental manager for permitting and regulations at steel manufacturer Nucor Corp.; Dr. Sabine Lange, chief toxicologist at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; Dr. Sidney Marlborough, a toxicologist at Orion Engineered Carbons; and CGStat CEO Stanley Young.

Why it’s important: “The newly named committee will likely now be closely engaged with pursuing ongoing reviews of the standards for airborne lead, ground-level ozone and nitrogen oxides.”

Our take: “Manufacturers are glad to see Administrator Zeldin appoint new members of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee,” said NAM Vice President of Domestic Policy Chris Phalen.

• “The NAM welcomes the administration’s selections and looks forward to working with the EPA to ensure that National Ambient Air Quality Standards support manufacturers in delivering prosperity and innovation for the American people.”