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Environmental Protection Agency

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From 1979: Oil refinery vs. bald eagle

In Cobscook Bay, Maine, the Pittston Company's plans to build an oil refinery, welcomed by the tiny, struggling town, were met with resistance by environmentalists. The battle over the potential damage to the nesting area of the bald eagle (which in the 1970s was still an endangered species) led the Environmental Protection Agency to deny a permit. Correspondent Lem Tucker talked with Pittston vice president Arnold Kaulakis, Eastport city manager Everett Baxter, and environmental advocate Robert Gardiner, in a story first broadcast on "Sunday Morning" January 28, 1979. (Note: in 1983, after a decade-long effort, Pittston withdrew its plans to build the refinery citing escalating costs and global market conditions.)

Former EPA official reacts to regulation rollbacks

Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, announced dozens of cuts to environmental regulations, including decades-old rules on greenhouse gases and clean water. The agency also shuttered its environmental justice offices, which worked to protect disadvantaged communities from the severe impacts of pollution. Matthew Tejada, who worked at the EPA for multiple administrations and led the EPA's environmental justice efforts, joins to discuss.

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