Our Team

James Pew

Director, Federal Clean Air Practice, D.C. Washington, D.C. Office

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Media Inquiries

Zahra Ahmad
Public Affairs and Communication Strategist
zahmad@earthjustice.org

Bar Admissions

DC, PA (inactive)

Jim Pew is the director of clean air practice. He is based in Earthjustice’s Washington, D.C. office.

He received a B.A. in history from Stanford University, a M.A. in law from Cambridge University, and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Jim practiced at a private law firm in Philadelphia for three years, at the Natural Resources Defense Council for two years, and at Earthjustice since 1997.

Jim lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife and cat, and still spends as much time as possible on a bicycle.

The Latest from James Pew

April 2, 2024

In the News: Grist

The EPA wanted to clean up steel mills. Then a group of Rust Belt senators got involved.

Quoted: James Pew

“The steel companies mounted a real disinformation campaign about the cost of the rule that I think put pressure on EPA to take out some provisions that would have been beneficial.”
March 25, 2024

In the News: Houston Landing

EPA gives ‘minor’ polluters a free pass, creating a regulatory void in Channelview

Quoted: James Pew

“Just getting the EPA to use the authority it has had all along would yield huge benefits.”
February 15, 2024

In the News: MinnPost

Minnesota tribes say EPA’s taconite mercury emission rules don’t go far enough

Quoted: James Pew

“That just isn’t enough. The EPA could fix this.”
December 12, 2022

In the News: Inside Climate News

A Gary, Indiana Plant Would Make Jet Fuel From Trash and Plastic. Residents Are Pushing Back

Quoted: James Pew

“This whole fight at the local, state, and federal levels is about getting gasification and pyrolysis incinerators rebranded as non-incinerators so they can … avoid installing pollution controls and monitoring and reporting their emissions. EPA’s regulations have defined facilities like Fulcrum as incinerators for almost 30 years.”
September 11, 2022

In the News: Inside Climate News

A New Plant in Indiana Uses a Process Called ‘Pyrolysis’ to Recycle Plastic Waste. Critics Say It’s Really Just Incineration

Quoted: James Pew

“The absolute crux of this issue is whether these new incinerators have to put on controls, like with conventional incinerators, or whether they can skip that and not control or monitor their pollution.”
October 5, 2021

In the News: Grist

EPA might finally regulate the plastic industry’s favorite kind of ‘recycling’

Quoted: James Pew

“It’s quite simple. If you want to burn municipal waste, meet the Clean Air Act standards for municipal waste incinerators. If you want to burn industrial waste, meet the Clean Air Act standards for industrial waste.”
June 18, 2021

In the News: Chesapeake Bay Journal

Environmental groups file suit challenging Conowingo Dam license

Quoted: James Pew

“Federal law is quite clear that FERC lacks authority to issue a license on these terms.”
Mercury levels in tuna have finally started to decrease, but the good news may be short lived if Scott Pruitt is allowed to head the EPA and overturn important limits on power plant pollution.
January 30, 2017

A Scott Pruitt Appointment Means More Mercury in Our Fish

By James Pew

Mercury levels in tuna have finally started to decrease, but the good news may be short lived if Scott Pruitt is allowed to head the EPA and overturn important limits on power plant pollution.
The Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.
June 30, 2015

Don’t Panic: The Supreme Court’s Decision on Mercury and Air Toxics

By James Pew

The fate of the Mercury and Air Toxics safeguards is still to be determined after the Supreme Court's decision grants a challenge to the EPA’s long overdue limits on toxic pollution.