EPA watchdog says top air official worked on rule despite having 'disqualifying financial interest'

An internal watchdog criticized the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) top air official for participating in the development of a rule that regulates an industry in which he reportedly had financial holdings. 

The EPA’s inspector general said in a report issued Wednesday that Joseph Goffman “failed to meet his ethical obligations under the federal conflicts-of-interest prohibition.”

It noted that Goffman, the EPA's assistant administrator for air and radiation, “participated” in a rule regulating toxic emissions from the medical device industry despite holding a “disqualifying financial interest.”

Specifically, it cited Goffman’s holding of more than $25,000 in Abbott Laboratories, Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic, which together owned 10 percent of the facilities directly impacted by the rulemaking, according to the watchdog.

The rule in question requires sterilizer companies to reduce their emissions of cancer-causing ethylene oxide by 90 percent. Health and environmental advocates have described the rule as a positive step, but criticized what they described as a loophole that excludes offsite warehouses from the regulation. 

The inspector general report said Goffman, a Biden appointee, worked on the rule and failed to assess a potential conflict of interest between February 2021 and April 2022. 

That April, he requested a “conflicts-of-interest screen” from the EPA’s Office of General Counsel, which “erroneously advised Goffman that he could participate in the rulemaking,” the report released Wednesday said. 

The report did not contain a formal response from Goffman or the EPA. However, it noted that the official “disagreed with our conclusions and asserted that he committed no violation of any kind.”

Goffman told the inspector general’s office his outreach to the general counsel showed he didn’t have prior knowledge of a potential conflict and demonstrated his “rigorous adherence” to his screening arrangement. 

EPA spokesperson Nick Conger told The Hill the agency was reviewing the report. 

“EPA is confident in the integrity of agency rulemakings and actions and remains committed to the highest level of scientific integrity and transparency,” he said.