Federal Independent Agencies
Here's a look at documents from federal independent agencies
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On One-Year Anniversary of California Wildfires, SBA Extends Disaster Relief Deadlines as Local Bureaucrats Stall Recovery
WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 -- The Small Business Administration posted the following news release on Jan. 7, 2026:
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On One-Year Anniversary of California Wildfires, SBA Extends Disaster Relief Deadlines as Local Bureaucrats Stall Recovery
Today, on the one-year anniversary of the Los Angeles County wildfires, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced it is once again extending disaster relief deadlines for survivors amid state and local permitting delays that have prevented rebuilding for thousands of residents. This action will allow homeowners and business owners to draw down their
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 -- The Small Business Administration posted the following news release on Jan. 7, 2026:
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On One-Year Anniversary of California Wildfires, SBA Extends Disaster Relief Deadlines as Local Bureaucrats Stall Recovery
Today, on the one-year anniversary of the Los Angeles County wildfires, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced it is once again extending disaster relief deadlines for survivors amid state and local permitting delays that have prevented rebuilding for thousands of residents. This action will allow homeowners and business owners to draw down theirapproved SBA loan funds, including Home and Business Physical Disaster Loans, until June 30, 2026.
In total, SBA has approved over $3.2 billion in funding for Los Angeles County - representing over half of all disaster assistance delivered by the agency in Fiscal Year 2025.
"The wildfire recovery effort in California has been a national disgrace under the leadership of Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass. While the Trump Administration surged every imaginable resource to the state - including an unprecedented $3.2 billion in SBA loans - virtually zero survivors have been able to rebuild due to local permitting backlogs," said SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. "Once again, the SBA is extending deadlines to give innocent residents more time to secure their permits and access the loans they need to begin construction. But make no mistake: Los Angeles will remain devastated as long as its state and local leaders continue to impose bureaucracy and stall recovery."
Typically, disaster survivors have six months from the date of SBA loan approval to fully disburse their approved funds. The agency initially extended its disaster loan disbursement deadlines in October of last year after determining that "extraordinary" delays for rebuild permits and widespread backlogs were preventing California borrowers from drawing down approved loan funding.
Although Governor Gavin Newsom has characterized Link is external the state's disaster response as "historic," only about 2,600 rebuild permits have been issued across the City Link is external and County Link is external of Los Angeles, where the wildfires destroyed an estimated Link is external 16,000 structures. In total, less than Link is external 15% of all homes destroyed by the fires have received necessary approvals to rebuild.
Likewise, Mayor Karen Bass initially celebrated completion of the "first" rebuilt home in November of last year, but media reports later revealed Link is external that the home's contractors had secured its rebuild permit before the wildfires struck, as part of a planned demolition. As of today, Los Angeles County reports Link is external that just seven structures have been completed in the year since the wildfires took place.
Borrowers with questions about their loan status or disbursement process should contact the SBA's Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.
About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of entrepreneurship. As the leading voice for small businesses within the federal government, the SBA empowers job creators with the resources and support they need to start, grow, and expand their businesses or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
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Original text here: https://www.sba.gov/article/2026/01/07/one-year-anniversary-california-wildfires-sba-extends-disaster-relief-deadlines-local-bureaucrats
National Museum of Asian Art Announces Major Gift To Endow and Name Jeffrey P. Cunard Curator of Southeast Asian Art
WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 -- The Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Asian Art issued the following news release:
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National Museum of Asian Art Announces Major Gift To Endow and Name Jeffrey P. Cunard Curator of Southeast Asian Art
The Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art has announced that Jeffrey P. Cunard is endowing the museum's curatorial position of Southeast Asian Art, which will be known as the Jeffrey P. Cunard Curator of Southeast Asian Art. The inaugural holder of that position will be Emma Natalya Stein, who received her doctorate in the history of art from Yale (2017)
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 -- The Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Asian Art issued the following news release:
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National Museum of Asian Art Announces Major Gift To Endow and Name Jeffrey P. Cunard Curator of Southeast Asian Art
The Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art has announced that Jeffrey P. Cunard is endowing the museum's curatorial position of Southeast Asian Art, which will be known as the Jeffrey P. Cunard Curator of Southeast Asian Art. The inaugural holder of that position will be Emma Natalya Stein, who received her doctorate in the history of art from Yale (2017)and has been on the museum's curatorial staff since 2019. The museum will now be one of two museums in the nation with a dedicated, endowed curatorial position for Southeast Asian art and cultures.
"I sincerely thank Mr. Cunard for this transformative gift," said Museum Director Chase F. Robinson. "With this endowment, we reaffirm our commitment to presenting the arts and culture of that region as well as our relationships with our Southeast Asian colleagues, as we move toward a more collaborative model for museums."
The museum has agreements with museum and institutional colleagues in Southeast Asia, including the National Museum of Cambodia. The Jeffrey P. Cunard curatorial endowment, along with the museum's recently established Helen I. Jessup Fund in support of Southeast Asian programming, will fund exhibitions on Southeast Asia and support new research in the United States and abroad.
"Given the museum's long-standing commitment to the arts and culture of Southeast Asia and to supporting its partners in that region, this was the right moment to provide financial support to secure that commitment in a public way," said Cunard, who has supported the museum since 1999.
Cunard is the museum's seniormost trustee and has served on its board of trustees in various positions for over two decades, including chairman of the board. Presently, he is the head of the museum's collections committee. He has a long history of supporting arts and community activities in Washington and nationally. For example, he co-founded and serves on the board of the Friends of Khmer Culture Inc., a nonprofit organization that has supported efforts to preserve and increase appreciation of Cambodian architecture, art and culture. Cunard is a retired partner of the international law firm Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, where he was the managing partner of the Washington, D.C., office for 15 years. He is a graduate of the University of California Los Angeles and Yale Law School.
This gift benefits the National Museum of Asian Art's Second Century Campaign and the Smithsonian Campaign for Our Shared Future, which will secure funds for all Smithsonian museums, education and research centers and the National Zoo in support of a single, bold vision: to build a better future for all. Learn more about Our Shared Future.
About Southeast Asia at the National Museum of Asian Art
The National Museum of Asian Art is one of two museums in North America with a dedicated Southeast Asian curator, program, associated collections and a vibrant portfolio of performances and community events. The museum also maintains important collaborations with several Southeast Asian nations, including active memorandums of understanding with Cambodia and Indonesia.
From March through September 2026, the museum will present the exhibition "Vishnu's Cosmic Ocean," which will be curated by Stein. This exhibition will feature a masterful bronze sculpture of Vishnu creating the universe, the largest ever found in Cambodia, which will be on loan from the National Museum of Cambodia. Stein co-curated "The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Himalayas" (ongoing) and "Prehistoric Spirals: Earthenware from Thailand" (ongoing), and she previously curated "Revealing Krishna: Journey to Cambodia's Sacred Mountain" (2022) and "Power in Southeast Asia" (2017-2021). She also created a robust digital resource for the Southeast Asia collections area. Earlier exhibitions devoted to Southeast Asian art at the museum include "Gods of Angkor: Bronzes from the National Museum of Cambodia" (2010-2011) and "Vietnam's Ceramics: Depth and Diversity" (2015-2016).
Comprising close to 900 objects, the museum's Southeast Asia collections include Buddhist and Hindu sculpture and ritual objects in stone and bronze, gold jewelry, textiles and ceramics from Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar (Burma) and the Philippines. The ceramics collection is the largest and most important outside of Southeast Asia, and it serves as a resource for scholars worldwide. Sculptures from central and east Java, elsewhere in Indonesia, and the Khmer empire are other particular strengths. Indian trade textiles--notably woven, printed and painted textiles from Gujarat made for Indonesian markets--and locally made Indonesian textiles represent recent expansions to the collections and chart new directions for research.
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About the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art
The Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art is committed to preserving, exhibiting, researching and interpreting art in ways that deepen the public and scholarly understandings of Asia and the world. The museum opened in 1923 as America's first national art museum and the first Asian art museum in the United States. It now stewards one of the world's most important collections of Asian art, with works dating from antiquity to the present. The museum also stewards an important collection of 19th- and early 20th-century American art.
Today, the National Museum of Asian Art is emerging as a leading national and global resource for understanding the arts, cultures and societies of Asia, especially at their intersection with America. Guided by the belief that the future of art museums lies in collaboration, increased access and transparency, the museum is fostering new ways to engage with its audiences while enhancing its commitment to excellence.
Located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the museum is free and open 364 days a year (closed Dec. 25). The Smithsonian, which is the world's largest museum, education and research complex, welcomes 20-30 million visitors yearly. For more information about the National Museum of Asian Art, visit asia.si.edu.
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Original text here: https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/national-museum-asian-art-announces-major-gift-endow-and-name-jeffrey-p-cunard
William Kirk Sworn in as Inspector General of the U.S. Small Business Administration
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 -- The Small Business Administration posted the following news release on Jan. 6, 2026:
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William Kirk Sworn in as Inspector General of the U.S. Small Business Administration
Today, following his confirmation by the U.S. Senate on December 19, 2025, William "Bill" Kirk was sworn in as Inspector General of the U.S. Small Business Administration at the SBA headquarters in Washington, D.C.
"I am pleased to welcome Inspector General Bill Kirk to the SBA as a key ally in the agency's fight to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse," said Administrator Kelly Loeffler. "After four
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 -- The Small Business Administration posted the following news release on Jan. 6, 2026:
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William Kirk Sworn in as Inspector General of the U.S. Small Business Administration
Today, following his confirmation by the U.S. Senate on December 19, 2025, William "Bill" Kirk was sworn in as Inspector General of the U.S. Small Business Administration at the SBA headquarters in Washington, D.C.
"I am pleased to welcome Inspector General Bill Kirk to the SBA as a key ally in the agency's fight to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse," said Administrator Kelly Loeffler. "After fouryears of near total inaction by the last Administration, the Trump SBA is committed to holding bad actors accountable for defrauding the government - working with our law enforcement partners to put criminals in jail and claw back funds on behalf of taxpayers and small business owners. From pandemic-era abuse to the misuse of federal contracting programs, we will expose and end the fraud - to ensure our programs only benefit legitimate, eligible job creators."
"It is a privilege to be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate to serve in this vital position," said Inspector General Kirk. "I look forward to working with Administrator Kelly Loeffler and the professionals in the Office of Inspector General to conduct independent and objective oversight that combats fraud, waste, and abuse while promoting the efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of SBA programs supporting America's small businesses."
Kirk brings over 30 years' experience that will further SBA's mission of empowering America's small businesses, eliminating fraud, and restoring the agency as an America First engine of free enterprise. He previously served as Deputy Counsel and Acting Counsel to the Inspector General at the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Inspector General. His career also includes service at the U.S. Department of Education and numerous roles in higher education administration.
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About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of entrepreneurship. As the leading voice for small businesses within the federal government, the SBA empowers job creators with the resources and support they need to start, grow, and expand their businesses or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
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Original text here: https://www.sba.gov/article/2026/01/06/william-kirk-sworn-inspector-general-us-small-business-administration
Scientists Use JWST to Examine Ancient Monster Stars That May Reveal the Birth of Black Holes
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, Jan. 7 (TNSrpt) -- The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics issued the following news release:
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Scientists Use JWST to Examine Ancient Monster Stars That May Reveal the Birth of Black Holes
A new study shows that mysterious "Little Red Dots" seen by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope are likely supermassive stars, shedding light on the earliest days of our universe
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Phoenix, AZ (January 6, 2026)-- Using data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) have revealed the universe's most
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CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, Jan. 7 (TNSrpt) -- The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics issued the following news release:
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Scientists Use JWST to Examine Ancient Monster Stars That May Reveal the Birth of Black Holes
A new study shows that mysterious "Little Red Dots" seen by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope are likely supermassive stars, shedding light on the earliest days of our universe
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Phoenix, AZ (January 6, 2026)-- Using data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) have revealed the universe's mostmysterious distant objects, known as little red dots, may actually be gigantic, short-lived stars.
The findings offer a direct glimpse into how the universe's first supermassive black holes may have formed, marking a breakthrough in scientists' understanding of the early cosmos.
The study was presented today at a press conference during the 247th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Phoenix, Arizona.
As the universe expands, light from very distant objects stretches to redder colors. Early space-based telescopes like Hubble were built to detect shorter wavelengths of light, and while they saw interesting targets that later turned out to be little red dots, scientists couldn't tell exactly what they were.
In 2022 the first deep images from Webb, a telescope designed to see longer wavelengths of light, revealed little red dots in the distant universe. The new results gave scientists more context into what these mysterious, compact, and very old objects could be.
Past theories explaining little red dots required complicated explanations involving black holes, accretion disks and dust clouds, but the new model shows that a single massive star can also naturally produce all of the key signatures in little red dots: extreme brightness, a distinctive V-shaped spectrum, and the rare combination of one bright hydrogen emission.
Now, for the first time, astronomers have created a detailed physical model of a rare, metal-free, rapidly growing supermassive star about a million times the mass of the Sun, and showed that its unique features are a perfect match for little red dots.
"Little red dots have been a point of contention since their discovery," said Devesh Nandal, an astronomer at the CfA and the lead author of the new study. "But now, with new modeling, we know what's lurking in the center of these massive objects, and it's a single gigantic star in a wispy envelope. And importantly, these findings explain everything that Webb has been seeing."
While stars across a wide range of masses align with both the spectral measurements for little red dots, only the most massive have the right luminosity. Nandal and his colleagues believe that if they can find additional little red dots that are less luminous and massive than those in the study, they will be able to uncover the truth about why and how this happens.
The new results are helping scientists come one step closer to understanding little red dots, providing direct evidence of the final, brilliant moments that occur just before a giant star collapses into a black hole.
"If our interpretation is right, we're not just guessing that heavy black hole seeds must have existed. Instead, we're watching some of them be born in real time," said Nandal. "That gives us a much stronger handle on how the universe's supermassive black holes and galaxies grew."
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Resource
Nandal, D et al. Supermassive Stars Match the Spectral Signatures of JWST's Little Red Dots, The Astrophysical Journal, accepted. Draft: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2507.12618
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About the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian is a collaboration between Harvard and the Smithsonian designed to ask--and ultimately answer--humanity's greatest unresolved questions about the nature of the universe. The Center for Astrophysics is headquartered in Cambridge, MA, with research facilities across the U.S. and around the world.
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REPORT: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2507.12618
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Original text here: https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/scientists-use-jwst-examine-ancient-monster-stars-may-reveal-birth-black-holes
EPA Begins Removing Lead-Contaminated Soil from Future Public Greenspace Project in Chicago
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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EPA Begins Removing Lead-Contaminated Soil from Future Public Greenspace Project in Chicago
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CHICAGO (January 7, 2026) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today began removing lead-contaminated soil at a site near the intersection of 16 th St. and Peoria St. in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. This cleanup will take a few months to complete and, when finished, will enable the City of Chicago to move forward with mixed-use development in the area, including a planned public greenspace project.
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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EPA Begins Removing Lead-Contaminated Soil from Future Public Greenspace Project in Chicago
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CHICAGO (January 7, 2026) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today began removing lead-contaminated soil at a site near the intersection of 16 th St. and Peoria St. in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. This cleanup will take a few months to complete and, when finished, will enable the City of Chicago to move forward with mixed-use development in the area, including a planned public greenspace project.
"This cleanup paves the way for the development of public greenspace, enabling the city to begin work on this transformative project," said EPA Region 5 Regional Administrator Anne Vogel. "By removing exposure to contaminated soil, we are protecting the community and fostering a healthier environment for future generations."
The currently undeveloped site is in an area historically associated with the production and transport of lead, which is likely the source of the contamination. U.S. EPA, Illinois EPA, the City of Chicago, and the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway have all conducted previous cleanup activities in the area.
In February 2025, after determining the site conditions warranted further environmental investigation, the City of Chicago referred the parcel to U.S. EPA. U.S. EPA's soil sample results showed elevated levels of lead.
During the cleanup process, crews will excavate and remove contaminated soil for proper disposal. During the excavation, workers will take measures to prevent dust from migrating off-site and will monitor the air to ensure those measures are effective. Crews will restore the area with clean soil and seed to prevent erosion.
For more information about the response visit the 16th & Peoria Exception website.
For more information on EPA's previous cleanup efforts in the area, see our Lowenthal Metals and Sangamon Street Right of Way websites.
Follow EPA Region 5 on Instagram, Exit EPA's website X Exit EPA's website and visit our Facebook Exit EPA's website page. For more information about EPA Region 5, visit our website.
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Original text here: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-begins-removing-lead-contaminated-soil-future-public-greenspace-project-chicago
EPA Announces Over $616,000 in Funding for New Mexico Tribes
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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EPA Announces Over $616,000 in Funding for New Mexico Tribes
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DALLAS, TEXAS (January 7, 2026) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is awarding a total $297,375 to the Pueblo of Tesuque and $318,634 to the Pueblo of Taos to address environmental priorities within each of the Pueblo's territories. These funds are being provided through EPA's Indian Environmental General Assistance Program (GAP) and Clean Water Act (CWA) grants.
"These funds represent EPA's unwavering commitment to supporting
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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EPA Announces Over $616,000 in Funding for New Mexico Tribes
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DALLAS, TEXAS (January 7, 2026) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is awarding a total $297,375 to the Pueblo of Tesuque and $318,634 to the Pueblo of Taos to address environmental priorities within each of the Pueblo's territories. These funds are being provided through EPA's Indian Environmental General Assistance Program (GAP) and Clean Water Act (CWA) grants.
"These funds represent EPA's unwavering commitment to supportingTribal programs," said Regional Administrator Scott Mason. "EPA is committed to ensuring clean air, water, and land for all communities. I congratulate the Pueblo of Tesuque and the Pueblo of Taos for being awarded this funding to further develop their successful environmental programs."
The Pueblo of Tesuque is located in the hills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains near Santa Fe, New Mexico. The funding will be used to ensure the protection and improvement of the water quality in the Tribe's rivers, lakes, streams, groundwater, and other waterbodies. The Pueblo will conduct surface water quality monitoring in accordance with Tesuque's Water Quality Standards (WQS), continue community outreach, ensure underground storage tank compliance and monitor surface water quality within the Pueblo's borders.
The Pueblo of Taos is in the north central part of the state of New Mexico and includes all the headwaters of the Rio Pueblo and the Rio Lucero. The Pueblo will use these funds to conduct community outreach to inform Tribal members of updates to the environmental program, create an emissions inventory for winter and summer time periods to aid understanding of what emissions could be impacting the Pueblo, review the process for air monitoring, decrease non-point pollution, review and maintain surface water quality monitoring operations, coordinate monitoring efforts with on-the-ground land management activities and grow the Tribal Water Quality Program in accordance with Tribal needs.
For more information on GAP, visit our webpage Exit EPA's website or view the GAP Innovations and Investments Report Exit EPA's website.
Background
The Indian Environmental GAP is a resource for Tribal grantees to plan, develop, and establish internal capacity with the expected outcome to assume environmental regulatory functions and programs currently administered by EPA.
The CWA grant programs offer organizations and Tribes the opportunity of receiving funding to develop water quality projects and ensuring critical water infrastructure is maintained.
Connect with the Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 on Facebook Exit EPA's website, X Exit EPA's website, Instagram Exit EPA's website, or visit our homepage Exit EPA's website.
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Original text here: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-over-616000-funding-new-mexico-tribes
Administrator Lee Zeldin Marks One Year Since Deadly Los Angeles Wildfires
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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Administrator Lee Zeldin Marks One Year Since Deadly Los Angeles Wildfires
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WASHINGTON - One year ago today, a series of deadly wildfires set Los Angeles, California, ablaze. Powered by strong wind, the fire spread rapidly with flames destroying just about everything in their path and the results were catastrophic. Homes, businesses, community centers, schools, and entire city blocks were decimated, leaving thousands of residents displaced. In the aftermath of the fires, and immediately upon
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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Administrator Lee Zeldin Marks One Year Since Deadly Los Angeles Wildfires
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WASHINGTON - One year ago today, a series of deadly wildfires set Los Angeles, California, ablaze. Powered by strong wind, the fire spread rapidly with flames destroying just about everything in their path and the results were catastrophic. Homes, businesses, community centers, schools, and entire city blocks were decimated, leaving thousands of residents displaced. In the aftermath of the fires, and immediately uponhis swearing in, President Trump signed an executive order giving the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 30 days to complete its Phase 1 hazardous material removal so the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) could complete Phase 2 debris removal. The Trump Administration then completed its historically large scale, federal response effort in record time.
The EPA response in Los Angeles was the agency's largest wildfire cleanup in history. In just 28 days, 13,612 residential properties and 305 commercial properties were surveyed and greenlit for Phase 2 debris removal. This effort also included the removal and safe disposal of more than 1,000 lithium-ion batteries from vehicles, homes, and other battery powered products. Over 1,600 EPA employees across all ten regions were deployed to Los Angeles to assist in this response.
" President Trump took decisive action at the beginning of this administration to ensure Californians had the support they needed in one of their darkest moments. I was in Los Angeles in February of last year, just days after my Senate confirmation as EPA Administrator, and what I saw was apocalyptic. Homes were burnt to crisps and neighborhoods were left unrecognizable. EPA was proud to complete our work in Los Angeles on the tightest timeline possible to ensure residents could quickly move forward in their recovery process. The Trump Administration stands with the thousands of Angelinos who lost everything last year and we hope they can rebuild their homes on their properties as soon as possible," said Administrator Zeldin.
Many other federal agencies have also been involved in the response effort beyond EPA and Army Corps. In fact, as one example, the Small Business Administration (SBA) delivered $3.2 billion in disaster loans to Los Angeles residents, making up over half of all disaster funding the agency distributed last year. Los Angeles was the largest recipient of SBA disaster relief in 2025.
In addition to the historic emergency response effort, President Trump has also taken bold action over the last year to ensure better water flow in California and improve forest management practices to prevent future wildfires.
With the Trump Administration completing all of its cleanup work at a rapid pace, residents are still facing roadblocks from their state and local governments that is preventing them from being able to rebuild their homes on their properties.
Administrator Zeldin visited Los Angeles in February last year while EPA officials were working to complete hazardous material removal. He will soon be heading back to Los Angeles, California, to survey rebuilding efforts, with more details to be announced.
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Original text here: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/administrator-lee-zeldin-marks-one-year-deadly-los-angeles-wildfires
