EPA

Senior Counsel

Jeff serves as Senior Counsel to PEER, where he specializes in civil service, scientific integrity, and whistleblower protection issues. Jeff was PEER’s Executive Director from 1997 to 2019 and its Pacific Director from 2019 to 2025. Previously, he was the Policy Director and a staff attorney at the Government Accountability Project, representing whistleblowers from both the public and private sectors. Before coming to DC, Jeff worked in California state government for 17 years, mostly in the State Legislature as counsel to various committees where he drafted hundreds of laws on topics ranging from energy conservation to the rights of employed inventors. Jeff served stints as a deputy district attorney and an appellate court clerk. He is a graduate of the California Correctional Officers Academy.

BLOG: EPA Should Sit Out Earth Day This Year

by Jeff Ruch | April 20, 2020
Recent actions by the Environmental Protection Agency’s current leadership cast a sad reality- the EPA should sit out Earth Day this year ...

EPA Not on Emergency Footing 

by PEER | April 9, 2020
Extraneous Activities Undercut “Primary Mission Essential Function ...

EPA Lead Plan Won’t Prevent Future Flints  

by PEER | February 12, 2020
Loopholes and Limitations Hobble Removal of Lead from Drinking Water ...

EPA Political Appointees Violate Science Integrity Rules

by PEER | January 19, 2020
Complaint Details HQ Systematically Sidelining Science in WOTUS Review ...

Groups Petition EPA to Regulate PFAS Waste

by Kyla Bennett | January 16, 2020
Absence of any federal standards for tracking and managing wastes contaminated with toxic polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) poses a major and growing threat to our health, water, and soil ...