Welcome congressman calvert. Good afternoon. It is great to be here at the Nixon Library. Jim i want to commend you and hugh hewitt and the entire team for the incredible job what an amazing venue. Seems like it becomes a monthly occurrence to have a cabinet member i think the secret is out maybe a little warm this weekend it would be a whole lot nicer than the weather in washington d. C. Perhaps a good california weather is good for whats joined here today for the 50th anniversary of the epa. After all, one of the reasons californians have been at the forefront of Environmental Protection is because we spend so much time outside enjoying the weather in our beaches, our mountains, and certainly our deserts. 1969 however, an oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara was a wakeup call. That the environment we all love needs to be safeguarded. Around this time. In the late 1960s, polluted rivers in cleveland were literally catching fire. These shocking scenes of oil covered beaches had a call to action. In 1970, president nixon answered that call by proposing a series of initiatives aimed to protect our air, our water, and our environment. To better manage his bold steps, president nixon consolidated many of the environmental responsibilities of the federal government under one agency. The new Environmental Protection agency. Now, 50 years later, our country is clear because of these efforts by president nixon and the Environmental Protection agency. I remember when i played football just down the street in corona california, i could not see the goalpost on the other side of the field in those days. That time is over. The air quality is much improved, the air is much cleaner than it was decades ago because much of the efforts of the epa. The epas focus on our air and Water Quality is its core mission. Yet over the past 50 years the agency has expanded beyond the core mission. It has become bureaucratic and burdensome which negatively impacts Economic Growth rate over the last years the Obama Administration i served as the chairman of the appropriations subcommittee responsible for the epa. During those years i found myself constantly reminded that the administration doesnt take, reminded mr. Race and it doesnt take a bigger bureaucracy to clean up our environment correct taxol is a much better spent replacing a Diesel Engine, an old Diesel Engine school bus rather than paying for another bureaucrat in washington d. C. Thankfully the Trump Administration has adopted a similar outlook and refocus the agency, restoring the epa to something more in sync with nixons vision. Live in epa that no longer shuns those they regulate, rather the working cooperative with the businesses and farmers that assure we have a healthier environment while not holding back our economy our way of life. Since taking the helm, administrator Andrew Wheeler has implemented a great vision for the next 50 years of epa. He is committed to ensuring the agency focuses on a primary mission. He challenged the agency to make better use of resources for communities that have suffered from pollution for decades and have been left behind economically and socially. He is committed to changing the how the agency works to help these communities prosper in the 21st century. This is actually administrative wheelers second stands at epa. He previously served there during the president george h. W. Bushs administration and between his tours at epa, he worked at private sectors as a top staffer on a Senate Environment and public works committee. The robust experience is essential to handling has an incredible challenge with this unexpected challenge they know all too well 2020 is the year of the unexpected but administrative wheeler and his team at epa have been up to the task response to the covid as a whole to government approach polluting the accelerated process that has the approval time of Covenant Team disinfectants from four months to four weeks. Prior to march 5, the number of epa improved disinfectant products was about 60. There are now approximately 475 products. Thin amazing response in a testament to the leadership at the epa. Ladies and judgment, please join me in welcoming to the Nixon Library and are credible Southern California environment, epa administrator Andrew Wheeler. [applause] smacked thank you. Thank you very much. Good afternoon. It is a privilege and an honor to be here at the Nixon Library to talk about the federal governments role in Environmental Protection during the next 50 years. I just wanted to stop a second and soak in the library. What a beautiful place to be, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of epa. Want to thank congressman calvert for your remarks thank you were much for introduction. Thank you to jim biron and the Nixon LibraryFoundation Board and staff are making this day possible. Into all of the other distinguished guests, thank you for being here and thank you for the work that you are doing to help this country in your communities become safer, healthier places to live. Let me start by saying something that should be old and familiar. Americas environment today is cleaner than it has ever been in our lifetime. [applause] and it got that way in large part because of president Richard Nixon who in 1970 created the Environmental Protection agency and signed into law the Clean Air Act. Later this year, epa will be cell breading is 50th anniversary so today is an important opportunity for me as the epas 15th administrator to celebrate the things that have worked well for this countrys environment and to look for ways to improve environmental outcomes over the next 50 years. The Clean Air Act and the clean water act were both enacted in nixons first term had become the foundational, environmental statutes to guide epas mission to protect human health and the environment. Since the early 1970s, epas job has been pretty straightforward. Clean up america. And the agency has done just that. In 1970, lead gasoline and lead based paint were still in common use. Asbestos was reviewed as assets in many products, not as dangerous pollutants. Now all three of these hazards are largely banned from commerce along with hundreds of other dangerous chemicals and compounds for the epas mission has been straightforward since its founding. Protect human health and the environment. Doing this ensures that all americans, regardless of their zip code have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and clean land to live, work and play upon. Under President Trump we have done this well, if not better than any recent administration. During the first three years of the Trump Administration, air pollution in this country felt 7 . Last year, the epa delisted 27 superfund sites for the most in a single years 2001. And the Agency Programs contribute to more than 40 billion to clean Water Infrastructure investments during President Trumps first term. This is great news. And like most great news, you read about in the press. Our country, which has received some of the most exceptional, natural and environmental gifts ever given to a Human Society is shown that it can have both great environmental outcomes and Economic Growth when it strives to. And the reason these great things happen is because the development of a political consensus on environmental policy and the will of the american people. Legislation, like the Clean Air Act, the clean water act, the 1990 amendments, the 1996 Safe Drinking Water act amendments, all passed with bipartisan support with the presence of a Different Party and the Party Controlling congress. For much of the latter party of the 20th century there is bipartisan understanding on what Environmental Protection meant. Some of it was captured in legislation, and some of it by established practice. These principles formed a consensus about how the federal government did its job of protecting the environment. President trump recognizes consensus when he asked me to it take over the agency in 2018. And his directions are pretty state entrance straightforward he said andrew when she did continue to clean up the air, continue cleaning up our water and continue to deregulate and create word jim more jobs for the American Public. He knew we could do altered the same time, so do i and im sure all of you do as well. Unfortunately, the past decade or so some members of former administrations and progressives in congress have elevated single issues some focus just on Climate Change to signal foreign capitals communities deserve better than this. The recent past, epa has at times forgetting important parts of its mission. It is my belief that we misdirect a lot of resources and could do a better job helping communities across this country. So if this is where we are, with some misdirected policies and misused resources and a more partisan political environment, then we want epa for the next 50 years, how do we get to where we are, where we want to be . One way to do this and ive spent more than 25 years thinking about this problem is the focus helping communities become healthier and a more comprehensive manner. Communities that deal with the worst pollution in this country, they tend to be low income minority and faced multiple environmental problems that need solving. Currently one of the Biggest Challenges facing epa has been our effort to tear down the silos between programs within the agency to be more effective in addressing the environmental burdens that communities face. The current lack of effectiveness has contributed to some very perverse environmental outcomes and resulted in a lot of unintended consequences. So going forward, is my favorite author, Williams Shakespeare wrote, see first that the design is wise and just. And ascertain, pursue it resolutely. Because communities and political leaders will always struggle with where to put limited resources, they tend to focus on the squeaky wheel. An environmental inspector tells them they have to get back into so they focus all of their attention and resources on that. Meanwhile there is still lead in the water pipes of their schools goes ignored. When i was a staff director and the senate in 1997, we took testimony from mayor hall ann arbor michigan. That community at the time was about 90 africanamerican braided poverty rates were very high. In the town had not recovered from the deindustrialization of the 1970s. Mayor halls message of the community was a ground Field Program which set at the city applied for epa grants, many old abandoned Industrial Facilities would get cleaned up, redeveloped and new jobs could be created. The epas office told then harbor was a nonattainment zone and she could not bring new businesses into the city because they were not going to get new air permits. So how was vincent harbor going to use this experience in manufacturing workforce if no new factories or businesses could be built . That is a good question. And one that has remained unanswered for the last few decades. I saw into harbors experience similar to the committee where i grew up and just north of cincinnati. The neighboring town of hamilton, during the 19th and 20 centuries is when the worlds most important manufacturers of paper, bank vaults as well as Machine Tools and railroad switches. The deindustrialization overtook hamilton as it did with vincent harbor, its Economic Health weekend, jobs were eliminated, and businesses close down leaving behind abandoned buildings polluted industrial sites and the people whod set the roots down. New businesses coming into southwestern ohio, did not return to hamilton. They went to the suburbs. They went to the farmland. They went where the farmland was cheaper and less pollution which allowed commercial investments to be made easier. And which created its own environmental cost is more farmland was paved over and turned into businesses and housing instead of looking at the older sections of the neighboring town. Any of the sites epa has responsibility for our in some of the most disadvantaged communities in this country. And i will point out the truism, neglect is a form of harm. And it is not fair for these communities to be abandoned just because they dont have enough political power to stop the neglect. Where does that put us in 2020 . The truth is its of facing a lot of environmental and social problems that have not been dealt with the right way until now. And while the focus of the next 50 years should not be like the last 50, but should be informed by the last 50. Many towns and cities in the United States are using the same Water Infrastructure they use for over 100 years. And many schools use lead water pipes long after such pipes were banned from new buildings. The American Public, they use our Pesticide Program to the lens of the trial lawyers who advertise on television instead of the way we manage the program. The Super Fund Program which celebrates its 40th anniversary this years become focus on process rather than project completion. If you look for answers on why environmental injustice takes place today, one should start by asking why the most under resourced and economically vulnerable communities in this country are the places with the most pollution . It is not happenstance nor coincidence. I would like to be able to say that communities like benton harbor, hamilton and many thousand other communities that need help in this community have been helped by improved environmental governments over the past 20 years but most have not. Didnt there poverty rate has risen. Hamiltons population since the 1960 has fallen ever since. These issues are challenging and will be difficult for any administration. But theyll be easier to solve the people in power were more aware of the consequences of poor environmental policies. Having worked in washington for many years, ive gotten used to policy arguments being divorced from good economic outcomes. When it comes to environmental policy, being divorced from Good Environmental outcomes, the situation becomes much harder to accept. If youve ever wondered why republicans can get upset sometimes, here are some reasons. Its very disappointing for example to see governors on the east coast such as governor cuomo, unilaterally block pipelines that would take natural gas from pennsylvania to new york and new england. These poor choices subject americans to imports of natural gas from places like russia. Even in the face of evidence that u. S. Natural gas has a much cleaner emissions profile than imported natural gas from russia or elsewhere. Governor cuomo is doing this in the name of Climate Change. But the Carbon Footprint of natural gas from pennsylvania to new england through a pipeline is much smaller than transporting natural gas halfway across the world by ocean liner. It also forces citizens of vermont, New Hampshire and maine to use more wood and heating oil to heat their homes because of natural gas shortages in the winter months then in turn creates a very poor local air quality. There are many examples of poor outcomes in california despite its environmental reputation. Goes without saying that dumping sewage into the San Francisco bay without disinfection is a bad idea. But thats whats been happening for years against federal law. And just last month, the rolling blackouts created by californias latest electricity crisis, the result of policies against power plants being fueled by natural gas, spilled 50000 gallons of raw sewage into the oakland estuary went back up plants failed. As state policy makers push more renewables onto the grid the times of the day when renewables arent available, these environmental accidents will happen more often. Instead of confusing words with actions and choosing empty symbolism over doing a good job, we can focus our attention and resources on helping communities help themselves. Doing this will strengthen this country from its foundation up. Start to solve environmental problems of tomorrow. We could do a lot of good if the federal government through Congress Puts resources to work with a fierce focus on Community Driven environmentalism that promotes community, revitalization on a greater scale. This will do more for Environmental Justice than all of the rhetoric and political campaigns. No one program at any agency can solve all of our problems. But i believe the environmental policy establishment of this country is missed a lot of opportunities in the past several decades. Over the next four years, the Trump Administration epas going to reorganize how it approaches community so it can take action and address the range of Environmental Issues that need to be addressed for people and places in need. Environmental protection is the forerunner, the prerequisite for Economic Growth and job creation. We can solve this problem in the way that i am talking about, we can give Many Americans a much Better Future in the next 50 years. And i really do believe that. And you focus on Community Driven environmentalism as the best opportunity in at least a generation to solve the Environmental Justice issues we face today. If we focus on communities were passed industrial pollution has had a negative impact on the wellbeing of people and local economies, the epa can transform itself into a much better version of government with benefits that last for many administrations. And President Trumps second term at the epa, we will help communities across this country and reshape them to the following five priorities. A Community Driven that promotes community revitalization. Two, by meeting the 21st century demand for water. Three, reimagining superfund as a project oriented program. For, reforming the permitting process to empower the states. And finally, creating a holistic Pesticide Program for the future bradys communities ive mentioned have been shaped in negative ways by the histories of pollution. After they shape estes talk about the House Speaker of commons which had been damaged during world war, churchill we are going to do with committees of this great country. For communities the epa is focus on a manner that look at air water and land separately. And states and local communities and of doing the same thing because they may or an mimic the epa. We will change this. And one areas look at the brownfields Grant Program. The Environmental Justice issues, air quality for example in each community at the same time and encourage those communities to do the same. Since epas Brownfields Program began in 1995, nearly 1. 6 billion in grants have been spent to help clean up contaminated sites and returned properties to reuse. To date, communities participating in the program have been able to attract an additional 33 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funding after receiving brownfields funds. As we move forward with our action plans to tear down the silos between Agency Programs, there will be more rapid improvements to the quality of local projects. And when combined with the opportunity created by the landmark 2017 tax bill, economic development, job creation can truly operate at the same time. A study published last month, found opportunity zones which have only been in existence since 2018 have attracted about 75 billion in private investments which in turn has lifted 1 Million People out of poverty through job creation in a very short period of time. Dip opportunity zones where the biggest reasons black unemployment in this country fell to its Lowest Reported levels ever in 2019. And there are 450,000, nearly half a million potential brownfields opportunities still waiting for cleanup and investments. Weve cleaned up only 2000 since the program began. One other way we are going to help communities is by creating one consolidated Grant Program that combines several smaller grants from multiple programs for it will focus local communities to the environmental problems holistically will also help refocus the epa. And theres scope to do a lot more. We can meet the 21st century demand on clean water by creating an integrated approach, an integrated planning approach using a water reuse action plan in our nutrient Trading Initiative to improve Water Quality and modernize the Legal Framework said been around since the 19th century. It is also important to note that over 40 of Water Utility workers across this country are eligible to retire today. We need to do a better job recruiting and training the water workforce for the 21st century. Particularly with threats to the Water Utility industry. Threat from pandemics but also from cybersecurity and sabotage which may be one of the biggest future threats to americas environment in the coming years. We can also reinvigorate the superfund program. Roughly 16 of the u. S. Population lives within 3 miles of a few attempts superfund site today pray thats over 50 million americans. Epa has allowed litigation and bureaucracy to dictate the pace of superfund projects instead of focusing on improving the environmental indicators moving sites to completion. Way to fully implement the recommendations of the 2019 using the latest technologies and best practices. Many of you may be family with the Great British tv series yes minister were elected politicians change things do battle with the Civil Service which wants things to stay the same. In Civil Service usually wins. During one episode, senior Civil Servant told a minister, quotes, we dont measure our success by results, but by activity. In the activity is considerable productive. That has become the historic problem of the superfund program. But it is one that we can solve. We have focused too much on the activity at a superfund site instead of on the success of getting the sites cleaned up and returned to productive use. We hope President Trump successfully with the new need with the goal of reviewing federal permits within two years. Because of this new permit bottlenecks, will be at the statelevel agencies implementing the federal program instead of the federal government. Epa is a unique opportunity to provide Technical Assistance and have timely permit reviews by the states. 96 of water permitting authorities have been delegated to the states route and 48 of the states have been delegated the air program. 4, when we renew state delegated programs, we wont just be looking at their enforcement statistics, but we will also begin looking at their permitting programs and their statistics as well. We could also improve the way we handle pesticide regulation. We do a good job of proving pesticides on individual basis. But we have not excelled at explaining to the public our holistic approach to pesticide management. The media and the courts tend to view our individual pesticide decisions and a one off fashion. Which is left the American Public uninformed on our science based processes. We will take into account biotech advances. A better investigation of active ingredients. This this week we announced a proposed rule that remove owners and expensive regulation of gene edited plant protectants. Will safeguard pollinators to support the agricultural industry. And we can decrease reliance on animal testing to a point were no animal testing will be taking place for any of our agencies programs by 2035 for it im to say the current epa leadership is already seizing the moment. As i said before, the focus of the next 50 years cannot be like the last 50. This agency has proven it can protect human health and the environment. What it has not accomplished is reaching the Environmental Justice goals of fairness and Good Environmental outcomes that this country must achieve if it wants American Communities to be better, healthier places to liv live. Here are five things epas doing, five new pillars that have largely gone unnoticed by the public that are changing the way the agency operates today. We are crating costbenefit rules for every statute that epa uses. We are creating science transparency rules that are applied consistently. Weve already published new guidance policy procedures that brings all of her guidance documents to light. We have reorganized our regional offices that make it much easier for Community Members to interact with the agency. And we have implemented a lien Management System also known as the toyota system throughout the agency to improve the way that we operate. By making these changes, communities will be more empowered and able to take action to work in concert and cooperation with epa. And not interact to see a confrontational manner. The first pillar is or costbenefit rulemaking. Is the first time the agency will define how to calculate the cost as well as the benefits of proposed rules. The American Public deserves to know what the cost and benefits are for each of our rulemaking efforts. We are starting with the Clean Air Act which will provide much better clarity to local communities, industry and stakeholders. It will implement a costbenefit regulation or all of environmental statutes by 2022. A second major pillar is science transparency. The American Public has a right to know the scientific justification behind a regulation for this will bring much needed sunlight into our regulatory process. Some people oppose it, calling it a secret science rule. Those who oppose it, want regulatory decisions to be made behind closed doors. They are the people who say trust us, we know it is best for you. Out to bring our environmental decisionmaking process out of the proverbial smokefilled back room. I cut my teeth working epa in the 1990s on the community right to know program. And i fundamentally believe that people have a right to know how our regulations are developed. The costbenefit and science transparency rules will go a long way in delivering that. After finalizing the science transparency rule later this year, will conduct the statue by satchel rulemaking much like or costbenefit rule of approach. The guidance document come the third pillar of agency change. Its an area weve already made a lot of progress, we have signed even more. At the agency for years was criticized for not making guidance documents, which have almost the force of law available for public review. The cost involved became a major barrier for those wanting to know how to improve or come into compliance with environmental rules. Last year we went there all of her guidance documents, some dating back to 1970 and we began putting all of them onto a searchable database. We now have all 10000 of our guidance documents in a searchable database thats available to any member of the public to search and find it with the agency is said on any topic. We also rescinded 1000 guidance documents. So now, all of our guidance documents are available for anyone to see. This is a huge change in administrative procedures that epa and perhaps the biggest change in at least a generation. The fourth pillar is our reorganization of all ten of our regional offices to mirror our headquarters structure. All of the regional offices across the country now have an air division, a water division, lands and chemical divisions. This was a change that was needed for decades. In the fifth pillar of our environmental changes implementing the lien Management System that tracks real metrics with which the agency can measure success or failure. There is a lot of good news in these changes paired but the best news is this for the problems ive highlighted are structural. What a problem is structural or organizational Common Agency can be changed. Until the Trump Administration, epa was not tracking how long it took to complete a permit, a grant process, or state implementation plan. It really had no meaningful task the agency had before. When President Trump said he wanted all permits done within two years, we turned over to the epa to decide how long it was taking a spread we realized were not tracking hell in the process took. You cannot improve a process unless you know how long the process takes. Organizations do change. It can be hard, but they do change. And when they change it is usually for the better. As i said at the beginning, epa data points are 2020 air quality is being the best on record. Here in california, with the modern Environmental Movement began and from where president next and brought it to the rest of the country, it is important to acknowledge the roles that states have innate laboratories for democracy and in this case laboratories for environmental policy. For environmental policy the federal government and states must Work Together as partners, not as adversaries. To do this involves a new vision and for a country searching for a new consensus on the environment as well as many other things, this can seem tough. What i believe we can find a new consensus if we strive to. Fifty years ago in the epa was founded the challenges before america on the environment, economic fairness, and on Foreign Policy were very large and difficult to overcome. That many of these challenges have been overcome. Years later the issues are different. But still difficult. I believe by focusing epa towards communities in the coming years, our agency can change the future for People Living in this country who have been left behind simply for living in secluded places. Because of theres one thing we all have in common as americans, as we all live in Community Spirit we are a nation made up of communities. And communities are the foundation of this nation, not the other way around. We can do the work before us, break down the silos between us as an agency and elsewhere. I believe we can both protect the places we love and bring back the places that have been hurt by pollution and make them even better than they were before. Ice pa beginning at second halfcentury with big challenges once it can be overcome with the same skill and tenacity that help this agency and this country overcome the challenges of the last 50 years. I want to thank the Nixon Library for this great opportunity to speak before you today part i hope everyone can support our agencies as a work to deliver this vision and a great environmental future for all americans regardless of where they live. I would like to end on a personal note. I come from a family that was always very politically active. My First Political memory, was in 1972 when i was seven years old. Watching the election returns for president nixon. My mother, who was a single parent, widowed, was very interested in president nixon. My whole family was part i watch booktv returns and wrote down the vote tallies on the statebystate basis and took them to wherever she was in the house to show her how he was doing. As also tracking the governor West Virginia because my grandmother worked for him and i knew if he lost she wouldve lost her job. I didnt really understand the Electoral College at the time. I just thought the vote counts on the statebystate basis were very important. My mother was always my political advisor throughout my life. , she passed away this last march. This past sunday wouldve been her 80th birthday pretty want to thank the library because i know shes looking down and very proud of the fact that im here at the Nixon Library today pray to thank you all very much. Thank you. [applause] s connect thank you administrator wheeler. I think i speak on behalf of of those of the Nixon Foundation to say perhaps this was a bit of a homecoming for you as well. So thank you very much. The administrator has agreed to take photos with all of you. He wants to meet all of you in a socially distance socialite in the east room. We invite you to enjoy us to relax, cool off and thank you all very much for coming here today. If you make your way to your left, the ladies in red jackets and the gentleman in the navy coats will show you where you need to go. Thank you very much for being here today. Coming up tonight on cspan2, a hearing on creating a National Cyber director in the executive office of the president. Then three panels from the annual billington cybersecurity summit. First we are from maria rope chief Information Officer for the office of management and budget on federal cybersecurity efforts. Then chris craft, director of the Cybersecurity InfrastructureSecurity Agency on protecting the 2020 elections. Later represented as firm rathbone and cisco join a panel on cybersecurity threats brought by teleworking during the coronavirus pandemic