Senate committee holds confirmation hearing on EPA nominee
Michael Regan testifies Wednesday during his Senate committee hearing to be named administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Photo from Senate committee video screenshot
-The Hagstrom Report
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing Wednesday on President Biden’s nomination of Michael Regan, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
American Coalition for Ethanol CEO Brian Jennings said after the hearing, “If confirmed as EPA administrator, Mr. Regan inherits a long list of unfinished business with respect to the Renewable Fuel Standard.”
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UPDATE: March 11, 2021: The Senate confirmed Michael Regan as the next U.S. EPA administrator Wednesday by a vote of 66-34. All Senate Democrats voted in favor, along with 16 Republicans.
Dive Brief:
Michael Regan, the nominee for U.S. EPA administrator, acknowledged plastic pollution as a “significant” challenge in response to a question during Wednesday s Senate confirmation. If confirmed, he agreed to take a further look at proposals and programs aimed at reducing single-use plastic.
Regan, currently the secretary for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), also vowed to address issues related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which he described as a “top priority” for the Biden administration. He promised to evaluate strategies for regulating the chemicals, but stopped short of confirming that EPA would set specific limits under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
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Photo Credit: Ag News Wire The Biden administration plans a thorough review of recent EPA decisions involving the federal mandate to mix corn ethanol and other biofuels into gasoline, said Michael Regan, the White House nominee to run the agency. “The RFS is definitely a priority for this administration,” Regan said at a Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday. Praised as a consensus builder as secretary of North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality, Regan repeatedly told senators that it was vital to understand all sides of an issue: “You must be willing to put yourself in other people’s shoes.”
WOTUS action
Several senators asked Regan how he would approach the rule defining waters of the U.S. – WOTUS – written under the Obama administration and the Navigable Waters Protection Rule now on hold released by the Trump administration. Regan says, if confirmed, he would take a look at what EPA’s options are to address any kind of lingering concerns whether that be litigious or concerns with stakeholders and bring all to the table to understand those concerns.
“We do need to move forward to provide certainty to our farming community, especially our small farmers, so decisions can be made and investments are not stranded on our sidelines,” Regan says. “But I also want to be sure we do that in a way where we are protecting our water quality, our wetlands and our bays.”