Host that does it for todays washington journal. The American Enterprise institute is hosting epa administrator andrew weaver. That conversation is beginning now. Administrator we were, he will have some opening remarks and then i will have questions. You can ask questions to pitch as you can see on our event page and or youtube page, and questions on twitter at hashtags airandwater. First, his opening remarks. Admin. Wheeler i want to thank aei for inviting me to be here today. Month, i provided reflections on the past 50 years of the amber mental Protection Agency and laid out a plan for its future at the nixon library. Today i would like to explain based on what we have accomplished over the past 40 years, how we are going to get to this future. It is incontrovertible that today, the environment is in better shape under President Trump than we found it. Air pollution in this country has fallen 7 . Manyyear, the apa delisted superfund sites. And we will ddelist another 27 this year. Apa is supporting 7100 high priority projects in 27,000 jobs during President Trumps first term. The trump apa has recovered more this trump epa has recovered more criminal and civil nenalties in a firstterm tha the Obamabiden Administration did in its first term. This is a great deal and great news in terms of americas wellbeing, but like most great news, you really read about it in newspapers or watch it in new channels. The newsradio purposely and the reports in a good news from this the news media purposely under reports in a good news from this administration. The Trump Administration has now collected more in civil and criminal penalties than the Obamabiden Administration due to its first term. A big deal was made when President Trump left the paris claimant accords, which would have treated the u. S. Economy unfairly, yet the u. S. Has seen a 15 reduction in Energy RelatedCarbon Dioxide emissions since 2005. During this time, the u. S. Cut its greenhouse emissions measured in tens more than britain, germany, italy, and canada combined. China meanwhile has increased their emissions by over 50 since 2005. And the trumpet menstruation in its first term has taken then its first term has taken four concrete actions to reduce emissions. First, the Clean Energy Rule which will cut overall emissions by 34 from 2000 five levels by 2030. Second, i was safe vehicles loco will reduce emissions compared to the previous administrations standards which allowed companies to comply with purchasing credits which did not impact emissions. Third, we have proposed a new rule treating emissions from aircraft, that represents the first time the u. S. Has ever adopted emissions standards for aviation. Fourth, the new rules make it easier and less expensive for Natural Gas Companies to capture future fugitive methane emissions from natural gas and infrastructure. As john adams once said, facts are stubborn things, and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence. It is unfortunate that there is a lot of evidence that during the previous administration, especially in its second term, and overweighting focus on Climate Change that took the form of virtuesignaling in capitals. This behavior came at the expense of running the agency and ensuring a better environment for all americans. Aside from their attempt to rule,the United States they almost solely focused on Climate Change at the expense of other environmental indicators. Let me explain. The firstne more in four years of the Trump Administration to improve the environment than probably any administration except perhaps doing the very first years of the epa. I would argue that the trump and the Trump Administration has carried out more than any other administration the core mission a, which is to protect health and the environment. The clean water will come in the Affordable Energy rule, the safe e;lg, the ozoned acts and others will all be finalized this year, all regulations that will improve the environment. At the same time, we inherited the largest backlog of unfinished Agency Business in our history. During the final few years of the Obama Administration, an enormous backlog of unprocessed up. Its of all kinds piled at the beginning of the admin station, we inherited a backlog of 700 state implementation plans under the Clean Air Act. We have taken action on over 500 of these submittals. Sipss in cities need the approved so they can focus on cleaning up your environment. Environmental work may not be getting done, and approval of sips can help reduce air pollution. Companies shot and wounded facilities in other areas is that avoid for this instead of weight for s companieshut and move facilities is said to wait for Water Quality conditions to improve. This backlog of sips has been one of the visible and real causes of environmental injustice in the country for the past several decades. In a location that was out of attainment could not make it back into attainment until sips were processed. Limbo either approved or rejected for variety of reasons, including because they were deficient and could not be approved. By the send of approving these plans or diesel proving them, prior administrations let them sit sometimes for decades. We discovered applications that were filed in the 1990s and unprocessed in places like San Joaquin Valley in california, and in arizona. Filed8, we approved a sip by wyoming in 1987, and we discovered an unprocessed sip for nevada from october 1970 5, 45 years ago. Pollution, ther backlog of the National Pollutant discharge elimination system, or mpdes permits, which regulate pollution of u. S. Waters has been reduced 32 since 2017. Regarding superfund cleanups, a similar story. Too Many Americans have lived near superfund sites for too long. Cleaning up these sites has been a major focus of the Trump Administration. In his first three years in office, we completed full or partial deletion of 55 sites from the National Priorities year, theding 27 last most in a single year since 2001. Of the 27 sites deleted last year, 14 have been on the list since the 1980s, seven since the 1990s. We have maintained last years accelerated pace and will complete the deletion process for another 20 74 partial sites by the end of this fiscal year. This will bring the phone number of full or partial deletions in President Trumps first term to at least 82 sites, equal to the eight your total of the prior administration. So it is worth repeating that the Trump Administration, in its first four years, has matched the amount of superfund sites delisted by the Obama Biden Administration in its eight years in office, and many of the sites delisted this year have been on the npl for more than 30 years. It tells local communities and the broader public that important work has been done, is the site, if appropriate eligible for funding and can be freed of the stigma of being a superfund site. When you reflect on how many of the most polluted and hazardous responsibility for our in some of the most disadvantaged communities in this country, you start to realize how important a mission epa has been given by congress. When we clean up for what its sites quickly and returned them to the communities for proved the epa is strengthening our country where it needs to be strongest, at our foundation. There are many other examples of our working down of this backlog. That defense family of best that family ofe pfas chemicals has been around the 1950s and no administration took them on. We took an action plan that uses all of our offices to deal with this emerging chemical of concern. The action plan outlines more than 20 key focus areas with both short and longterm goals and is the agencys first Longtime ProgramNational Risk and communication plan. Concerning the lead in copper pipes, the Obamabiden Administration claims to have worked on it for eight years with nothing to show. They even had a wakeup call flint, michigan in 2014, but still did nothing. We will finalize our copper rule in the next several weeks which will call for the testing of lead in all schools and day care centers. Indelivered a final rule april 2019 strengthening asbestos regulations for the first time in over 30 years. Closed a dangerous loophole that could have allowed contaminated floor tiles, Building Materials and installation to return to the u. S. Marketplace without going review. Epa we have completely eliminated the backlog of epa actions on the states list of impaired waters, marking the first time in a decade that the backlog has been eliminated. Since 2017, the epa has approved more than 7000 deals to restore polluted waters, in 25 increase from the preceding three and a half years. The backlog of actions on state deals has fallen dramatically from over 100 in 2017, to just a single state priority one in july of this year, more than a 99 decrease in the backlog. We are doing so while proving a higher percentage of state Water Quality standards than at any point during the last administration yet. Despite i was significant administrations to update water standards, some states are actively trying to derail one of the most successful what are some partnerships by bringing a frivolous lawsuit over the bay. Peake the progress in restoring the Chesapeake Bay in the past decade is evidence of how strong partnerships with states can create better environmental outcomes. So it is unfortunate that some downstream states choose politics over progress in an Election Year and sue the epa over a position actually developed by the Obama Administration a few years ago. Note, we areitive supporting American Energy by reducing the underground injection control or uic class ii permit backlog by 7 since the previous since the begine administration. We cut the wait time for a permit to less than 150 days down from the average of 500 days in the past. In january of 2017, the backlog of new chemicals under review have grown to over 500. As of today, the number of chemicals under review for over 90 days is less than 200. The agency has completed over 2900 new chemical submissions since the beginning of this administration. When it comes to enforcement, we have reversed the decline in the epa criminal program that began in 2011 by bringing on new agents. 2019, the number of new criminal cases opened increased for the arst time since 2013, with 48 increase since 2017, and the ofber of new criminal cases potential environmental crimes opened by the epa. It turns out delivering for American Communities also means there are things we are not doing. We are not with amazing enforcement, we are using it for social engine or using it for social engineering. We are simply using our enforcement and compliance tools to solve environmental problems like protecting drinking water, reducing lead exposure and revitalizing communities. These accomplishments could not have happened without the hard work of our career employees. By implementing the lane Management System across the agency in 2017, we freed up many of the bureaucratic obstacles that have plagued the agency for so long. This is a lot of information and detail, but it is only by being honest about the past that we can ensure for a Better Future for the communities in this country that have been left behind. Because it goes without saying that america is a nation made up of communities, and communities are the foundation of our nation, not the other way around. This is an issue at the core of our countrys fight for Environmental Justice. After my speech at the nixon library, i was criticized by the press over our Environmental Justice record. The Trump Administration who done more to elevate environment of justice than any president since george h. W. Bush program. He first week elevated Environmental Justice out of the Enforcement Office and into the administrators office. Being stuck in enforcement regulated Environmental Justice to be considered after the fact is said about the beginning of our policies. Second, the Opportunity Zone tax credits created by the Tax Reform Act of 2017 that has done more to help environmental communities within burma to problems than all the grants of years. T many past, americas Water Infrastructure act signed into law by President Trump in 2018, codified to the office of averment of justice within the epa for the first time. We have been incorporating Environmental Justice through our Program Offices and improving communities at a pace not seen before. Lets look at our super fan sites that superfund sites. In north lets look at superfund sites. In northumberland him, alabama alabama, wemingham, have cleaned up 840 properties and removed 60,000 tons of material contaminated with lead, arsenic and other heavy metals from that community. At the site in east chicago, indiana, we have cleaned up 671 Residential Properties and removed contaminated soil from 95 of the calumet neighborhood, allowing the city to develop lots. At the Southside Chattanooga lead site intimacy, we have cleaned up lead contamination in eight historically black and low income residential neighborhoods, parks, schools, playgrounds and daycares, and added the site to the National Party list. In colorado, the epa accelerated the cleanup of 1900 Residential Commercial properties polluted with lead and arsenic by a smelter closed almost a century ago. The decision accelerated the cleanup completion by almost seven years. Georgia, in only two short years since a doctoral student raised awareness of lead levels in the citys westside neighborhood, the epa hazard to removed contaminated soil from over 140 properties. When i visited the site last year, i got to see firsthand the work of the epa was doing to get sampling and cleanup underway to protect the health and safety of those living in the English Avenue communities, which are among the citys poorest. On water with the government to justice our Region Office worked to help the poorest communities in puerto rico recover from the devastating hurricanes. Of 2017 by partnering with ngos, we helped provide solar panels and Battery Storage for Water Systems, allowing them to continue to provide water during power outages. Rule,ur lead and copper we focus attention on ways to ensure the worst contaminated types are not the last pipes are not the last miles replaced because everyone regardless of zip code deserves safe drinking water. It was soair quality, frustrating to see previous administrations not focus on this. Since 2017, we have taken action sips, designated 54 nonattainment areas, and we believe another 25 areas can be designated by 2022. Areas that have regained attainment include annapolis, chicago and tampa regained attainment for lead in 2018, and st. Louis in cleveland for particular it matter, in 2019. Meeting these standards are text people from asthma, heart and lung disease, heart attacks, behavior and learning problems, and a whole host of other health issues. If we want to help communities in the future, we have to recognize where we made mistakes in the past. It goes without saying that neglect is a form of harm. It is not fair to act in ways that harm Communities Just because they dont have enough political power to stop the neglect. What we should be striving for in the epa in coming years is a Community Driven environmentalism that promotes community revitalization. This will do more for Environmental Justice done all the rhetoric in political all thes than rhetoric in political campaigns i want to conserve the environment for future generations, but i also want more recognition and attention put towards areas in the country that still need our help 50 years after the epas creation. Our environment in the u. S. Taken as a whole is much cleaner than other great powers and cleaner than most of the rich, industrialized economies around the world. But we are at an Inflection Point in the direction were going as