The administrator of the United StatesEnvironmental Protection agency andrew wheeler, this marks the Fiftieth Anniversary of president nixons creation of the epa. The epas work he paralyzes the challenges of modern administration, challenges of expertise and democrat accountability, regulatory responses, rules of law, government power and conservation and innovation, discuss the epas mission, its record in the road ahead, opening remarks and have some questions. You can have questions on the event page and our youtube page. By email to elaine. Alan. Epa. Org. Welcome. Thank you for inviting me to be here today. I provide reflections of the past 50 years of the Environmental Protection agency and layout plans for its future. Today i would like to explain based on what we accomplished over the last few years. It is incontrovertible that today the environment is in better shape under donald trump and we found it. Since 2017 air pollution has fallen 7 . Last year epa delisted 27 sites, the most in a single year since 2001. And 27 sites this year. And clean Water Infrastructure supporting 7100 high priority projects, 27,000 jobs under Donald Trumps first term. The trump epa recovered more criminal and Civil Penalties for enforcement in our first term than the Obama Biden Administration did in their first term. These successes are a big deal. Great news in terms of Americans Health and wellbeing, most great news, you rarely read about it in newspapers or watch on news channels. The news media purposefully under reports good news from the administration. The civil action, the Trump Administration collected more in civil and communal penalties in the Obama Biden Administration in its first term, they reported this fact because it doesnt fit the press narrative. A big deal was made when donald trump left the Paris Climate Accord which would have treated the us economy unfairly yet the us has seen a 15 reduction in energyrelated Carbon Dioxide emissions since 2005. During this time the us cut its Greenhouse Gas emissions more than britain, france, germany, italy and canada combined. China meanwhile has increased theiry by 50 since 2005. The Trump Administration and its first term has taken four concrete actions to reduce Greenhouse Gases. First the Affordable Clean Energy rules which will cut overall Carbon Emissions from the Us Power Sector by 34 , 2005 levels by 2030. Our safer vehicles rule, and allowed countries to d5 purchasing credits related to actions that didnt impact emissions or paying fines. We proposed a new rule for aircraft that represents the first time the us ever adopted emission standards for aviation and the new rules make it easier and less expensive for natural gas companies, and natural gas infrastructure. As john adams said facts are stubborn things can at whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations dictate our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence. There is a lot of evidence during the Previous Administration especially in its second term, overweening focus on Climate Change took the form of virtue signaling and foreign capitals, it the expense of running the agency and ensuring an environment for all americans, aside from their attempt at the United States will they solely focused on Climate Change at the expense of other environmental indicators. Weve done more in the first four years of the Trump Administration to improve the environment than any administration except the first years of epa. The Trump Administration e penalized, on the epa to protect human health and the environment. We finalize eight major rulemakings before the end of this term. The Affordable Clean Energy rule, the safe rule, the first assistance, ccr and dlg rules, the ozone act, primary by the end of this year. All these regulations improve the environment. The largest backlog of unfinished Agency Business in our history. During the final four years of the Obama Administration an enormous backlog of all kinds was built up. At the beginning of this administration we inherited a backlog of 700 state of limitation plans under the clean air act. Weve taken action on 500, states and cities need to improve so focus on cleaning up their environment. Environmental work will not be getting done and approval can help reduce air pollution when cities and counties, companies remove their facilities rather than wait for air quality levels, in detroit, chicago and cleveland in 70s, 80s and 90s with the inability to get permits. The backlog of shifts has been one of the invisible but real causes for Environmental Justice over the past several decades. Any location out a attainment cannot make it back into attainment unless they were first broadcast and carried out. Many of these plan set for years in limbo, either approved nor rejected for a variety of reasons including deficient and could not be approved, but improving or disapproving these plans or prior administrations, just let them sit sometime for decades. We discovered applications filed in the 1990s, in places like san joaquin valley, california and arizona. In wyoming in 1987, we discovered unprocessed from october of 197545 years ago. Conserving Water Pollution the backlog of the national discharge illumination system and permits, and 32 in 2017. Too Many Americans near superfund sites. And the major focus of the Trump Administration, the first few years of office, a partial deletion of 55 sites in the npr. 27 last year the most in a single year since 2001. The 27 sites last year, 14 sites were on the list since the 1980s, is the 1990s. And and and the first term 282 sites. It is worth repeating, the Trump Administration in his first four years matched the amount of superfund sites by the Obama Administration in eight years of office. They were on mpl for more than 30 years. Fool partial deletion of the site, if the site is appropriate, it can be freed of a superfund site. The most polluted and hazardous sites, and the important emission was given by congress. When we clean up and return some to these communities were approved use, epa is strengthening our country where it needs to be strongest. There are many other examples about working down this backlog. The family of chemicals has been around since the 1950s and now administration ever took them on. They took an action plan that uses all Program Offices to deal with emerging chemical concerns. The action plan outlines 20 key focus areas for short and longterm goals, National Research and Risk Communication plan. And in flint michigan, the next several weeks, the testing of land, all schools in daycare centers. A final rule in april of 2019 strengthening as best us regulations for the first time in 30 years. This rule closed a dangerous loophole that could have allowed insulation to return to the us marketplace with epa review. We completely eliminating the backlog on the states list of impaired waters marking the first time in a decade this backlog, january 2017 epa approved 7000 total maximum daily load plans to restore polluted waters, 25 increase, the backlog of actions has fallen dramatically from 100 in 2017 to just a single state priority in july of this year. At 90 decrease in the backlog and doing so while proving a higher percentage of state Water Quality standards than at any point in the last administration. Yet despite significant efforts to update water standards some states are trying to derail one of the nations most successful watershed partnerships. In the chesapeake bays tmd ls. Historic project, the past decades is evidence of how strong partnerships with states can create better environmental outcomes. Downstream states choose politics over progress in an Election Year and sue epa over a position developed by the Obama Administration a few years ago on a more positive note we are supporting American Energy by reducing the underground injection control or class 2 permit backlog by 70 since the beginning of the administration. We cut the length of time for permits to less than 150 days down from the average of 500 days in the past. January of 2017 the backlog of new chemicals under review for 90 days had grown to 500. As of today the number of chemicals epa has rendered for review it is less than 200, 60 decrease in the agency is considered 2900 new chemical submission since the beginning of this administration and when it comes to enforcement we have reversed the decline in the epa criminal program that began in 2011 by being bringing new agents. 2019, the number of new criminal cases increased for the First Time Since 2017 with a 40 increase since 2017 with the number of new criminal cases of potential environmental crimes offered by epa and it turns out delivering for American Communities also means there are things we are not doing. We are not recognizing enforcement, were using it for social engineering. We are simply using our enforcement tools to solve environmental problems like protecting drinking water, lead exposure, revitalizing communities and these accomplishments could not have happened with all the hard work of career employees. By imprinting the Management System across the agency in 2017 we freed up many of the bureaucratic obstacles that plagued this agency for so long. This is a lot of information and detail but only by being honest about the past can we ensure a Better Future for the communities in this country that have been left behind because it goes without saying america is a nation made of communities and communities are the foundation of the nation and 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 some in the press on our Environmental Justice record. The Trump Administration has done more to elevate Environmental Justice than any president since george w. Bush created the program. First we elevated Environmental Justice out of the Enforcement Office to the administrators office, being stuck in enforcement relegated Environmental Justice to be considered afterthefact instead of at the beginning of our policies and rulemakings. The opportunity for tax credits created by the trump tax reform in 2017 is done more to help Environmental Justice communities with environmental problems and all the grants of the past few years. Third americas Water Infrastructure act which was signed into law by donald trump in 2018 codified the office of Environmental Justice for the first time. We are putting this through our Program Offices and improving communities at a pace not seen before. Look at our superfund sites, in birmingham, alabama, the bombings in 1963 that killed four girls and set the fifteenth street baptist church, we cleaned up 480 properties, 460,000 tons emanated with lead, arsenic and other heavy metals from that community. The uss website in east chicago, we cleaned up 671 Residential Properties and removed contaminated soil from 95 are allowing the city to redevelop. Lead contamination and eight historically black low income residential neighborhoods, playgrounds and day cares and added the site to the National Priority list. Colorados low income, and residential and commercial, almost a century ago. The cleanup and completion by 7 years, atlanta, georgia in four years, a raised awareness of lead levels in westside neighborhoods. When i visited the site you got to see firsthand the work epa was doing to protect the health and safety of those living in the English Avenue and city communities which are among the cities of course, with Environmental Justice worked to help 200 of the poorest communities, with devastating hurricanes of 2017. Partnering with ngos and Battery Storage allowing them to continue to provide water during power outages. With the lead and copper rule, and what was replaced in the last 30 years. Everyone regarding this resolves safe drinking water. Regarding her quality, from locations from nonattainment to attainment status helps inner cities, to see Previous Administrations not focus on this. We have taken action over 1206 new and backlogged, we redesignated 54 nonattainment areas during this time. Another 25 can be redesignated by 2022. Areas that regain their attainment include indianapolis, reentered attainment for sulfur dioxide in may of this year, regained attainment in 2017, and a particular matter in 2019. Meeting these standards protect people from asthma, heart and lung disease, other health issues. We need to recognize this in the past. A form of harm is neglect, it is not fair to act in ways that enough political power to stop the neglect. What we should be striving for, and environmentalism that promote community revitalization. To all the rhetoric and political campaigns. What we have in the United States in terms of the environment is unique and i want to conserve it for future generations. And they need our help. Our environment in the United States taken as a whole, this is cleaner than most, and the regarding environment protection. I have a clear vision for epa. The communities and citizens of the United States. He selected a good slogan, progress for a stronger future. I was in st. Louis talking with a leader. It hurt church finances, and strengthening the foundation of communities. I am reminded of Something Else tocqueville wrote two centuries ago, the health of the Democratic Society measured by quality of functions performed by private citizens. Focusing on communities, with environmental laws with local governments, to help themselves, the best way to improve the quality of the environment for physical and spiritual across the nation. This will take some time to redirect not just Human Resources but emotional resources because in some ways it is heartbreaking for pollution to continue to suffer and abandon what other places prosper. If you want to know the proper role for the administrator state in the 21st century this is it. I believe focusing epa towards communities, it living in this country have been left behind simply for living in different places. As i said several times in the past everyone deserves to have a Clean Environment regardless of where they live. We have work that has been neglected for years, we will do it within durability that, stand future environmental challenges the nation will face. Even those we cannot now imagine or anticipate. If we can do the work before us, the root of so many perverse environmental outcomes in this country we can protect the places we love and bring back those hurt by fruition. I thank you for the invitation to speak today. And the more current issues. And we focus on, a superfund has been a problem, the administration superfund to remedy some of these harms. Why has it been such a difficult program to administer and why was it so successful in turning around. Focusing on the results. The program the fortieth anniversary this year. Over 40 years, focusing on measuring activities, focusing on getting those sites, the next in speech i was attacked by former epa staff, one of the career staff, the number of superfund constructions declined under our administration. That is an activity not related to the result. GroundWater Pollution, we install trump, pump and treat system at the site. We install the equipment when installed, that was an instruction completion. The equipment operates for years, sometimes decades, all the water has been treated, cleaned up. In the past, critics reporting to a meaningless statistic. They would not necessarily go down. They made the case for me, focused on an outdated activity that is not a measure of the success of the program by cleaning up the results. Yo