The President’s pick to lead the EPA
Michael Regan is the current head of the North Carolina Department of Environment. A Senate committee questioned him Wednesday afternoon on controversial issues like WOTUS.
He said that farmers should have a fighting chance in this economy and we do not need to sacrifice water quality in the process. When pressed on the Renewable Fuel Standard, Regan said that he would work with lawmakers and the EPA’s legal council to decide where to go after numerous court rulings.
“You have my commitment that we will take a look at the RFS program and we will introduce some transparency into that program,” Regan stated. “We will let science lead us and we will follow the letter of the law as it was intended for that program.”
Regan said that under his leadership, the agency will make decisions based on science, and he will address environmental injustice in low-income and minority communities.
The Senate introduced a bill that would require the EPA to update its greenhouse gas modeling.
The sponsors, John Thune of South Dakota and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, say that it will more accurately represent the emission reductions achieved from using biofuels.
Growth Energy supports the measure citing a recent study showing emissions from corn ethanol are lower than earlier thought, and are 46 percent lower than emissions from gasoline.
