Yesterday, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a confirmation hearing for Michael Regan, President Biden’s nominee for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator.
Michael Regan has been serving as Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality since January 2017. Previously, he worked at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), and also worked at the EPA for Presidents Clinton and Bush 43.
“President Biden has said confronting climate change presents an unprecedented economic and jobs opportunity,” he said in his opening statement. “In North Carolina, we seized that opportunity, partnered with private sectors to provide opportunities and regulatory certainty and harnessing our strength in manufacturing, innovation, and research, which has resulted in the creation of tens of thousands of new jobs.”
As anticipated, there was a lot of discussion about the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), with some Senators vocalizing the need for small refinery waivers, and Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) raising the importance of the RFS and biofuels in addressing climate change and the rural economy.
“You have my commitment that we will take a look at the RFS program and we will introduce some transparency into that program,” said Regan. “We will let science lead us and we will follow the letter of the law as it was intended for that program.”
“President Biden has not been shy that agriculture will have a seat at the table as we tackle climate, and he's been specifically focused on biofuels and advanced biofuels,” Regan added.
When asked whether he would “clear the backlog” of biofuel pathway applications, he said, “I will spend some time with our staff taking a look at this backlog and working on processes of efficiency so that we can make up for lost time.”
Learn more about biofuel pathways and facility registrations.
When asked about the regulatory approach to innovation by Senator Mike Braun (R-IN), Regan said regulations must be “flexible enough to allow for innovation. We can't achieve our goals without a very strong public-private partnership. And we know that our private partnerships are really on the cusp and drive the markets.”
BIO signed a letter expressing support for Regan’s confirmation—read it here.
More Agriculture and Environment News:
The New York Times: Two Biden priorities, climate and inequality, meet on Black-owned farms
“The administration has pledged to make agriculture a cornerstone of its plan to fight warming, but also to tackle a legacy of discrimination that has pushed Black farmers off the land.”