Which are used to sequester carbon dioxide. While we support wyomings protecting their Natural Resources and environment and we encourage other states to follow their to implement and enforce this Important Program under the Safe Drinking Water act. You. Ank carper. Senator carper mr. Chairman, delaware is right in he middle of a lot of busy corridor in the northeast. A lot of people live in the northeast. Heres a lot of traffic in the northeast. I95, 295. Through myomes right state. 80 of the pollution, particularly northern delaware, comes from sources outside of state. Generated by sources outside of our state. Fortunate of being downwind from a lot of the comes to that delaware. It keeps us out of compliance some of the area pollution, clean air requirements, that others are able to meet because places like wyoming and oklahoma where they dont have all those millions of cars coming ks and advance through there every month. Of e happens to be a couple coal fired plants. Three in pennsylvania. One in west virginia. The airw pollution into that, guess where it blows . State. S in my helps keeps us out of compliance with clean air requirements. Court. Gone to weve asked the courts to say asically these four polluting plants, you cant turn off ou cannot turn off your pollution prevention, your pollution controls. And the courts have basically and said, d. C. Circuit appeals ruled this week and said they have to keep their ollution control equipment operating so states like mine dont drown in pollution from other places. Can appeal that to. Sion if they choose administrator wheeler, i ask you not appeal that decision. Appealed. Urt has if theres ever a true example of the golden rule, treating way you want to be treated, i think this is it. Your assurances repeal the d. C. Circuit court of appeals . Toinistrator wheeler i want reserve judgment until the office and office of general counsel carper in that case, we ook forward to hearing from you. Administrator wheeler, people may have greater covid19 risks like we saw with the sars coronavirus is having a far serious impact on lower income and minority also often which experience more air and water pollution. While e. P. A. Has used funding provided in the cares act to study disinfectants and detectedovid19 can be in waste water, its clear there is much to be learned about this impact on its americans. Y first question, mr. Wheeler, would you commit to reallocate unused e. P. A. Funds to study exposure to air pollution causes people with outcomes o have worse or more difficult recoveries or o be more susceptible to other diseases once they have recovered, could you commit to doing that, please . Wheeler we are remember looking at those research areas. Lot of people are researching that now. The harvard study you mentioned, although the harvard study has a and problems es that senator barrasso mentioned. The staff tudy in report you issued early carper we have five minutes. We have votes coming up in 30 minutes. Ill ask you to answer my record. For the i mr. Chairman, i want to ask unanimous consent to add all the studies, some of which most of which actually have been peer my staff report if i nced for the record, could ask unanimous consent. Without objection. Wheeler, rper mr. Probably my last question, given the time constraint. With us for 19 is many months, probably for years, vaccine if Rapid Development efforts are successful, you observe that some of the early studies pollution and covid19 have not been peer reviewed. For Disease Control says people with diabetes and Heart Disease may be at higher illness from us covid19. Got a couple since i dont have much time ill make or no questions, if we could. He first one, administrator wheeler, do you agree e. P. A. s own work has demonstrated there exposurer link between o air pollution in higher inciden incidents in diabetes and Heart Disease, do you agree with that . Administrator wheeler i believe thats true. Carper another one and done. m yes or no if the link between exposure and covid risk, ill you commit to ensuring these Health Effects and risks are factored into all of the pollution ture air rulemaking as well as its Environmental Justice efforts . Factortrator wheeler we diseases such as that into all f our rule makings already and we factor that into our environmental programs. Study european study that your staff referenced was a 2005 study which is actually out of date. Were not sure the validity of that as far as covid is concerned. Carper let me close with this. If the link is establish, will it into future air rules and e. P. A. Activities or not . You stop writing rules that make things worse, not better . Dministrator wheeler all our rules make things better, sir. Enator carper mr. Chairman, i hink i ask for my unanimous consent. Thank you, senator carper. A few weeks after releasing their research, the authors of he harvard study have already had to revise their findings instead of focusing on unproven recommend they rely on what the c. D. C. Tells us that proximity matters. I think we should evaluate how Public Transit has spread. Ted to the as the New York Times as times it drained the subway of more than 90 of its riders, nearly 100 workers and sickened thousands more. So i ask unanimous consent to enter this article in the record, without objection. We will do so. Senator inhofe. Inhofe thank you, mr. Chairman. First of all, i think that was best Opening Statements ive heard. That to the administrator we really need to hear the truth. E need to get it into the record. And i have to share something with my fellow senators here. Confirmed, andrew, was a verythat there large meeting of all of the of the s, i think all employees of the e. P. A. Were invited. You didnt even know it but i was there because i wanted to watch. I wanted to see the reaction of people. To see the ones who realize that sure, andrew wheeler, some of them may disagree with your philosophy in different reas but no one would say youre not the most knowledgeable person, theres no one who is more knowledgeable you who has ever crossed nto that administrators position. And i watched the expression on the faces. We could see there was in way of saying it, there is room at the top, that you started your career with the every and you have taken position and you exceeded and top. E come to the that was very heartwarming thing, not just because you for 14 years, but because you they all knew fact room at in the top. Then, we in your statement, i very good job a showing what we have done for the environment, for the quality of life. For people to try to say that is not the case, they dont have the facts. Whats look and we see happened since i could go in there and talk about some of the things. Covered very ere well by the chairman. All pollutants have decreased. One of them ive often talked is in the year 2017 in administration, all of it in this administration, the world in tes led the reductions. Ns this is an incredible feat and i am proud of you. Of help. Lot i think your first top person r. J. , and we dont need to talk about him anymore because hes not there. Do have someone else in mandy. Can tell you that you didnt do all this stuff alone. Help. D a lot of she was a skilled attorney. Was active in the Previous Administration. And i am real proud. Here. Shes i want to say to you, mandy, youre doing a great job and what a great team were looking and were very proud of you. Wo things i was going to bring p, one very effectively the 10th circuit in what has happened on small refiners. Concern that i have in my state of oklahoma. Serious a real problem. Hasnt been mentioned is the undergone try has problems that are unprecedented. We do know right now saudi and russia are trying to put us out of that business very clearly. And ive even suggested to go as as tariffs talking to the commerce. Of and Something Like that needs to be done. But then when you talk about the and the problems that theyre having, i think you nswered the question very well that our chairman asked about that. And i appreciate the fact that very effectively discredit the report that we have heard over and over again. What id like to do in keeping with the time, nothing far about the o obamaera fuel economy standards. Was happening t at that time, and id like to the safe ook at vehicle rule and specifically rule in terms of vehicle n terms of price tags, in terms of passenger safety in the time, would you do that . Administrator wheeler absolutely, sir. First, theres a lot of there. Rmation out ur safe rule will save more lives than not and thats been shown in our joint analysis with nhtsa. Also help produce automobiles that americans want to purchase. We have seenoblems is the average age of cars on the road is increasing. 8yearold cars. Today its 12yearold cars. Lder cars are inherently less safe and worse for the environment. Proposed we have increasing each year, 1. 5 fuel efficiency. The Obama Administration did have a higher percentage but ompanies were not complying with that. They were unable. In 2016, only four companies comply. E to in 2017, only three without or payto cash in credits fees or penalties to the treasury. Those fees and penalties were to reach over 1 billion. Thats 1 billion that would have been passed onto the in higher prices of cars. So our regulation will save it will reduce co2 over the long term and it will allow other Automobile Companies around the world to produce cars that americans want purchase. Senator inhofe thank you. You, r barrasso thank senator inhalf. Senator cardin. Cardin thank you senator cardin thank you. Sorry i cant be in the Committee Room personally. With my friend, senator inhofe, in terms of cafe standards. Cafe standards, clean air, and americanthe way to get manufacturers doing the ecessary work to stay ahead of the curve. m disappointed by the trump standards. Ions cafe mydiscernible] i want to use time [indiscernible] strong bipartisan support in the of the United States indiscernible] higher levels than the current amount through process, 12 ion million. [indiscernible] theres strong bipartisan support. Ou talked this is a program that they dont set the rules for. [indiscernible] and the plan was certain states to achieve le] or bjectives and based on [indiscernible] my concern is we wont have to ou and forcingernible] hat the states say they can do [indiscernible] they were able to do. An you just assure me that the e. P. A. Has certain certain [indiscernible] comply with the clean water act that to states have tried [indiscernible] and that you to [indiscernible] standards. What is your position . Dministrator wheeler senator, thank you for asking me this. There is misinformation out there. Here has been a lot of misinformation out there [laughter] over the last few months. Working with all the states to make sure they are mplementing their 2025 targets under the tmdl. The tmdl, as the Obama Administration argued to the court, is not legally enforceable. That does not mean we dont work sure he states to make they are meeting their obligations. Whips thathe phase 3 were filed last year and that e. P. A. Reviewed, five states going are currently not shown to meet their 2025. Tions by pennsylvania, new york, of course, are two of them, but also maryland is currently not to meet their obligations by 2025 either. But we are working with all of make sure that they meet their obligations by 2025. E Just Announced on the new fundi funding we received from congress, we Just Announced this million of the 12 million is going to go to nitrogen reductions in the states. Large percentage of that is going to pennsylvania because, quite frankly, they have one of nitrogenst problems on loading into the Chesapeake Bay. So were trying to use the funds in order to address the biggest roblems where theyre occurring. I am i was very surprised to Chesapeake Bay foundation and the attorney generals, at least for maryland nd virginia, announced theyre going to sue the e. P. A. Over this. My e. P. A. Staff over the last put in 22,000 hours of to the l assistance states in order to help comply with the whips. Sure. Senator cardin thats very and you need to do that. Enforcement saying [indiscernible] the concern is, will you at the end of the day agreements . E administrator wheeler again, sir, as the Obama Administration argued to the Supreme Court, the tmdl is not legally enforceable but we can use our permit we orities and we are and have and we will continue to do so. And thats under the mpds make sure the states are going to be able to achieve their targets by 2025. So. Ill continue to do the comments that spurred all this was back in a january meeting with one of my career a Public Meeting where his comments were taken out of context, which was tmdl issue. The it does not mean we dont have other authorities. Those inue to use authorities through our permitting process to make sure all the states meet their weretions but, again, if going to first of all, nobody has failed to meet their they wont until 2025 so these lawsuits are premature at best. Pull staff off providing Technical Assistance states in order to answer these, quite frankly, to olous lawsuits is going detract from getting our work done on cleaning up the bay. Cardin my last point you are [indiscernible] accountable. Tates administrator wheeler were working with the department. Theyre behind as well. They have five permits that they to issue in 2018. Those havent been issued yet. Were working with them. I would hope the maryland a. G. Will decide to his department of Environmental Quality instead of pursuing a frivolous lawsuit. Senator barrasso thank you, senator cardin. Senator capito. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, administrator and er, for your hard work your testimony today. I appreciate a year ago we were down in mendon, west virginia, site and i know you continued to do Soil Sampling there. Put on tand its been hold because of the covid response. An you just give me a quick update on that, where you are . Administrator wheeler certainly. Continuing to work on all of our superfund sites around the country. There are some sampling that we right now. Do as far as having employees go out physically in the field. That doesnt mean were not cleaning up the site. A high n, thats priority. I intend to visit the Mendon Community again. Ts a community that was forgotten for years and its forgotten no more. Senator capito thank you. That. Eciate i know that will be welcome to mendon. S in quickly, on the pfos, its i am very interested in. You and i talked a lot about years. E last several im pleased that e. P. A. Has moved forward on the language hat senator cardin senator carper and i worked on with enator gillibrand that you dded 175 pfos chemicals to the toxic release inventory. Thank you for that. Providing more information not but individuals nd help folks in those communities. Looking forward, what can we of thefor a finalization foa pfo fo s p s p foia. Deadline . Eet the where are you on this critical issue . Wheeler we continue to work through the process as laid out by the safe water act. Reg nt forward in our determination i believe published february. S far as meeting a oneyear deadline, i dont believe the agency can set an m. C. L. On heir own following the Safe Drinking Water act within a year but we are working through the issues. I think its very important to issues. Ough those the main point i want to emphasize, while were doing all the m. C. L. Standard setting, and the rate of determination we made or is were continuing to enforce cleanups around the country. Enforced 12 cleanups and local ted states governments with another two dozen. With the problem around the country we are going after it aggressively to make everyone has Safe Drinking Water. Senator capito thats a problem many of us, especially around military bases. We worked with the d. O. D. On this. Just want to tell you to expect from me a very aggressive veryre on this because im passionate about this particular issue when it comes to Safe Drinking Water. E. P. A. To be as quick and as thorough as possible in this area. Ask ast thing id like to you about id like to ask you two more things. Is on the over the weekend, the e. P. A. Allowed of already ough manufactured wood heaters thats complied with step one. Passed get the bill through this committee and as you know, many people have the wood ave hooters heaters and theyd inventoryll off their before they meet the new standard. You allowed them six months. Passed offered an amendment to allow for a year this sell through. I understand youre catching criticism from others on this. This . Is the status of how do you think this is going to be impacted . Administrator wheeler thank you. Carper referred to them as antiquated wood heaters. The wood heaters meet obama 2015 standards. So were not talking about 20, 30 years are old. Efore that standard it was 1988. Those wood heaters that we allow the sell through for the next six months meet the 2015 obama standards. We increased this, the reason last year we decided people in aking with the wood heated industry, 80 is businesses. They sell off their inventory in the march to may time frame rebates and sales at the end of the winter season. With the closure of all the country, they the were not able to sell that inventory and under their contracts, they have to to buy they have back the wood heaters that are still on the shelves of your depot or Lowes Department stores. They have to buy back the older shelves. On those that could have easily bankrupt a number of small manufacturers. We extended the sell through through november. Thats our proposal. So they can sell those at the beginning of the winter season this coming fall and try to get inventory before they start selling the 2020 i 2020 new heaters. Senator capito i appreciate that. Meeting the theyre standards and thats an important distinction to make. Environment nt were in when were looking to protect Small Businesses and a lot of these wood heaters are in our locally owned Small Businesses in certain areas of people really re enjoy and use this, not just for undamental heated, but for recreational second home creeks things, on the and in the hunting cabins all cross the state of west virginia. So i appreciate you looking out for the Small Business interests. That been trying to do during this covid crisis. I appreciate im fully of what youve done. I could have gone a year. Six months, if that gets the desired result, that sounds good to me. Im going to ask a question on the record on the eighth rule but ive run out of time. Thank you. Senator barrasso thank you, senator capito. Whitehouse. Senator whitehouse let me start remarking that the chairman burdensome protect nible] coal, [indiscernible] i would like to ask about under your watch [indiscernible] administrator wheeler senator, said at catch what you the beginning. On the cafe standards, i did not eet with or discuss with Marathon Oil Company or actually our cafe mpany on standards at all during the process. With them. T discuss ive i believe my hearing told ear, senator markey me that the oil industry was supportive. That was the first time i heard our were supportive of rule. That this was not something ere working this out with nhtsa. We spent a number of years going through all the technical data behind this and this was not done on behalf of any oil company at all. Senator whitehouse [indiscernible] representatives Marathon Petroleum in preparation of your fuel regulation . Administrator wheeler not that did not e of and i discuss that with any of my staff. Aware of. Am not i certainly didnt myself. Do you know house marathon . Ended administrator wheeler well again, i get confused between oil and Marathon Petroleum. The lobbyist and i didnt meet with them for the two years because i was recused of meeting with him. Couple that represent companies. [indiscernible] [inaudible] wheeler i dont keep track who is working for which company. Whitehouse are you aware of ny contact between Marathon Petroleum and the department of [indiscernible] at the department of justice . Administrator wheeler no. Not aware. I wouldnt have knowledge of that. No. You or whitehouse are with of [indiscernible] the e. P. A. With anyone on your [indiscernible] regarding he [indiscernible] Administration Wheeler no, not that i am aware of. Whitehouse marathon at petroleum administrat administrator wheeler sorry. That. T off on enator whitehouse [indiscernible] administrator wheeler i am not aware. Respond on the record. I am not catching your entire question. Again, im sorry, senator. m having a hard time hearing you. Id be happy to answer on the record with regard to Marathon Petroleum. Not met with any oipcal o oil company to talk about cafe standards since i have been at the agency. Staff not talked with my in regards to the cafe standards. Senator whitehouse and you are ot in contact with [indiscernible] administrator wheeler no. I can hear you now. I am not not. Senator whitehouse thats it for now. Questions for the record. Y appreciate you very much. Wheeler i told you i was going to brazil and trashfree programs. Forward to having further discussions with you about that, and we are making a lot of progress on trying to clean up the debris in the oceans. This is one of the rare areas where you and i agree. Mr. Wheeler that is what i wanted to draw it [laughter] to your attention, sir. [laughter] that is why i wanted to draw to your attention, sir. [laughter] sent by pryor administration and it was awarded. In 2017, the alliance of automobile manufacturers sent a letter to the agency. That letter said, if left unchanged, though standards good cost up to 1. 2 could caused could cause up to 1. 2 Million People to lose their homes. Who is next on there . Kramer . Senator cramer . Senator cramer thank you, administrator wheeler. Your Opening Statement was fantastic. I cannot wait to post it. A lot of people would do well to listen to that five minutes of accomplishments this administration under your leadership at the epa, so thank you for that. I am not certain about the but thank will hire, you for being here. With regard i want to thank you for the final waters of the u. S. Rule. That is an important move. he Previous Administrations was burdensome and illegal. Offfact you guys finished one and listened states listened to landowners, and protects their waters in an appropriate way, while protecting the rights of landowners was really important. I thank you for coming up to north dakota meeting a number of them. I want to shift gears and talk get your insights on another issue on the Regional Haze Program. This is important to north dakota and. This is important to north dakota. I brought this up in another hearing. We are major Energy Producing state. The last administration wanted to keep driving emissions down by using the Regional Haze Program without stopping to think about what the program is all about, and that is visibility improvement. Visibility improvement. But the cost of compliance can cause plants to shut down, which seems like an awfully steep price to pay for visually visual improvements that are unnoticed to the naked human eye. Rule one of the states to meet ambient air qualities prescribed by the epa, but the Previous Administration wasnt about visibility standards. It was about using every tool they could to get after certainly on the clean water act, but the clean air act. They try to utilize regional haze to accomplish some of those goals. In august of last year under your leadership, the epa released final guidance outlining the flexibility that states, recognizing the privacy of states have to comply with the program under the clean air act. I have a few questions. Be aregional haze could potential reason for plant closures. Do you think it was congress goalwith the congress to put generators out of business . Mr. Wheeler no i dont either is a difference between the health based standards versus visibility aesthetic standards. Do you believe the program drive states toward a goal, but does not dictate exactly how states would a tree reasonable progress toward that goal and their state Implementation Plan . Mr. Wheeler the problem we have right now and we have been trying to correct is the Obama Administration issued a number of plans. On the regional haze side, we have changed 15 of those over the last 15 years, which is working more cooperatively with the states. Just to clarify, states have a lot of flexibility in how they show that reasonable progress and they can do that through their fits . Mr. Wheeler that is to my understanding. Can you provide any specific statessof flexibility . Getwheeler i would rather back to you. That is fine. Andnt to encourage you regional ministers to continue these constructive conversations with the north Dakota Department of air quality as they develop their state Implementation Plan. It is one more great example of work andrative we can have, and as you have stated, the goal being better for the environment as well as for the economy. I appreciate that. I will followup with a question on the record related to section 401 from abuses in places Like Washington and new york and what the epa is doing to ensure abuses dont happen in the future. Thank you for being here. Senator merkley . Merkley we will go to senator booker. Last try here, senator van hollen . Ok. [inaudible] ok, senator booker. Booker thank you, mr. Chairman, and mr. Administrator, thank you for being here. Grassroots Small CommunityWater Systems act was passed and signed into law on may 6 of this year. Comeommittee passed a bill Drinking Water infrastructure at, which would reauthorize the grassroots role and Community Water systemsact. Letterpreviously sent a to years ago, almost two years ago, regarding concerns about the Technical Assistance being funded by epa. Mentioned that epa was awarding grants to organizations that are not located near the community seeking help, which resulted in remote assistance. Remote assistance, i am hearing from alberto in my state is simply not adequate. Will you commit to ensuring do you agree that remote desirable, notot optimal, and where you could been to ensuring rural and small communities receive the necessary onsite Technical Assistance they require . Mr. Wheeler we strive to provide the best Technical Assistance we can. Onsite is preferable. I would have to check as far as the funding at this point on what our capabilities are. We try to provide assistance to small Water Systems, and particular, as much as we can. Is. Booker my understanding the program receive 50 million millioncrease of 2. 6 to the amount appropriated in fy 2019. Work with us on that. 2018, americas Water Infrastructure act included a piece of legislation that i authored. Windows congress appropriate wellpoint milliondollar, but epa has not yet requested applications for the funding. When does epa expect to move forward with implementing this legislation so that our small and rural treatment works can receive the Technical Assistance particular,nd in the issuance of applications for this funding . Mr. Wheeler we are working on that as we speak. I believe that was funding we received 42020, so we are working to get that program up and running. Sen. Booker ok. Give to us on that. Get back to us on that. There is an eagerness for action there. Next, when Congress Passed the clean water act monday made it clear that groundwater should not be subject to federal permitting requirements. As a result, states have traditionally taken the lead on regulating groundwater. However, the Supreme Court recently issued a ruling in the versus the Hawaii Wildlife Fund that could change this. How can you ensure that the traditional role of states be preserved in regulating groundwater . Mr. Wheeler we are still reviewing the decision from the maui case, trying to determine if we need to issue new guidance for potential rulemakings. But we have not reached any conclusions on the best way of implementing the maui decision at this point. Senator booker what is your initial impression there, mr. Administrator . Mr. Wheeler i am always hesitant to say anything critical of the courts. Provided a new test in the decision that will be a little difficult. We are hoping for more clearcut direction, but we are reviewing the decision to see what flexibilities we do have to make sure the program can operate. Sen. Booker finally, if i can the consolidation appropriation act of 2020, there is a provision directing your agency to establish clear policies that reflect the Carbon Neutrality of biomass. It is important that epa publish a proposal this year to ensure that u. S. Manufacturing can compete globally. What is the timeline for proposing and finalizing a rule, recognizing the Carbon Neutrality of biomass . Mr. Wheeler our proposal is currently during interagency review, and we hope to publish the proposal in june. Sen. Booker june. Ok. Thank you, and i yield back. Senator merkley . Can you hear me . Loud and clear. Sen. Merkley great. I want to talk about the declaration i want to talk about the exploration of [inaudible] in accordance with the guidance of the ad. [inaudible] in order to up the production [inaudible] i am concerned about whether or efforts isual [inaudible] the epa in its grasp of the asbestos. [inaudible] the third is [inaudible] i am concerned that [inaudible] thank you. First 10ine for the risk evaluations is june 22. I dont know if this will make you feel better or not, but we probably will not meet that deadline as of this point. We are spending more time on the first 10. We want to make sure we get them right. The reviews have taken longer than we had anticipated. The interagency review process has taken longer than we anticipated. I believe we are on track to have two other first 10 done by june, and the remainder by the end of the summer. But we are spending more time on them because we want to make sure we get them correct, and be wanted to make sure we get the process. Ce of the we are taking more time on the process more time on the first 10 chemicals. On asbestos in particular, the legacy use, we are going to do a separate supplemental risk evaluation on the legacy use since we believe for the other uses, we can finalize that this summer. The legacy use will take longer, and that court decision, as you mentioned, just came down last year. So we will not be able to complete the legacy use risk evaluation in time for the rest of the risk evaluation for asbestos this summer. We will be looking at the broader asbestos issues as part of the legacy use Risk Assessment. Sen. Merkley the be specific. Let me be specific. [inaudible] believe we have that covered under our use rule. If that is not the case, sir, i will get back to you on that, and provide followup to you. We were addressing that through our process, which is in tandem with our risk evaluation. Sen. Merkley [inaudible] mr. Wheeler when a chemical under the review process is already being regulated under a different program, we decided early on in setting out the parameters for the risk evaluations, we would not double regulate that. In order to focus the time on the areas of the chemicals that are unregulated at this point. So, while we have started what we are finishing up the first 10, we have started the next 20. We announced those in december, and we are moving forward on the initial Risk Assessment for the next 20. As you know under the new law, we have strict deadlines. We are trying hard to meet those deadlines, and the way to do that is to allow the other programs that are already regulating aspects of these chemicals to continue to regulate them, under the air program, or regulation under the water program. I hope this justice is being properly regulated [inaudible] time hasnators expired and we need to go to a vote. Thank you. A 2019 letter from seven automakers in which they ask the epa not finalize a rule that would lead to more litigation, but instead, negotiate a deal with california 13 other states. Without objection. Andhank you, mr. Chair, administrator wheeler, it is good to see you. Thank you very much. Pandemic, this global no sector has been spared, none at all, and as resilient and as iowasus it might be, grenoble fuel industry is being hit hard, just as oil has lost a man do to people staying home and not traveling as much, so has ethanol. Close to 40 of ethanol production is offline, and these are jobs lost and lives upended across iowa and Rural America, and my farmers rely on these markets and many of the livestock producers rely on the dry distillers and grains for their feed rations. Informedully aware and of the situation facing ethanol producers . How closely does the situation mirror and what is going on in the Petroleum Industry . Mr. Wheeler yes, and before you entered the room, the question as far as the forest fires are concerned, this is hurting the ethanol industry and the small refinery industry. Thank you for recognizing that. One thing that has attracted the attention of the farmers in the biofuel producers in my state is the attempt by some in the Petroleum Sector to blame Renewable Fuels for the recent downturn, turning to the severe economic harm waiver to argue that the rfs is the cause of their recent business troubles, not the covid19 pandemic. Are you familiar with this request . Mr. Wheeler yes, i am familiar with the request. That the rfs idea is the cause of harm to the Petroleum Sector, went it is pandemic,rly covid19 as well as wars between russia and saudi arabia on oil production, this is frustrating to me and to my farmers in iowa. And time and time again, we are seeing these battles play out around the rfs program. It is my hope that epa follows the precedent around this provision, established by both republicans and democrats, those administrations, that this waiver requires clear evidence that the source of economic pain is the rfs and not these other factors. Has epa made a decision on how to handle this waiver request . Mr. Wheeler no, we have not yet. Will you commit that your determination will include precedent from 2008 and 2012 about economic harm . Mr. Wheeler everything we have done under the rfs program during this administration has looked at the past precedent as well as the requirements of the clean air act, and the everchanging litigation decisions that we receive from court decisions. Yes, youe answer is, will look at precedent . Mr. Wheeler yes. Ok. Administrator wheeler, when you and i were in the white house debating those fall debating those small refineries last fall, you made commitments to eliminate ee 15 warning labels and allow you 15 to be sold through existing infrastructure, and likewise as a partner that broader agreement, secretary purdue was to provide funding for rolling out more infrastructure for higher blends of biofuels. Out finalperdue put rules early this month upholding his end of the bargain but i have not seen anything on infrastructure yet from the epa. Since your Agency Approved e15 for all vehicle models year 2001 and nowhere, which is 91 other vehicles on the road today, will you finally eliminate the e15 warning labels as you committed to do eight months ago . Mr. Wheeler if you remember after that meeting in the white house, i believe we did go back and state that my staff reminded me when i got back from the meeting, that i was only looking at the actual pumps, but not the tank underground. So, it is more complicated than what i said in that meeting. And we are looking at the warning labels because it also influences the restrictions on the tank spare you cannot have toduct in line we have make sure those warning labels apply not just to the pumps, but also to the underground tank so we dont want to see any fuel get into the water system. When do you expect to see a resolution with that issue . Withheeler as you know the 10th circuit decision, and the other impacts to the program that has come out over the past few months, the same small group of staff that have been working that were working on that are also working on these other rfs issues as well. We certainly get that we hope to get the debt as quickly as we can. Senator thank you. I appreciate the willingness to work with because, and work with Rural America on the rfs. It is important to epa continued to follow the original, congressional intent of that law. Thank you go administrator wheeler. Senator van hollen . Bennet on thank you sep. Hawley senator van hollen i would like to followup with the Chesapeake Bay. To support the Chesapeake Bay cleanup. We have more confidence in the administrations effort in that matter. Thebudget did not squash epas program for the Chesapeake Bay. We are now finding on a bipartisan basis. The administrations budget once again came in [inaudible] the Chesapeake Bay deadline is 2025. Our states have a longer period of time to come under compliance. , andf a missile were fired we have the ability to intercept it before we knew it was going to land, we would do that. And we know that pennsylvania, in particular, continues on [inaudible] there is no way they could meet the 2025 goal. They are below budget just this year in terms of what is necessary to meet their obligations. [inaudible] i have to disagree on that piece i have touse a disagree with you on that he is good i did hear you say . [inaudible] mr. Wheeler we have a will continue to. As far as the funny question is concerned, we believe the funds we requested for the Chesapeake Bay program is what we need for that program, but we are using other programs in order to meet the goals of cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay. Senator, you were with me when to modernizean baltimores wastewater, and we have invited baltimore to apply for two additional Water Infrastructure plans that will help their obligations for cleaning up the bay. The amount of money were spending on cleaning up the bag is not limited to the Program Funds of the office. We are using a lot of other resources across the board to ensure everyone reaches their compliance guidelines and targets by 2025. Appreciate that that is important [inaudible] [inaudible] that is what were doing with the state of maryland. They are laid on five of their permits. We are using our Permanent Authority to push maryland senator [inaudible] mr. Wheeler i have to disagree because those high permits are included in the maryland that they will complete those of sparta their obligations for the Chesapeake Bay. Marylandss plans plan [inaudible] i want to ask you about the mercury. This is a change you proposed and a rule that went into effect in [inaudible] is that correct . Mr. Wheeler it is. Under that will, number of companies by taking those steps, they reduced mercury . Mr. Wheeler the industry has done an incredible job with reducing mercury and we are happy about that. Our rule wont take away the mercury reductions or the technologies deployed because part of our mercury decision was the residual risk and Technology Review and that was a bootstrap to make sure that the current standards continued to be implemented. We wouldve taken a different approach in 2012. Yes or no . You know the answer is no. No they would not have done that very your suggestion that there will be no reduction in mercury pollution when you are changing ule that didnt fact time hasnators expired. Mr. Wheeler that is offensive, sir. We were following the Supreme Court popped decision. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Good to see you again, administrator wheeler. Said,rst time we met, i spent many years involved in agriculture due to the extent i can and have been a tree farmer, so we also have gotten now a Senate Climate caucus, the first across the threshold as a republican. Have six others on it come along with seven democrats. I think the position you are in more now than ever as such importance. Kids. Four younger generations really believe that we need to do a really protective job of taking care of mother earth, and i think you cited the progress we have made over time. Also, i heard senator worker ask you about biomass and the ruling will be out in june. That is great to hear. Agriculture, according to the letter from the 21 experts said it probably even has more applicability with that same principle. There currently in the epa consideration of a demented mess rule for animal crops similar to you want with trees . We are doing the biomass first. We are looking at the crops. Mr. Wheeler there may be more marginal benefit as you look at it from the crop side of rick from the crop side of things. In lake,iana counties porter, and delaware have returned to compliance with federal air quality standards. The significant environmental achievement is a result of hard work by both the Trump Administration and your agency in the state of of indiana, yett seems to be a story that is rarely highlighted. I am glad that you mentioned earlier the problems that you made, and, like i said, along can you explain how ambient air quality measures have made improvements across the country . Absolutely. We have redesignated 38 , and iinment areas , and this have more is with the states and local governments to make sure they are implemented different procedures and processes to improve the air quality in their. Ommunities as of today, the entire state of florida is in attainment. We have designated communities, in addition to the three mentioned in indiana, a number of communities, and ohio. Along the midwest socalled rust belt. We are working with communities to make sure they are providing clean air and meeting the standards across the word dashboard board. And thank you for raising that, because it is at the state level and also the local government level. There is a lot of work for reaching and maintaining the air quality standards that we have today. You said 38 recently have changed their designation. Yes. How many out there still are at the nonattainment level, roughly . Believe,rted with, i 100 50, nonattainment, around the country, so we are making a lot of progress there. Ok, it would be nice to keep posted on that. Yes. Talking about standards, the 2012 standard was set by the Obama Administration, epa. Can you describe how the agency came to the determination to keep the same standard from the obama era levels . Certainly. Panel that they recommended that we keep the same standard. Theres a number of uncertainties that they believe we need to further investigate before we make any additional changes to the standard, and we will be doing that. Cleanl be meeting the air act sets out a fiveyear standard. The agency has never complied with that. We are on track to do that for the first time this year. The important thing to remember is once the fiveyear review and scum of the next fiveyear review begins the very next day, so for some of the scientific uncertainties that were brought to our attention during this review, we have already started some of the research to answer those questions for the next fiveyour review, and we will start working on that the day after we finalize this one. Sen. Braun thank you. Thank you, senator braun. Senator duckworth. Sen. Duckworth thank you, mr. Chairman. Week [indiscernible] they will eventually have to, but senator, no one is allowed to increase their admissions under our enforcement policy, so the premise of your question is incorrect, and our enforcement staff has been very busy. Open 52rch 15, we have criminal enforcement cases. We have charged 10 defendants, we have concluded 122 Civil Enforcement actions. We have initiated another 115 Civil Enforcement actions. We have secured a 21. 5 Million Dollars in superfund response commitments. We have built more than 20 million in oversight costs. We have attained commitments for parties from cleaning up 68,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil and water all since march 16. No one anywhere in this country is allowed to increase their em issions under our Enforcement Discretion. The Enforcement Discretion policy only goes to routine reporting that they have to comply with, and we had to issue that because we regulate over 1. 1 million facilities across the country, and many of those facilities have been shut down, and they do not have the staff on hand to submit their reports to us. They still have to submit the reports, it is just because of covid19, they have to be late, then they have to cite why they were late when they submit their reports to us, so no one is allowed to increase their emissions. And if they do, as i said, 62 criminal enforcement cases, 122 civil actions since march 16, so no one is off the hook on Environmental Enforcement across this country. Sen. Duckworth [indiscernible] that [indiscernible] comply with the we did not put a deadline on when they have to comply because a lot of these facilities of have any employees at their facilities. We dont have to want to require people to come in to fill out a standard report and some permits require biweekly, monthly, quarterly were asked to be filed with agency and we dont want that to have to, particularly these nonoperating facilities, they are still required to submit reports. If they cannot submit reports on time, they are allowed to submit site coronavirus and report to us. They are not allowed to increase in missions and if they do, we and we willr them continue to. [indiscernible] not that im aware of. All the air monitors are required to be up and running. These are the monitors that the states deployed with the data that comes in from the monitors being automated. You dont have to go out in the field. We have, i believe it was in michigan one of the air monitors triggered magnesium and we sent out the team to take a look to see if the monitor was accurate or not. We are still getting all the data from the network deployed across the country. [inaudible] [indiscernible] be finalized with the ig last week and were no outstanding issues on the roof or we finalized with the ig last week and there were no outstanding issues, no outstanding steps to that or. To that report. Thank you. Senator whitehouse, i understand you have a few additional questions . Just one second. I apologize, senator gillibrand has been waiting patiently. Im going to go to her, and then im going to go to you, senator whitehouse, for your second round of lessening. Thank you, thank you. Statesest hit of all the according to the most official , a Record Number having lost their lives. [inaudible]of color im sorry, im having trouble hearing your question. Umm [indiscernible] your book [inaudible] [no audio] ok, can you hear me better now . Much better, much better. Thank you. The partisanship in a covid19 22,800 [indiscernible] highest death rates have occurred [indiscernible] also the highest rates of hospitalization for a copy of vascular and respiratory due to air pollutants in new york. Of study shows a higher rate covid19 amongst people with chronic diseases like respiratory lung disease and coronary Heart Disease. These people often live down from power plants and industrial , including heavyduty trucks and buses. Its not hard to connect the is not to why covid19 only affecting the poorest communities in new york, it should be clear to anyone paying attention that we are seeing much more than a coincidence. [indiscernible] further weakening protections. The state of new york objected [indiscernible] ,olicies during the emergency so my question is what are the expected Public Health outcomes when it comes to air pollution on populations with higher vulnerabilities to covid19 . First of all, we dont have a thats aement policy, fallacy. The attorney general made a lot of mistakes in the announcement last week, its not a nonenforcement policy. We have opened 52 criminal enforcement cases since march 16. Nd have charged 10 defendants we have concluded 100 and 22 Civil Enforcement activities since march 16. We are very active on the enforcement side and i am proud of our personnel across the country who are still enforcing our environmental statutes. You make a very good point on the heavyduty truck in missions , which is why we are moving forward on heavyduty diesel truck regulations not required under statute or a court order. It is very important because by 2025 it will be the largest source of knox emissions and it does have a disproportionate impact, particularly on inner cities. We believe its important to move forward on new regulations to reduce emissions from heavyduty trucks. I want to point out that we have been working very closely with the new York City Transit authority on longlasting and try antimicrobial coating research. This is not work that i have done was that my political people have done, but our career scientists at the Agency Working handinhand with Transit Authority to make sure that we antimicrobial coatings on the Transit System in new york to protect new york residents as the city begins to reopen and we are working hard on that to see what he can develop. It is probably more long term or mediumterm research but we want to make sure that the people dependent on mass transit in your city and other cities, i want to applaud the new york Transit Authority, they are working handinhand with us and the Important Research we are doing in new york will be able to be used by other communities around the country. Thatsnt it the last year epa denied this, from groundlevel ozone in states upwind from new york . It was required to reduce the emissions from across state lines. In the extraordinary circumstances now, the fact that there is continued exposure to groundlevel ozone that puts more new yorkers at risk, will the epa dropped the session on 126 . Number of different decisions from the courts over the last six months or so. Three that we are working to figure out how to move forward on. On the 126 it impacts not just new york but the other states as well and we have pushed back from those states. At the same time we are working on the 126 petitions and, as senator harper referred to, the Good Neighbor policies. We are working to make sure that all the communities, wherever they are located, including new to reache the tools attainment on their own, meaning we have worked with 38 communities around the country to redesignate them after they met airquality standards and we will continue to work with all new york communities to make her they all have healthy air, regardless of where the communities are. As you mentioned environmental out around oft Environmental Justice grants just a couple of weeks ago to help those communities address covid19. We are working aggressively on that as well. Left,i have any minutes we learned between 2018 and 2019 about [indiscernible]. Epartment of defense im going to ask him to respond in writing to this, you are a couple of minutes, we have a couple of minutes a couple of senators waiting to go. Ok, thank you. Senator markey, you are the thismember to engage at point, i know you havent been patiently waiting. Senator markey, your turn. [inaudible] higher rates of air pollution. Chelsea, chelsea is an Industrial Hub and a vibrant community. It also has some of the highest infection rates in the state. One of the hardest hit communities in massachusetts with a rate of infection that is five times the statewide average. Despite this clear connection andeen air pollution Coronavirus Infection and death, the Trump Administration is waging a full Health Assault on airquality standards during this respiratory pandemic. You have been proposal eyes proposing finalizing different rules and guidance that would increase air pollution. Eight different rule changes. Standards in ae way that would result in 18,500 american deaths. [indiscernible] which your own epa scientists more americansn die each and every year. Underlining mercury standards. Saving 11,000 american lives every year. Here we are, in the middle of a health crisis, attacking peoples lungs. The agency is supposed to be the airquality, but instead you are throwing gasoline on a burning building. I have seen it firsthand in communities like chelsea. Making airquality worse, do you regret doing that . Do not make airquality worse. Cafe will improve air quality and reduce co2 emissions by 1. 5 per year. And those regulations, we are maintaining the obama nex regulations. We are taking comment on that, we have not made a final decision. We took the advice of the Clean Air Science Advisory Committee and the career staff that you referenced, they were divided. We had multiple recommendations on that. The panel specifically recommended that we maintain the obama standard. The mercury standard doesnt allow increase in mercury emissions. The premise there is off. The premise is not off. You should be ashamed, your agency should be ashamed. Your job is to protect the Public Health. Should apologize to the residence of chelsea [indiscernible] and all the communities across this country exposed to this consequence. Apologize to the americans [indiscernible] you have to know that black and brown communities are more likely to breathe the dirty air then white communities. There are certainly some , but there are some that are not brown or black, but every american regardless of where they live in the country deserves to breathe clean air and drink clean water, which is why we are working with communities of all sizes across , under the Trump Administration air pollutants have been decreased over the last three years and we continue to work to decrease air pollution across the board and we have a strong record of decreasing emissions, pollution, and the air today is healthier than what we found it three years ago. Shame on you, mr. Administrator. You should be apologizing to the people of color in our country for what you are doing. Shame on you. You need to apologize. You should do so immediately. Every american is being asked to and you are taking actions that will likely make this pandemic worse. Its unconscionable and history will remember you and the environmental injustice you have perpetrated in the name of the dea epa. As their lungs are being attacked by coronavirus [indiscernible] your facts are not correct. Airquality is cleaner the senators time has expired. The senators time has expired. Thank you very much. I would point out that the United States is a world leader in reducing emissions of fine particulate matter, known as pm 2. 5. The Environmental Health journal published a study entitled implementing u. S. Airquality standards for pm two. 5 worldwide can prevent millions per year. Re deaths a recent study found that the u. S. Reduced its annual particulate matter 2. 5 levels by from 2000 to the year 2018 and we ask unanimous consent to enter the recent report into the record. At this point i would like to turn to senator whitehouse. We have about four minutes remaining. We were going to close at noon, but senator whitehouse, you have a couple of additional questions . Ouro follow up on discussions on petroleum meddling [indiscernible] in the context of the litigation. I take it you have no information on that . Yes, i have no information on that, sir. Take a look into that. I would like to share a bit of history that we have put together. Horner, theistopher argument old philosopher, acknowledge that there was a throughmotion behindthescenes leadership in constructing what he called a ,lippant procedural hurdle incking very closely and 1997 there was a memo to the American Petroleum institute supporting that initiative. It was the socalled secret rule that role the program out. It was an advancement within the for fossil fuel Companies Like chevron, exxon mobil [indiscernible] retainer to 2005 and worked with. Xxon mobil and shall working with the trump hadsition team, molloy discussed the secret science that he had been advancing for 20 years. Proposalconsider this and the motivations of the people behind it, im politically particularly worried about the secrets within all of this [indiscernible] keep private. Losing protection of personal Health Records. In terms ofroblem, coming up with safety , welations for the pandemic will have to build regulations based on the home records of people. Harming our ability to respond to the crisis based on Health Records unless you are willing to throw those into the public in a way that americans would not tolerate. As usual, you packed in a lot of information. I was not aware of the link to the tobacco lobbying of the 90s. Its my understanding that this regulation was proposed before aging joined the agency but my understanding is that a lot of the original proposals were based off of congressman smiths legislation that he introduced i believe a couple of different congresses over the past 10 years or so. We received a lot of comments on the science transparency, the actual name of the regulation. I want to say that we received close to one million comments. We went back out again at my to repropose and take additional comments, because we want to make sure we get this right. We put out another note and comment for this regulation. My goal is to get this right by the end of the day, but there are a number of safeguards in this. The administrator of the agency can allow any study to be used, even if the information is withheld, the data is withheld. As far as the personal the fda works with Science Research all the time where they mask the personal identification data of the , of the subjects of the Science Research and we can do that at epa as well, follow the lead on how they mask individual people referenced in these scientific reports. When i started working there in 1990 one i started working on the community right to know act across the tops and i fundamentally believe the more information you put out to the American Public, the more transparent we are with a basis for regulations, the more acceptance there will be with regulations and the better understood the regulations will be. That is what is guiding me, trying to get as much information as we can up to the public. This is why we went forward with our document of guidance proposal, making sure those are put out there for the public to see. I believe in transparency and that is what is underlying all of my decisions. [indiscernible] playing on the desire for [indiscernible] where wecal play here dont want the public understand , so they putience a mechanism in to drive Health Records to the middle. Senator, your time has expired and we have another member who has arrived for a round of questioning. I want to turn at this point to, thank you, let me first say that i think the epa should be praised for its effort to protect the environment while cutting illconceived economicns that stymie activity and worse in Public Health. In 2012 issued a report cataloging the links between regulatory overreach, worsening foric health, and i ask unanimous consent to enter red tape making senators making the americans sick. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Senatory good friend whitehouse is still watching, i want to compliment him and i want to compliment you, mr. Administrator. I happen to think you are doing a great job. Particularly relative to the, you know, some of your predecessors in the Obama Administration who were, in my view, lawless Public Servants who really, really hurt my state and never listened to my state about anything. We want to protect our environment way more than Gina Mccarthy or these other folks. I just appreciate your work. First again, senator whitehouse, your work on Ocean Cleanup, its great to see that you, the president , u. S. Trade representatives have all made this a high priority and we will continue to press it. Senator whitehouse and my legislation. Crs told us that we could call it the most comprehensive Ocean Cleanup legislation ever to come out of the congress. Unanimously. Ed in january we try to get it to move through the house. Im glad to see that you highlighted it in your report, but can i get your commitment to get it signed into law and put on the president s task . I think they are motivated to do it. Can i get your commitment on that . You have my commitment to work with you on the issues. Issued aure if omb has statement on the legislation or not. Well, you guys drafted the legislation, so hopefully you are good to go with it. Take a look. We did work with the administration on this quite a lot. One thing thats interesting, people always talk about the science. My colleagues on the other side, i work well with them, but they trot out science, the word science sometimes, theres occasionally, we had a great example in alaska during the Obama Administration area federal agency said that the National Petroleum reserve of alaska had no more oil in it. Really . We knew that was a bunch of bunk science, totally politicized. Until this pandemic we were having one of the biggest looms ever because there is so much national resources. Of how much they politicize the science and my state to shut down Resource Development and kill those jobs that are so critical to my economy, but also the u. S. Economy. Mr. Administrator, i want to talk about an issue that you and i highlighted in alaska on your visit. Again, think you for coming, we welcome you to come back again. In the 2016 win act, one of my first bills that was signed into law under president obama and this committee, we had a new program focused on small and disadvantaged Community Water systems. As you know, in alaska we have over 30 communities that have no Running Water or flush toilets. Think about that, america. 30 communities, thousands of patriotic americans. You go to these communities in rural alaska, every person there, every guy there is a veteran. The most patriotic places you have ever been and yet they cant even watch their hands. Cdc says wash your hands frequently . They dont even have Running Water. American citizens. Its a scandal. Drives me crazy. This program was meant to address this. I appreciate your seeing the first and challenges. As we discussed, when the epa implemented this last year, they failed to fully understand the congressional intent, which was very clear, this was meant to focus on communities that actually dont have water and sewer. Unfortunately, my state has a lot of these communities. So, can i get your commitment, i know i got it alaska, but i would like to get it in this hearing, to work with my communities to align the implementation of this legislation with the original intent to make sure the resources, which by the way you may have seen in the bill that we marked up last week, there are additional intentresources for these disadvantaged communities that you can really help us focus on, the implementation of that legislation. It is my understanding that my staff has been working with your staff and we are revamping that program. Ok, i appreciate that commitment. Mr. Chairman, is it ok if i ask one more . Please. Mr. Administrator, i want to commend you on your ability to get rid of excessive regulations and yet continue to keep our air and water clean. You know, we have very pristine air and water in our great state. Some of the most pristine, beautiful environment in the world. As you mentioned, you can do both. I think that what you guys are demonstrating is important. When you say these statistics on the progress we have made on pollutants, particularly 50 years of the epa and existence, how much progress has been made, because when you read the National Media it always sounds like its a disaster on the environment, yet as you highlighted, we are actually making significant progress. Again, democrats, republicans. But people need to know that. Whether it is Greenhouse Gas omissions, lead or particulates. Just two quick final questions. You know we did the roundtable in fairbanks on the 2. 5 issue. I would like to get an update from you on that. Its an important issue for my community. Continuing to work continuing the work that we need from the epa on the big issue of wetlands. The reason i raise that, as you know, mr. Administrator, alaska is currently home to 63 of the andon jurisdictional waters 65 of wetlands. One state. When the epa comes and tries to regulate everything, like they did in the Obama Administration, it shuts down the entire state because we take a gigantic burden for the country on these issues. I was pleased that you worked on the usurpation of the congressional authority. Your commitment to continue to work with my state on innovative ways to address these mitigation issues that are unfairly burden some to one state in the nation, the one that has so much of the nations wetlands and yet there is very little recognition of that. I think you are starting to do that, but innovative ways to work on mitigation that take into account what one state has essentially done to carry the load for much of the country on this. So, those two questions. On your first question, we continue to work with your and we want to make sure that alaska and said clean but that it doesnt disproportionately impact your industry and the promise that you have with the unique air bowl, you basically have in that community. Tus,he wilderness wok waters of the u. S. , for the First Time Ever in drafting regulation we acknowledged the. Ole of the state not protectedits under different state rules. I believe that this is a sea change, pardon the metaphor, in the way that we are working with in protecting their. Wn Water Resources it has been expanded over the years by the Supreme Court, which is why we crafted our replacement rule this year, the Water Protection rule. So surely we are following the and thecourt cases intent behind the clean water act and for the first time i believe we are recognizing the Important Partnership we have with states, communities, and tribes on protecting Water Resources around the country. Will have additional questions for the record. Thank you, mr. Chairman. With no more members asking questions, i ask for unanimous consent to enter materials from the American FarmBureau Corporation and the electric Power Cooperative as well as the hearth, patio, and Barbecue Association for todays hearing. Dohout objection we will that. In the front page this morning of the washington post, and you may not have seen it yet, in insions plunged 17 unprecedented decline. When i hear the democrats here claiming the issue of emissions causing deaths related to coronavirus, they are specifically down. Senator sullivan . Thank you, mr. Chairman. Recognizing that there are no more of my colleagues waiting, i had one final question, mr. Administrator. An innovative idea that came up relating to mitigation and stuff in alaska. As you know, we have the Alaska Native Corporation lands that were given to the native people 44 millionress, acres. A lot of that land was actually contaminated i4 ford was received and the cleanup costs are enormous. Some of its very contaminated. These are the kinds of issues i want to be able to continue to discuss with your office. Looking at Wetland Mitigation ways to say all right, people are helping to clean up those lands, that can be an offset and not just kind of a one offset as it normally relates to clean water. Thats something i would like to ,et your commitment to look at those kinds of innovative solutions, particularly for my state, which as i mentioned had so much of the countrys wetlands. Absolutely. I believe the last meeting i had in alaska was with some tribal leaders to talk specifically about that issue. Its something i hope we have made some progress since i was there and i will go check with my staff to make sure we are making progress. But it is important. It cuts across the border in a number of areas. Not just for the lands that they took possession of from the federal government, but if you look at the abandoned mines across the country, i know senator gardner has important Good Samaritan legislation that would go a long way towards cleaning up the sites that we need to get cleaned up. Thank you again, mr. Chairman. The other issue was on the usa today coronavirus pandemic page, it it has led to a 70 drop in carbon emissions. Again, the comments were hearing from colleagues on the other side of the aisle on the issues of in missions in court nation with coronavirus, they are down significantly as a lack of commerce being done. Senator, could you indulge me for a few more minutes . They have since march 6 approved over 400 disinfectants the can be used by the American Public to be i can clean their homes, offices, factories, exactly. We have it available in a searchable database. We also created an app so that when you are out shopping and trying to purchase disinfectants , to make sure it is important that people purchase a disinfectant that is actually authorized by epa to be effective against the coronavirus. I dont want people to buy a product that is not effective. Its important for the health and safety of all families across the country and our epa scientists have been working seven days a week around the clock to approve these disinfectants and they have done an outstanding job at getting these approved. Thank you very much. I appreciate all the good work undone by the epa. You will notice that in this room every member has disinfectant available to them at every seat, we are distanced, we have our masks when we are down here. All fort to thank you being here today with us. Thank you for your time in your testimony. The hearing is adjourned. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2020] president trumps nominee to serve as the Energy Department deputy secretary testifying energyefore the senate and Natural Resources committee. Watch live at 2 30 p. M. Eastern on cspan, online at cspan. Org, or listen live on the free cspan radio app. Watch the daily coronavirus briefings from the white house, congress, and from across the country, plus join in on the conversation in our live callin program. If you missed any coverage, watch anytime ondemand at cspan. Org coronavirus. Cspan has unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the Supreme Court, and Public Policy events. From the president ial primaries to the impeachment process. And now, the federal response to the coronavirus. You can watch all of that Public AffairsTelevision Online or visit on the free radio app and be a part of the National Conversation through the cspan daily Washington Journal Program or through our social media. Cspan, created by americas Cable Television companies as a Public Service and brought to you today by your television provider. And now, marco rubio joins an American Enterprise institute discussion on the economic response to the coronavirus pandemic. He talks about the Paycheck Protection Program and what Congress Might do to help Small Businesses and individuals in e