Democrats grill EPA chief on regulatory rollbacks during coronavirus outbreak
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic senators on Wednesday grilled Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler on the agency’s recent moves to roll back rules and halt enforcement actions and monitoring requirements during the coronavirus outbreak, saying they would especially harm minorities.

Andrew Wheeler, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), speaks during a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, U.S., May 20, 2020. Al Drago/Pool via REUTERS

Senators pressed Wheeler on the agency’s half dozen regulatory rollbacks since the coronavirus outbreak hit the United States, including for vehicle fuel efficiency standards and mercury limits from power plants.

They also criticized him for implementing a temporary policy on March 26 to enable companies to delay complying with air and water quality reporting and monitoring requirements during the health crisis.

“Your decisions make this pandemic worse,” said Senator Ed Markey, participating by video. He demanded that Wheeler apologize to minority communities for “harming the health of the most vulnerable people in our country right now as their lungs are being attacked by coronavirus.”


Wheeler testified before a nearly empty Senate environment and public works panel - attended by a handful of senators in person and the rest by video. He said the agency had approved disinfectants for use against the virus and worked to ensure drinking and wastewater services are operational during the health crisis.

He also denied that the EPA has relaxed enforcement during the pandemic.

He testified that since March, the EPA had opened 52 criminal enforcement cases, charged 10 defendants and secured $21.5 million in Superfund response commitments.

The panel’s top Democrat, Senator Tom Carper, said that early research, including a recent report by Harvard University, has shown that people exposed to more air pollution may have greater risk of coronavirus infection.


Carper asked whether the EPA would further study those links, and if Wheeler would stop writing rules “that make things actually worse, not better.”

Wheeler did not commit to the research and responded, “All of our rules make things better, sir.”

FORMER COAL LOBBYIST
EPA chief defends lifting of regulations during pandemic
TRUMPS DECONSTRUCTION OF GOVERNMENT

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler adjusts his mask at an oversight hearing Wednesday on Capitol Hill. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
May 20 (UPI) -- Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler testified to Congress on Wednesday about the regulations his agency has lifted in recent weeks to give companies greater freedoms during the coronavirus pandemic.

He touted the agency's approval of hundreds of disinfectants since early March and a change to the Clean Water Act that lifts protections for streams and wetlands. Wheeler said the latter benefits American farmers and businesses currently experiencing economic hardship because of the pandemic.

He made the comments during an EPA oversight hearing of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Chairman John Barrasso, R-Wyo., praised the EPA's "good work" protecting the country's natural resources and providing the public with information about safe cleaning products during the COVID-19 crisis.

"In addition to its work on the virus, the agency has pursued policies to protect the environment, while supporting the economy," he said in his opening remarks.

"EPA has replaced punishing regulations that harmed the coal industry, farmers and ranchers, and many small businesses in my home state of Wyoming and across the country."

Wheeler's appearance before the committee came one day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to review hundreds of regulations that have been suspended in response to the pandemic. He wants his administration to make those suspensions permanent where possible.

"With millions of Americans forced out of work by the virus, it's more important than ever to remove burdens that destroy American jobs," Trump said.

Wheeler said the EPA lifted 18 regulations last year and is working on lifting another 45.

Democrats on the Senate committee criticized the EPA for lifting environmental protections they say could exacerbate the effects of COVID-19.

"We are in the middle of a health crisis attacking people's lungs," Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said. "The EPA is supposed to be an air quality fire department. Instead, you're throwing gasoline on a burning building, knowing that breathing bad air can make the impacts of coronavirus worse."

"Preliminary studies are showing a higher rate of mortality from COVID-19 among people with chronic diseases that are linked to long-term exposure to poor air quality," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., added. "It's not hard to connect the dots ... this should be a major wake-up call."