EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin once again tangled with congressional Democrats during a Tuesday budget hearing, continuing his contentious exchanges from an appearance before House appropriators on Monday.
Zeldin got into multiple shouting matches with Democrats while testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment, even taking a preemptive shot at the opposing party.
“We are being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars without any apology or regret, even though I know that makes a lot of your colleagues on the other side of the aisle quite sad,” Zeldin told Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) at the top of the hearing.
Many Democrats were eager to lash out at Zeldin, who in turn frequently talked over lawmakers to hit back.
“I’m not going to allow you to speak over me and ignore my questions with prepared scripts,” an impassioned Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.) told Zeldin during questioning on agency enforcement efforts.
“I have very specific questions that require specific answers,” said Carter. “You’ve been a member of Congress before. You know better. Shame on you.”
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) allowed Zeldin to fire back at Carter after his time expired.
“What happens is, when [members of Congress] actually meet the hard facts, the reality, and they hear the numbers, they want to cut you off and make sure that you stop reading off the numbers that disprove their false claim,” Zeldin said. “But you know, I understand that reaction when you come to a committee like this, and you actually don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Zeldin dismissed Rep. Nanette Díaz Barragán (D-Calif.) after she expressed frustration over his answers regarding facility safety inspections.
“I thought you were maybe interested in what was going on beyond the grandstanding, but go ahead,” he said.
Barragán shot back, “You’re the one reading prepared statements instead of asking questions.”
Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) accused Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought of driving the 52 percent EPA cut sought by the White House to “free up all this money for tax cuts for the super wealthy.”
Zeldin said that was “not true” and claimed responsibility for the budget proposal. “OK, well, you’re entitled to your own version of reality,” Zeldin replied when Landsman pushed back.
After a particularly spiteful exchange in which Rep. Rob Menendez (D-N.J.) got into a shouting match with Zeldin that saw a rapid litany of accusations and insults from both men, Griffith — who was chairing the hearing at the time — urged calm.
“Let’s try to be a little more civil on all parts,” Griffith said.
Zeldin engaged on several other policy issues during Tuesday’s hearing.
Methane guidance soon
According to Zeldin, EPA in the coming days will issue guidance on its methane rule for oil and gas producers — known collectively in agency lingo as the OOOObc rules.
“As soon as this week, we’ll be putting out updated guidance to make sure that those who look at OOOObc and have to comply with OOOObc understand exactly what that rule means and how the agency interprets it,” Zeldin said.
“This is a really important topic for a lot of our country, a lot of our economy. We want more reliable base load power. We want to unleash energy dominance. And OOOObc is a vehicle that was used to cause a lot of harm to much of this country.”
EPA recently finalized action easing two specific parts of the methane rule — changes prompted by industry petitions and launched under the Biden administration.
Key deadlines will kick in on May 7, two years after the rule was promulgated, noted Rep. Julie Fedorchak (R-N.D.). Her home state will have to immediately shut in 20,000 to 40,000 barrels per day of oil, she said.
The forthcoming guidance “will directly address, fully address the concerns that have been expressed on this issue,” Zeldin responded.
“So my producers shouldn’t be preparing to shut in that production?” Fedorchak asked.
“We are well aware of the issue, and we are extremely confident that the document that we’ll be putting out will be assisting the regulated community in interpreting the law and regulation,” Zeldin said.
New River, new comity
Citing his speed last year in addressing the Tijuana River sewage pollution crisis, Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) asked Zeldin to act similarly to address a situation with the New River, which flows north from Mexico into California and ultimately the Salton Sea.
“The difference” between the Tijuana River and New River, which is considered one of the most polluted waterways in the U.S., “is not legal authority or technical capacity, but attention and urgency,” Ruiz said.
Zeldin said regional EPA leaders will visit the river on May 11 ahead of a binational water study planned for release in June.
“I’ve heard you and others loud and clear,” Zeldin said. “I believe that the model that has worked … in Tijuana is a focus that can work in New River, and we look forward to working with you on it.”
‘God Squad’ dodge
Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.) pressed Zeldin to explain his recent vote on the Endangered Species Committee to exempt Gulf of Mexico oil and gas operations from Endangered Species Act requirements.
“I do want to stress tourism and agriculture are top industries, and there’s a potential of whales and manatees and sea turtles potentially at danger because of this decision,” Soto said.
Zeldin — who admitted the committee’s nickname, the “God Squad,” is a “pretty wild name” — largely declined to comment on that vote.
“EPA is committed to boosting American energy production and promoting economic growth by reducing regulatory burdens and prioritizing efficient permitting processes while protecting water quality,” he said, appearing to read from a prepared statement. “EPA is aware of ongoing litigation that’s related to the order, and the agency is unable to further comment on pending litigation.”
Kevin Bogardus contributed to this report.
