Fedorchak and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin discuss deregulatory priorities at Environment Subcommittee hearing
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak (R-ND) pushed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin this week for commitments on deregulatory issues affecting North Dakota energy and agriculture producers involving Mercury and Toxic Standards (MATS), Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR), and the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule.
Zeldin attended a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment hearing where Fedorchak invited him to visit North Dakota, thanked him for his commitment to being responsive to industry and the public, and for being responsible with taxpayer dollars.
Key exchange:
Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak: “One of the first actions I took in this role was to write to President Trump and Secretary Burgum to ask them to repeal 20 burdensome rules and regulations from the previous administration—and you're well on your way to doing that. You have outlined a number of grave abuses from the last administration, and I would say one of the gravest abuses was the impact the past administration had on our power sector. I come from the regulatory side of things. I was most recently the president of the National Utility Regulators Association, and in that role, I worked hard to get the last administration to be reasonable on their 111D rules. They completely ignored everything we said. They ignored the power grid operators, and that rule was completely disconnected from reality. Even though it's being pulled back, it had grave consequences on our power grid, and today we are short or dangerously short of having enough power to meet demand because of that agency's overreach in the last administration. So, thank you for your commitment to correcting that and getting us back on track.”
Administrator Zeldin: “I often get asked what the biggest surprise or what was most shocking. Once I was confirmed as administrator, and I would say it was surprising how much we were able to do at once. We've heard your calls for action at the agency and we want to tackle it all at the same time. We don't want to pace ourselves.”
CLICK HERE to read the letter Fedorchak sent to President Trump and Secretary Burgum urging them to rescind 20 burdensome regulations.
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