Zeldin speaks to EPW members. Photo: Ting Shen/AFP via Getty Images
At his confirmation hearing Thursday, EPA nominee Lee Zeldin said the agency would consider redrawing regulations to more closely adhere to recent conservative Supreme Court rulings on water regulations and agency deference.
Why it matters: Zeldin declined to say what exactly he would do with a slew of Biden-era regulations — but appeared eager to shift the agency in a post-Chevron world.
- President-elect Trump and congressional Republicans have promised to roll back a long list of EPA rules on fossil fuel plants, auto emissions and its $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction fund.
- Zeldin, a former GOP House member, has a history of opposing federal regulations and criticizing climate programs. Despite his scant experience in environmental policymaking, he's seen as likely to be confirmed.
Driving the news: EPA must ensure that its "actions are durable that they are able to withstand scrutiny," Zeldin told Senate EPW.
- He said he would "honor the Loper Bright decision to make sure that it is in fact Congress' intent that is being implemented and that it is not us as an agency filling in any gaps however we might see fit."
Zoom in: Zeldin suggested the Biden administration bungled the response to the Supreme Court's "clear and prescriptive" 2023 Sackett decision that reduced the Clean Water Act's scope.
- "A lot of people don't know whether or not their land has 'waters of the U.S.' on it — and I would say that is a failure on the part of the federal government," Zeldin said.
- The ruling determined that EPA cannot regulate wetlands isolated from larger bodies of water.
The big picture: Zeldin sought to portray his record as bipartisan, touting his work with Democrats on PFAS, ocean cleanup, and the Great American Outdoors Act and his membership in the Climate Solutions Caucus while in the House.
- Zeldin said he believes climate change is real, but added that Trump is worried about "economic costs" of policies that have been enacted because of climate change.
What's next: Sen. Shelley Moore Capito told Axios that she will move Zeldin's nomination "as quickly as possible."
