WRAP UP

Tamar Hallerman
GHG Monitor
4/26/13

IN CONGRESS

Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee criticized Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) this week for announcing what they said is a premature vote on the nomination of Gina McCarthy to serve as Environmental Protection Agency Administrator. In a letter dated April 25, the Committee’s eight Republican members said they were “concerned” by Boxer’s recent statement that the panel would hold a vote on McCarthy’s nomination as early as May 8. The GOP members said they have not received answers to outstanding questions from McCarthy and EPA. “EPW precedent illustrates that without answers to questions and information requests, it is not appropriate to move forward with the nominee,” the Republicans said. The committee held a hearing on McCarthy’s nomination earlier this month. Meanwhile, at an EPA budget hearing in front of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee earlier this week, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) confirmed that he continues to have a hold on McCarthy’s nomination.

The Senate unanimously confirmed Sylvia Mathews Burwell this week as the new director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. Burwell, a Clinton Administration veteran who most recently worked as president of the Walmart Foundation, was approved by a vote of 96-0 on April 24.

AT EPA

The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a new set of regulations April 19 aimed at limiting the toxic pollutants that power plants discharge into waterways. The proposed standards, which would be phased in between 2017 and 2022, mandate the installation of various pollution-control technologies and waste treatment procedures to limit pollutants like mercury, arsenic and lead from entering the water system. The pollutants enter the waterways from coal ash, air pollution control waste and other waste from steam electric power plants, according to EPA. The Agency said high exposure to the chemicals has been linked to cancer and neurological damage. “Reducing the pollution of our waters through effective but flexible controls such as we are proposing today is a win-win for our public health and our economic vitality,” EPA acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe said in a statement. The Agency estimated that less than half of coal-fired power plants would need to incur costs to meet the standards. EPA said it is accepting public comment on the proposed rules for 60 days.