[Senate Hearing 111-1211]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 111-1211
HEARING ON THE NOMINATION OF GARY GUZY TO BE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE
OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
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HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON
ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
AUGUST 4, 2009
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COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
BARBARA BOXER, California, Chairman
MAX BAUCUS, Montana JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio
FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey DAVID VITTER, Louisiana
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont MIKE CRAPO, Idaho
AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Missouri
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee
TOM UDALL, New Mexico
JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon
KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, New York
ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania
Bettina Poirier, Staff Director
Ruth Van Mark, Minority Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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Page
AUGUST 4, 2009
OPENING STATEMENTS
Boxer, Hon. Barbara, U.S. Senator from the State of California... 1
Inhofe, Hon. James M., U.S. Senator from the State of Oklahoma... 2
Lautenberg, Hon. Frank R., U.S. Senator from the State of New
Jersey......................................................... 4
Barrasso, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from the State of Wyoming...... 5
Menendez, Hon. Robert, U.S. Senator from the State of New Jersey. 6
Cardin, Hon. Benjamin L., U.S. Senator from the State of
Maryland, prepared statement................................... 31
WITNESS
Guzy, Gary, nominated to be Deputy Director, Office of
Environmental Quality.......................................... 7
Prepared statement........................................... 10
Responses to additional questions from:
Senator Boxer............................................ 13
Senator Cardin........................................... 15
Senator Inhofe........................................... 17
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
Letter to Senator Boxer from Nancy Sutley, Chair, Council on
Environmental Quality, et al., May 20, 2009.................... 33
Letter to Robert Sussman, Senior Policy Advisor, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, from the National Mining
Association, July 30, 2009..................................... 37
HEARING ON THE NOMINATION OF GARY GUZY TO BE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE
OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
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TUESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2009
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Environment and Public Works,
Washington, DC.
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m. in room
406, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Barbara Boxer
(chairman of the full committee) presiding.
Present: Senators Boxer, Inhofe, Lautenberg, and Barrasso.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BARBARA BOXER,
U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Senator Boxer. The committee will come to order.
Because we have two votes at 10:30, it is our wish to move
through this pretty quickly. I know we are having Senator
Lautenberg and Senator Menendez here. Of course, Senator
Lautenberg will speak from up here on the podium. Senator
Menendez is on his way.
So why do we not start with opening statements? I am asking
Mr. Guzy if he could take his chair, and when Senator
Lautenberg speaks we are going to give him a little extra time.
He will do his opening statement and his introduction.
I am so pleased to convene this hearing on the nomination
of Mr. Gary Guzy to be Deputy Director of the White House
Office of Environmental Quality. Mr. Guzy brings with him 25
years of legal experience to this important White House Office.
He has worked in the private sector, academia and
government on a wide variety of environmental issues. His
distinguished public service career has included positions in
the Environmental Division in the U.S. Department of Justice as
Deputy General Counsel, General Counsel of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, and as Counselor to the EPA
Administrator during the Clinton administration.
Since 2001, he has worked with a wide variety of
governmental and non-governmental actors, including Georgetown
University Law Center, the Environmental Law Institute and in
private legal practice.
If Mr. Guzy is confirmed in this position, he will serve as
Chief Deputy to the Chair of CEQ, Nancy Sutley, in support of
the Council's mission to ''promote the improvement of
environmental quality.''
CEQ brings together different arms of the Administration
and agencies across the Federal Government to build strong
coordinated environmental policies that protect America's
communities from environmental threats.
Clean energy policies that create jobs, reduce our
dependence on foreign oil, and address the carbon pollution
that causes global warming are front and center today. In
addition, CEQ must continue to help facilitate efforts to
improve drinking water, strengthen clean air safeguards,
improve policies to protect our children and our families from
toxic chemicals, and ensure scientific integrity and
transparency.
I am confident that President Obama, Nancy Sutley and the
Nation will be well served by your experience and your
demonstrated commitment to these goals.
I look forward to you testimony today.
Senator Inhofe.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES M. INHOFE,
U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA
Senator Inhofe. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
I will shorten mine also and put the entire opening
statement in the record.
I agree with comments made by the Chairman here, Mr. Guzy.
I enjoyed our visit. You have an excellent background for such
a function.
I must say you have a difficult job ahead of you, not the
least because Carol Browner, the White House energy and climate
czar, appears to be coordinating environmental policy. Of
course, we in the Senate have little idea of how her office
functions because that is the whole idea of czars. I do not
always agree with Senator Byrd, but I do agree with his
statement when he talked about the czars are not accountable
for their actions to the Congress, to the Cabinet officials,
and to virtually anyone but the President.
These czars are inherently opposed to the President's
commitment for openness, transparency; and we are hoping that
you will be able to work, somehow, in that area to help us with
the transparency concern that we have.
NEPA, of course, is the bedrock environmental statute which
requires Federal agencies to consider how their actions could
significantly impact the environment. Mr. Guzy, the previous
Administration attempted to improve NEPA implementation, but
the improvements were largely cosmetic due in no small part to
the inertia of CEQ.
I hope that you will commit to putting NEPA back into
balance. In other words, NEPA should achieve environmental
goals without unnecessarily obstructing economic and energy
development.
Projects across the Nation are already in limbo due to red
tape and litigation based on environmental regulations, from
delays in building coal power plants in Jamestown, New York,
that would use the cutting edge carbon capture system of
cancellation to construction on a coal-fired plant in Morgan
County, Colorado. These are some of the things that we are
hoping you would be able to help us to expedite.
You know, both the Chairman and I have an interest in
developing our effort on infrastructure, and we want to have
you--I would like to have you do your job as one who is trying
to help us to do that very thing, to reduce the obstacles.
My whole initial reason when I first ran for office many
years ago, I was a veteran developer, and I told you this story
in my office about the time that I had to go to 26 governmental
agencies to get a dock permit for a condo development I was
making. So I think what we need to be doing is going in the
other direction, getting these things done. And we will be
looking for you to help us do that.
The last thing, as I always mention to the appointees, and
I am sure that this will be the case, as I mentioned to you in
my office, we want to make sure that any inquiries that we have
from this side, the minority side of the aisle, you will treat
the same as though they were coming from the majority.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Senator Inhofe follows:]
Statement of Hon. James M. Inhofe,
U.S. Senator from the State of Oklahoma
We are here today to consider the nomination of Gary Guzy
to be Deputy Director of the White House Office of
Environmental Quality.
The Office, also known as the Council on Environmental
Quality, leads the Administration's effort to formulate and
execute environmental policy across the Federal Government. CEQ
serves a critical role in shaping environmental policy within
the executive branch. Mr. Guzy, I enjoyed speaking with you at
our recent meeting. I congratulate you on your nomination and
look forward to working with you.
I must say that you have a difficult job ahead of you, not
least because Carol Browner, the White House Energy and Climate
Change Czar, appears to be coordinating environmental policy
out of her office. Of course, we in the Senate have little idea
as to how her office functions or what contributions it makes
to the interagency policy process. As Senator Byrd stated in a
letter to President Obama in February, these White House czars
``are not accountable for their actions to the Congress, to
Cabinet officials, and to virtually anyone but the President.''
These czars are inherently opposed to the President's
commitment to openness and transparency in the executive
branch. This no doubt makes our oversight role more
complicated. Nonetheless, Mr. Guzy, this means you will be on
the front line as one of the top officials accountable to this
committee.
And for better or for worse, you will be accountable for a
number of significant issues affecting every corner of the
economy. One of them, unique to CEQ, is the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
NEPA, of course, is a bedrock environmental statute which
requires Federal agencies to consider how their actions could
significantly impact the environment. Mr. Guzy, the previous
Administration attempted to improve NEPA implementation--but
the improvements were largely cosmetic due in no small measure
to inertia at CEQ. I hope you will commit to putting NEPA back
into balance. In other words, NEPA should achieve environmental
goals without unnecessarily obstructing economic development.
Projects across the Nation are already in limbo due to
delays and litigation from existing environmental regulations--
including setbacks in building a coal power plant in Jamestown,
New York, that would use a cutting edge carbon capture system;
and the cancellation of construction on a coal-fired power
plant in Morgan County, Colorado, due to ``steep regulatory
obstacles.''
It also seems clear that the tangled web of climate change
has enveloped NEPA. Activists are forcing Federal agencies to
address the global warming implications of their actions. Among
other things, this could seriously curtail the Nation's
domestic energy development. Ironically, NEPA is even being
used to block renewable energy projects.
I understand CEQ is drafting guidance on NEPA and climate
change. CEQ must make clear that climate change is not required
for NEPA purposes. As with the Endangered Species Act, NEPA
should not be used as a back door tactic to regulate greenhouse
gases.
Mr. Guzy, as I noted, you will face a number of challenges
in this position. And although we will not agree on how to
address all of those challenges, I hope we can work together
with mutual understanding of our respective positions.
Finally, when this committee, including the minority, seeks
information and makes inquiries, I hope you will respond to
them in a timely fashion and with the openness and transparency
you have pledged to uphold.
I look forward to your confirmation and to working with you
on issues of great importance to the American people.
Senator Boxer. Thank you, Senator Inhofe.
Senator Lautenberg.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. FRANK R. LAUTENBERG,
U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Senator Lautenberg. Thank you, Madam Chairman, for
introducing Gary Guzy formally to the process.
We think he is an outstanding candidate with a
distinguished career in environmental leadership, whether
government, academia or business, on all fronts. He has done
wonders at each of his jobs by making sure that they are
accurately and deftly performed.
He did something else here today. It is almost unfair,
because this is from my home town of Patterson, New Jersey, and
in it there is a theater mention that we knew about, an act
where these people would get up on a 300-foot pole above the
sidewalk to attract people to the theater.
Now, off the record, was it your grandfather who owned
this?
Mr. Guzy. Yes.
Senator Lautenberg. Oh, OK.
Senator Inhofe. Now how do you get that off the record?
[Laughter.]
Senator Lautenberg. How do I get it off the record? Very
easily, because I want the public to know that this was a gushy
statement of sentiment that crept into this hard-nosed
political life that we endure.
So, it is a real pleasure for me, Gary Guzy, to meet you
here and to support your nomination from the President to be
the Deputy Director of the Office of Environmental Quality. I
know that you are a highly committed and talented public
servant, and if confirmed I believe that he is certainly ready
to tackle the challenges that lie ahead.
Those of us who were born in New Jersey can leave the
State, but the State can never leave us. He was born in Newark,
which was part of the--kind of orbit, of Patterson, Newark and
others. I do not want this to devolve into a study of New
Jersey and its past, but after a bright high school career, he
went to Cornell and then returned to our State and to a field
that we hold in high regard in the State of New Jersey, and
that is environmental protection.
Mr. Guzy came to Government in a position at the Department
of Justice where specialization in wetlands, water quality and
hazardous waste issues was his particulate interest. He then,
as Chairman Boxer mentioned, moved to the EPA to serve as
Deputy General Counsel and help managed the agency's legal
staff.
During the Clinton administration, the promotion to General
Counsel at EPA took place, and in that position he made it a
priority to focus on children's health and control air
pollution, as well as to help restore the Florida Everglades,
which is a project that almost everyone supports.
I am confident that you are going to be successful in this
new position, assuming that our friends here and on the floor
of the Senate will support you.
At this critical time in the climate debate, we need
someone with the strength Mr. Guzy brings to help run the
Office of Environmental Quality. We need Government to be
active and innovative in finding solutions to the challenges
that we face.
In June, the House of Representatives passed a landmark
bill that would fundamentally change how America uses energy
and fights global warming. The world is now expecting the U.S.
Senate to pass a bill that moves our country away from dirty,
unstable sources of energy and toward clean, sustainable and
efficient ones.
As Congress works toward a legislative solution, we need
the Administration to work with us. We need a strong,
aggressive Office of Environmental Equality to build support
for a clean energy bill.
Clean energy can create jobs, as it has in New Jersey.
There are now more than 2,000 clean energy companies that call
New Jersey home, and they employ more than 25,000 people. And
clean energy can reduce air pollution that causes asthma and is
thought to cause cancer as well. And clean energy can slow the
effects of global warming so that we leave the next generation
a healthier planet than the one that this generation inherited.
We also need Mr. Guzy and the Administration to take strong
action on hazardous chemicals which are cancer causing, cause
birth defects and raise health care costs across the country.
And we need to clean up Superfund sites more quickly so
that communities can rebuild and recover their health. New
Jersey has more Superfund sites than any State in the Nation.
So, this is an important priority for our State's residents.
Overcoming this list of challenges will not be an easy
task. But our children and our grandchildren are depending on
us to accomplish them. I have no doubt that, if confirmed, Mr.
Guzy will be a strong partner in this effort.
Thank you again, Madam Chairman, for holding this hearing.
Senator Boxer. Thank you, Senator Lautenberg.
We have been joined by Senator Menendez. Senator, after we
hear from Senator Barrasso, we will turn to you for your
comments.
Senator Barrasso.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN BARRASSO,
U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WYOMING
Senator Barrasso. Thank you very much, Madam Chairman.
Thank you, Mr. Guzy, for taking the time this morning to
come and visit with me and have a chance to visit about issues.
I want to also congratulate you, congratulate your family and
thank you all for the willingness to serve.
Madam Chairman, Wyoming is very interested in a number of
environmental issues in which the nominee today will have a
significant impact. We had the chance to discuss some of those.
In Wyoming, the frontier spirit of smaller government and
individual liberty are still sacred traditions. And the reason,
of course, is, as we have discussed, half of the land in
Wyoming is run by the Federal Government.
The Federal Government reintroduced major predators into
our landscape. The Federal Government manages our dams, our
lakes, our reservoirs, they control irrigation and grazing for
agriculture production, and we depend on Federal managers to
access lands for hunting and fishing.
Living with this heavy Federal involvement in Wyoming, we
fight every day, as we discussed, to fight red tape and get
work done. Bureaucratic delays impact everyday life in Wyoming.
All actions of the Federal Government are subject to
environmental law. And these laws are entitled to provide for
measured, thoughtful decisionmaking. They allow public
involvement in our Government, but they are not built for
speed.
Let me tell you from Wyoming experience, NEPA reviews take
years. Not weeks, not months, but years. And you and I had a
chance to visit about the original NEPA laws as written, when
Senator Scoop Jackson was chairing the committee, and where we
were then and where we are now.
Even after NEPA documentation is finalized by the Feds,
activist groups can file appeals and litigation and hold up
projects for many more years. The NEPA process is broken, and
it needs to be fixed.
I tried to work with my colleagues, including the
distinguished Chairman of this committee, to address these
concerns. I worked with the Chairman to attach language to the
President's stimulus package to do just that. In addition,
however, I maintain that we need to streamline NEPA to protect
our communities, to create jobs and to make America energy
independent.
We cannot tie America's hands behind its back with onerous
red tape if we are going to achieve energy independence and
compete with China and India. Smart energy development of all
of our domestic energy resources must occur if we are going to
compete to be energy secure.
It is my hope that the nominee before us today will work
with us to achieve these reforms of NEPA that really do need to
occur.
Thank you, Madam Chairman. I look forward to the testimony.
Senator Boxer. Thank you.
Senator Menendez.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ROBERT MENENDEZ,
U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Senator Menendez. Thank you, Madam Chairman, and Ranking
Member and the distinguished members of the committee.
I am pleased to join my colleague from New Jersey in
introducing Gary Guzy to the committee for his position that he
is nominated for as the Deputy Director of the White House
Council on Environmental Quality.
I am proud to say he is the latest in a line of
environmental leaders hailing from the Garden State, punctuated
quite nicely by Administrator Lisa Jackson whose leadership of
the EPA, I think, is showing us that we can protect our
precious land, water and air resources.
Mr. Guzy brings with him true expertise on many different
levels that are important to the Nation and the committee on
climate change, among others, issues gained from having
acquired a wealth of experience that spans the public, the
private, the non-profit and the academic sectors. That is a
very unique confluence of experiences.
His most recent experience in Government was at the EPA as
General Counsel during which time he worked with the
Administrator to accomplish important air pollution and
tailpipe emissions protections, fostered Everglades'
protection, and designed regulatory approaches to protect
children.
He has been deeply involved in energy and environmental
issues in the private sector. He currently serves as Vice
President and General Counsel of APX, the leading
infrastructure provider for environmental and energy markets
providing registry tracking systems for each of the world's
credible voluntary carbon standards.
Prior to that, he was the Global Practice Leader for
Climate Risk and Sustainability at Marsh, where he positioned
the world's leading insurance broker and strategic risk advisor
at the forefront of the industry in dealing with the climate
risks.
So in all of those ways, as well as a member on advisory
boards to the Environmental Law Institute, the Urban Land
Institute, the Greater Washington Board of Trades, Green
Committee, and teaching the first-ever course on climate law
change at GW's Law Center as Adjunct Professor of Environmental
Law, we have someone who has an extraordinary breadth and scope
of experiences in the private sector, in the Government sector,
in the non-profit sector.
I think those all speak volumes of a tremendous nominee,
and I urge the committee's adoption of his nomination.
Thank you for the opportunity.
Senator Boxer. Senator Menendez, thank you. I know you have
a hectic schedule.
Before you leave, I just want to say, Mr. Guzy, you should
be, and I am sure you are, very pleased that you have both of
your great Senators here today. It is a hectic time for us all
because it is the last week, and I know everybody has
obligations. But you should feel very good.
And thank you, Senator Menendez, so much, for taking time
to be here.
Now, Mr. Guzy, it is your opportunity to speak to us, and
we hope that you will introduce your family as well. We welcome
you again.
STATEMENT OF GARY GUZY, NOMINATED TO BE DEPUTY DIRECTOR, OFFICE
OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Mr. Guzy. Good morning. Thank you, Madam Chairman, Ranking
Member Inhofe and members of the committee.
I am deeply appreciative to you for holding this hearing,
for the members of the committee for their thoughtful
consideration, to Senator Lautenberg and Senator Menendez for
those gracious introductions, to Senators Inhofe and Barrasso
for the opportunity to take time out of their busy schedules to
meet.
I am delighted to be joined today by members of my family
who provide constant support for my work. I am joined by my
wife, Sharon Sprague, who you should know for 20 years has been
a dedicated public servant in her own right as an Assistant
U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia; by my two wonderful
and inspiring children, Zoe and Zander; and by my mother, Rita
Guzy, who traveled from Boca Raton, Florida, to be with us
today.
Senator Boxer. Welcome, everybody.
Mr. Guzy. Madam Chairman and members of the committee, I am
deeply honored, grateful and humbled by President Obama's
nomination to serve as the Deputy Director of the Office of
Environmental Quality. As you well know, Congress established
the Office in 1970 to provide essential support to the Chair of
the Council on Environment Quality.
CEQ has a distinguished 40-year history of service to our
Nation, advising the President in the development of
environmental policies and legislation, identifying, assessing
and reporting on trends in environmental quality and
recommending appropriate responses, overseeing Federal
implementation of the environmental impact assessment process
under NEPA, and coordinating and, at times, even refereeing,
Federal environmental efforts.
These tasks are ever more important given the urgency and
cost cutting nature of climate change and other environmental
challenges our Nation faces. That is why as our President seeks
to reinvigorate our Nation's commitment to environmental,
public health and natural resources protection, it makes sense
to fill the position of Deputy Director and why five former
Chairs of CEQ, from both parties, have called upon him to do
so.
I have devoted my career to understanding and resolving
such concerns and have had the benefit of broad experience in
business, government and academia. I currently serve as the
General Counsel of APX, a relatively small entrepreneurial
green venture hailing from Hoboken, New Jersey, that provides
global registry oversight systems for voluntary carbon
standards and renewable energy credits.
I previously served as the Global Practice Leader for
Climate Risk and Sustainability at Marsh, a Fortune 200 company
that is the world's leading insurance broker and strategic risk
advisor. There, I helped businesses around the world understand
the climate risks they face across their operations and the
tools they have for addressing them.
I also am an Adjunct Professor of Environmental Law at
Georgetown University Law Center, where I devised and taught
the school's first courses on climate change law.
In Government, I was privileged to be appointed by
President Clinton and confirmed by the Senate as General
Counsel of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency where I
served from 1998 until 2001, as well as to have served before
then as Counsel to the Administrator and as Deputy General
Counsel at EPA.
In those several roles, I assisted in resolving issues as
diverse as enhanced air quality, enhanced tailpipe emission
standards, the protection of children's health, and addressing
threats to key ecosystems.
Before that, I was a Senior Attorney at the U.S. Department
of Justice's Environment Division, handling major environmental
litigation that spanned from the Everglades to Alaska.
As I go about my work, I think back to my early childhood
living in Newark, New Jersey, with my mother, a single parent
then and a dedicated public school teacher. And from that
vantage, I recognize that a caring and open Government can make
a difference in the lives of ordinary citizens. From the child
with asthma to the coastal communities facing enhanced risks,
Government can provide essential hope and essential protection.
I think about the many days that I have been privileged to
spend on a bicycle traveling across America's back roads and
blue highways, and I realize that the legendary natural bounty
that has defined our Nation merits careful stewardship.
I think back to my days on the job as a young law clerk for
Judge Elbert Tuttle, former Chief of the U.S. Court of Appeals
in Atlanta. Despite his then 30 years on the bench, I was
struck that he was vitally interested in my relatively inexpert
views.
From him I learned that keeping an open mind and being
attentive to absolute fairness of process are essential to the
ultimate success of our work and to improving the quality of
the Government's analysis and decisions. Also critical is
maintaining the highest of ethical standards. And these are
values that, if confirmed, I will strive to take to my job
every day and to continue to instill in CEQ staff.
My substantive focus if confirmed as Deputy Director will
be to work alongside Chair Sutley to ensure that there is a
strong science and legal basis for our environmental policy,
move the Nation to greater reliance on clean energy and
increase energy security, combat global warming while growing
the green economy, provide increased protection for public
health and the environment, especially in vulnerable
communities, and protect and restore our great ecosystems.
Much as changed in the 40 years since CEQ's founding. Gone
should be the myth that protecting our environment, public
health and natural resources comes at the expense of a
prosperous economy. Rather, these are critical to our
continuing prosperity, and they provide enormous opportunities
to revitalize our economy.
Gone should be the notion that Government and the private
sector must be at loggerheads on the environment. Rather,
enhanced cooperation between Government, affected communities
and the private sector, tempered by appropriate levels of
rigorous oversight, is critical to spurring the innovation that
will allow our Nation to thrive.
And gone should be the notion that the environmental
pendulum must keep swinging from lack of protection to
seemingly onerous prescriptive regulation, with no common
ground for action in between.
With this perspective, I am hopeful that we can find
enduring, productive and sustainable solutions to the great
challenges that we face. If confirmed, I look forward to a
close and cooperative relationship with the committee and its
staff in carrying out this vital work.
I thank you for your consideration, and I would be very
pleased to answer any questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Guzy follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator Boxer. Thank you so much, Mr. Guzy.
I would just like to ask you some required questions. Then
I will turn to my colleagues.
Do you agree, if confirmed by the Senate, to appear before
this committee or designated members of this committee, and
other appropriate committees of the Congress, and provide
information subject to appropriate and necessary security
protection, with respect to your responsibilities as Deputy
Director of the Office of Environmental Quality?
Mr. Guzy. I do, Madam Chairman.
Senator Boxer. Second, do you agree to ensure that
testimony, briefings, documents and electronic and other forms
of communication are provided to this committee and its staff
and other appropriate committees, in a timely manner?
Mr. Guzy. Yes, I do, Madam Chairman.
Senator Boxer. And last, do you know of any matters which
you may or may not have disclosed that might place you in any
conflict of interest if you are confirmed?
Mr. Guzy. I do not.
Senator Boxer. Excellent.
Senator Inhofe, go right ahead.
Senator Inhofe. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
I was going to start off with my streamlining of the NEPA
process questions, but I have a feeling that Senator Barrasso
is going to be asking about that, so I will get into two other
things within this 5 minute period of time.
One is on energy permitting, the regional multi-agency
permit offices. A company now is seeking to develop an offshore
lease. It has got to have an array of State and Federal
permits. Remember I told you the example that, one of the
reasons I ran in the first place was the permit problem I had
out in the real world. And these have shown that off shore
energy development can occur in an environmentally responsible
manner as we have found out from our experience.
Now, my concern is this. In some instances, over 30 permits
from 30 different agencies are required to drill one
exploratory well. Just one. That is just one pre-production
well. The same is likely true of any energy project, I suspect.
This is not a sustainable model. We have got to find a way to
rationalize the process without short circuiting any of the
safeguards.
Now, in recent years, the Bureau of Land Management ran a
successful pilot program to speed the permit delivery process
by bringing all of the permitting agencies together in one
single office, one stop shopping if you will.
Would you support a regional permitting support office in
Alaska? Alaska is an area where we have most of the problems,
and if we could have a single permitting office there that
would no more than anything else we could think of to expedite
this process. What do you think about that?
Mr. Guzy. Well, a few thoughts, Senator. First, the
President and the Administration have committed to both
transforming our economy to a new energy economy and to
economic revitalization as among their highest priorities.
The Council on Environmental Quality's very role is that of
coordination among Federal agencies that have a hand or a stake
in those efforts. While I am not familiar with that particular
proposal or set of problems, I would be very pleased to work
with you to look at it. And certainly the Council on
Environmental Quality's efforts at coordination in spurring an
economic recovery and our economic transformation will be
absolutely critical.
Senator Inhofe. Yes, but do you not think, this is the
information age and we have got all of the electronics and the
capabilities. The idea of having to go to 30 different
governmental agencies, do you not find that to be more than
just a little ridiculous?
Mr. Guzy. Senator, again, I am not familiar with this
particular circumstance. But I will say that, for example, with
respect to various controversial permitting activities, one of
the things that the Council on Environmental Quality has done
in this Administration is to pull together all of the agencies
that have a role so that there can be as much coordination and
as much efficiency as possible.
Senator Inhofe. The New York Times had the article that we
have quoted from several times, and I am sure that you are
familiar with it. They wrote that Mary Nichols, the head of the
California Air Resources Board, and Carol Browner ''quietly
orchestrated private discussions from the White House with auto
industry officials in an effort to conceal information used to
develop the fuel economy proposals. Nichols said that she and
Browner put nothing in writing ever.''
Is this consistent with the openness policy that our
President has campaigned on? Is there anything that you would
like to do to bring these things out into the daylight?
Mr. Guzy. Senator, a few thoughts about that, if I may. One
is that the President certainly is entitled to have advisors on
high priority issues, and he has chosen to structure his White
House in that fashion. I am not familiar with the operation of
the White House and with that particular effort around cars to
know precisely how that transpired or the accuracy of the
reporting there.
But I will say that, if confirmed, I will be accountable to
this committee, and you can be assured that we will look to
work in partnership with you and this committee as we put high
priority on economic revitalization.
Senator Inhofe. And that is what we really want, daylight
and accountability.
Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Senator Boxer. Thank you.
Senator Lautenberg.
Senator Lautenberg. Mr. Guzy, first of all I do want to say
that I was pleased to see your family here, and your mother. My
mother was widowed when she was 37 years old. I had already
enlisted in the Army, and life was tough. But a strong mother
always carries on, and the consequence of her dutiful
management of your life apparently was the right thing to do,
and we are pleased to see you here. Welcome.
Global warming is one of the greatest environmental
challenges that our planet has ever faced. Do you think that,
why should Government approve projects that have to undergo
review for their potential contribution to global warming
before they are approved?
Mr. Guzy. Senator, as part of the Council on Environmental
Quality's responsibilities in implementing and interpreting the
National Environmental Policy Act, I fully expect that we will
look at and give careful consideration to the benefits of
greater guidance to Federal agencies around both the effects on
the Federal Government of climate change as that may unfold
both now and in the future and the contribution that Government
activities may make to global warming. Those are areas that
certainly merit more consideration.
Senator Lautenberg. One of the things that happen in this
house of legislation is that sometimes we have to go to 100
Senators to get improvement. And that is even more than 30
agencies by a significant factor. We do it. It is arduous, but
worth it.
The one thing that I have done since I have been in the
Senate is to use as a matrix for my thinking and my legislative
pursuits--I look at pictures that I have of 10 grandchildren.
The eldest is 15. He has asthma, and on bad days he has bad
effects.
And my friends here have heard me say this before. My
daughter, when she takes him out for a sporting event, baseball
or basketball or whatever else, the first thing she does, if it
is away from home, is check and see where the nearest emergency
facility is.
This is more an encouragement than a question. And that is,
always keep in mind your daughter and the other children for
whom we have an enormous responsibility, and let that be the
guide to your action. Do not let politics overcome science in
selection of those who might be staffing your office.
So, when I look at this job, it is so important. And I feel
very comfortable that you are going to be there with your
knowledge and your experience and your commitment to what is
right, as I know about you.
The Government Accountability Office recently placed our
Nation's system for regulating potentially hazardous chemicals
on its list of high risk areas. What priority will your office
place on fixing our Nation's system for regulating chemicals?
Mr. Guzy. Senator, I am generally familiar with reports and
testimony of the Government Accountability Office on the Toxic
Substances Control Act and the hearing that I think occurred in
February in the House of Representative on those issues. And I
am also familiar that Administrator Jackson has identified this
as one of her priorities, and in particular concerns about the
burdens and difficulties of obtaining and proving data and
burdens of proof.
I look forward to the opportunity, if confirmed, to work
with her on these issues, to continue to give priority to
children's environmental health, as you mentioned, and to carry
on that work.
Senator Lautenberg. Well, I close by saying that we are
fortunate to have a candidate like you coming to this job. It
is going to be more difficult than perhaps some of the tasks
that you have had, but you are up to it, and we are pleased to
have you here.
Thank you very much, Madam Chairman.
Senator Boxer. Thank you very much, Senator Lautenberg.
Senator Barrasso, you will close this because we have a
vote pending. So go right ahead and then we will vote. How many
minutes left to vote? Seven minutes left to vote, so do your 5.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you very much, Madam Chairman.
In Southern Wyoming, in Colorado, having experienced bark
beetle in our forests, I was there this past weekend; we have
mountain ranges of standing dead trees that is literally a
tinder box. The Forest Service is working on hazardous fuels
reduction as best they can. But in order to complete the NEPA
requirements of these projects, they can only process one
watershed at a time, and these NEPA evaluations take about a
year and a half each.
So it seems to be a management gamble. We have no way to
know where the fire is going to start, and it seems to us in
Wyoming that NEPA is preventing large scale action to prevent
the damage. Is this how the law ought to be serving our
communities in the State of Wyoming and in the country?
Mr. Guzy. Senator, I am not familiar with that particular
circumstance, but would be happy to, if confirmed, look at
that.
But generally--the Council on Environmental Quality
provided Congress yesterday with data on economic recovery
environmental reviews. Generally, that showed an extraordinary
amount of activity in a very short time, the successful
resolution of approximately 80,000 environmental reviews, the
completion of 90 percent of those reviews over a 3-month
period.
I think that represents the commitment that this
Administration has to expeditious processing at the same time
as it respects the environmental and public input concerns of
those circumstances.
I would also add that we look forward to working, if
confirmed, at the Council on Environmental Quality on
appropriate means for adaptation for planning for climate
change so as to avoid those circumstances that would be
unmanageable and manage those things that prove actually to be
unavoidable. And certainly increasing wildfires across the West
are an area of significant concern.
Senator Barrasso. As you talk about the stimulus package,
you know, unemployment has now reached 9.5 percent, and it is
climbing. With that in mind, do you believe job creation, such
as the clean energy sector which you talked about in your
comments, should be weighed more heavily in making decisions
under NEPA?
Mr. Guzy. Senator, I do not have a particular view on that
technical issue, but certainly the Administration is absolutely
committed to job creation in this area. They have as an initial
step brought forward $80 billion in investment in the clean
energy area. There is a commitment to continue that and
hopefully work with the Senate on passage of broader climate
legislation that also will help to spur this industry.
You know, you look at things like the testimony, I believe
last week or the week before, your neighboring Governor,
Governor Ritter, about the transformation that is occurring in
the economy in Colorado that really promotes green jobs, wind
power, basic manufacturing that helps promote renewable and
clean energy.
Senator Barrasso. How can NEPA be improved to address the
concerns of people in the Rocky Mountain West who view the law
as a tool by outside group to block economic development, the
kind of development that is going to create well paying jobs
and allow communities to survive and to thrive?
Mr. Guzy. Senator, it is important that in CEQ's advice in
working with Federal agencies, and if confirmed, that we strike
an appropriate balance and a common sense approach.
Oftentimes NEPA becomes the vehicle for raising the whole
set of concerns that may be extraneous to the NEPA process. And
I am certain that the more engagement there is between
Government, business and effective groups on the front end of
the process, the more I believe that benefits a speedy
resolution on the back end of the process, and so that the NEPA
process itself does not bear the burden of all of those other
concerns. And that is something that I look forward to working
with you on.
Senator Barrasso. Well, that would be great. Do you believe
NEPA has been abused in the past by outside groups?
Mr. Guzy. Senator, I believe that is has had a heavy burden
to bear, and that as a result, in certain circumstances, it has
been slower than one might like, and litigation has played--and
while playing an important role, it has played a role in
slowing down some environmental reviews.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Senator Boxer. Let me just say on NEPA, we worked together
to make sure, when the stimulus funding came, we were able to
make sure that NEPA did not slow up the process.
And so far, we have had some good, we have a report,
actually, I would put it in the record, Senator, since this is
something that we worked on together. Since June 30th, more
than 70,000 NEPA reviews were completed, an increase of over
30,000 since the last report. We will put this in, because we
did want to make sure that NEPA was not used in a way that was
not appropriate.
I share that concern. I also believe it is hard to say you
are for individual rights and community rights versus big
government or big business if you do not understand that. That
is why NEPA was written in the first place, to give individuals
and communities the say-so so that Federal Government could not
come in, or some special interest, and ride roughshod over your
towns or mine.
However, there is no question, I think, that we can do
better with NEPA. And we could work together on that. I think
where we could part at some future point is whether we believe
those community groups and individuals should have rights at
all. But so far, I think we have been able to work together on
this.
So, we look forward to working with you, Mr. Guzy. I am so
grateful to you for taking on this challenge. And to your
family. I am glad your kids are here, your mom, your wife. It
is a great moment for you. I will be very proud to support you.
We stand adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 10:40 a.m. the full committee was
adjourned.]
[The referenced report was not received at time of print.]
[An additional statement submitted for the record follows:]
Statement of Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin,
U.S. Senator from the State of Maryland
Chairman Boxer, thank you for holding this hearing, and Mr. Guzy,
welcome to our committee; it is a pleasure to have you here before us
today, and I look forward to hearing your testimony and answers to our
questions.
Gary Guzy's nomination to the President's Council on Environmental
Quality demonstrates President Obama's commitment to developing
environmental policies using careful science and receiving the best
advice from leading experts in the field. The breadth of experience and
expertise that Mr. Guzy will bring to CEQ will serve the Council well
as it helps guide the Administration's decisionmaking on environmental
policies.
chesapeake bay and clean water
The health and productivity of the Chesapeake Bay are a top
priority of mine. It is a major economic driver for Maryland and the
surrounding States within the watershed. But the Bay's value is
dependent on the water quality of the watershed. Mr. Guzy's expert
legal analysis and testimony before Congress on the implications of the
Supreme Court's decision in SWANCC v. United States Army Corps of
Engineers in 2002 outlined the enforcement and regulatory mess that the
SWANCC decision created for regulators trying to apply the Clean Water
Act throughout the country. Fortunately Congress and this committee are
working to apply Mr. Guzy's recommendations 7 years after he delivered
testimony on the SWANCC decision.
mountaintop mining
Protecting clean water and public health is at the heart of making
sure that the Clean Water Act is dutifully applied to Appalachia's
dangerous and destructive mountaintop removal coal mining operations.
The valley fills associated with these operations have destroyed more
than a thousand stream miles with mining waste. Numerous studies have
shown that when impacts to the natural landscape of a watershed exceed
10 percent, water quality and the biodiversity of aquatic life in all
waters of the watershed decline. \1\ In Southern West Virginia there
are watersheds with more than 25 percent of the land impacted by
surface mines' operations.
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\1\ Yuan L.L. & Nortno S.S. Comparing responses of
macroinvertebrate metrics to increasing stress (2003).
Allan J.D. Landscapes and riverscapes: the influence of land use
on stream ecosystems (2004).
Morgan R.P. & Cushman S.F. Urbanization effects on stream fish
assemblages in Maryland (2005).
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What's more, the permitting process for these operations does not
account for the cumulative effect of multiple mine operations on
downstream water quality.
Regulatory responsibility for mountaintop mining regulation rests
with the Office of Surface Mining (Department of the Interior), the EPA
and the Army Corps of Engineers. I urge you to ensure that CEQ
facilitates the development of congruent environmental policy when
agencies' jurisdictions overlap.
climate change
No policy will require greater administrative interagency
coordination and executive leadership than the clean energy legislation
that Congress will send to the President's desk for execution.
Department leaders from EPA, Department of Energy, Department of
Transportation, Department of Agriculture and Department of the
Interior, and former military leaders have all testified before this
committee on climate change and the policy solutions that we are
considering.
In many ways, the actions President Obama takes on climate change
and clean energy will greatly shape his legacy and the future of the
American economy. CEQ will play a critical role in coordinating the
Administration's multiple layers of regulatory guidelines to make sure
that the country's transition to a clean energy economy is a smooth
one.
conclusion
Mr. Guzy has excellent experience as a legal scholar, environmental
regulator and in the private sector in emerging clean energy markets
that has prepared him well for the position that he has been nominated
to. I hope he gets the strong support of this committee and the full
Senate.
[Additional material submitted for the record follows:]
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