[Senate Hearing 115-617]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 115-617
BUSINESS MEETING
=======================================================================
MEETING
before the
COMMITTEE ON
ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
SEPTEMBER 18, 2018
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Environment and Public Works
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
36-421 PDF WASHINGTON : 2019
COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming, Chairman
JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware,
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia Ranking Member
JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland
ROGER WICKER, Mississippi BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island
JERRY MORAN, Kansas JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon
MIKE ROUNDS, South Dakota KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, New York
JONI ERNST, Iowa CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
RICHARD SHELBY, Alabama TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland
Richard M. Russell, Majority Staff Director
Mary Frances Repko, Minority Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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Page
SEPTEMBER 18, 2018
OPENING STATEMENTS
Barrasso, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from the State of Wyoming...... 1
Carper, Hon. Thomas R., U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware.. 2
Capito, Hon. Shelley Moore, U.S. Senator from the State of West
Virginia....................................................... 3
Whitehouse, Hon. Sheldon, U.S. Senator from the State of Rhode
Island......................................................... 5
Cardin, Hon. Benjamin L., U.S. Senator from the State of Maryland 6
Rounds, Hon. Mike, U.S. Senator from the State of South Dakota... 12
LEGISLATION AND ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
Text of S. 1857, To establish a compliance deadline of May 15,
2023, for Step 2 emissions standards for new residential wood
heaters, new residential hydronic heaters, and forced-air
furnaces....................................................... 31
Text of Carper Amendment #1, An amendment in the nature of a
substitute to S. 1857 that reduces the regulatory burden
for residential wood heater retailers and manufacturers,
codifies critical residential wood heater emission
standards, and establishes a $75 million voluntary program
to incentive the removal and replacement of old,
inefficient wood heaters................................... 33
Text of S. 2461, To allow for judicial review of certain final
rules relating to national emission standards for hazardous air
pollutants for brick and structural clay products or for clay
ceramics manufacturing before requiring compliance with the
rules by existing sources...................................... 51
Text of Whitehouse Amendment #1, An amendment to S. 2461, the
BRICK Act, that would convey the sense of Congress that the
EPA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and
Radiation should 1) abide by all relevant standards of
ethical conduct; 2) recuse himself from matters where his
involvement would result in or create the appearance of a
conflict or undermine public confidence in the EPA; and 3)
provide a copy of his recusal letter to the Committee...... 55
Text of an amendment in the nature of a substitute to S. 2461 56
Text of an amendment in the nature of a substitute to S. 2827, To
amend the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation Act.. 58
Text of an amendment in the nature of a substitute to S. 1934, To
prevent catastrophic failure or shutdown of remote diesel power
engines due to emission control devices, and for other purposes 71
Text of S. 593, To amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife
Restoration Act to facilitate the establishment of additional
or expanded public target ranges in certain States............. 73
Presidential Nomination 2347. Harold B. Parker, of New Hampshire,
to be Federal Cochairperson of the Northern Border Regional
Commission, vice Mark Scarano, resigned........................ 81
Committee Resolutions:
Construction, Otay Mesa U.S. Land Port of Entry, San Diego,
CA. PCA-BSC-SA18........................................... 82
Lease, Department of the Treasury--Internal Revenue Service,
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Denver,
CO. PCO-01-DE18............................................ 83
Lease, Drug Enforcement Administration, Weston, FL. PFL-04-
WE18....................................................... 85
Lease, Department of Defense--Army Corps of Engineers,
Sacramento, CA. PCA-01-SA18................................ 87
Opinion: Mirrors and Smoke, Smoke and Mirrors, by John Crouch,
biomassmagazine.com, September 14, 2018........................ 89
Letter to Senators Barrasso, Carper, Capito, and Whitehouse from
the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, September 14, 2018... 91
Industry Groups Support New BRICK Act to Extend EPA Emissions
Regulations Timeline, ceramicindustry.com, March 28, 2018...... 98
BUSINESS MEETING
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018
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. John Barrasso
(Chairman of the Committee) presiding.
Present: Senators Barrasso, Carper, Inhofe, Capito,
Boozman, Wicker, Fischer, Moran, Rounds, Ernst, Sullivan,
Shelby, Cardin, Whitehouse, Merkley, Gillibrand, Booker, and
Van Hollen.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN BARRASSO,
U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WYOMING
Senator Barrasso. Good morning. I call this business
meeting to order.
Today we are going to consider six bills, four GSA
resolutions, and one nomination.
Senator Carper and I have agreed that we will begin voting
at 10:15. At that time, I will call up the items on the agenda,
including amendments for votes. We will not debate the items on
the agenda while we are voting. Instead, we will debate the
items on the agenda before we begin voting at 10:15.
I will also be very happy to recognize any member who still
wishes to speak after the voting concludes.
The items on today's agenda include S. 1857, a bill to
delay new source performance standards for wood and hydraulic
heaters; S. 2461, Blocking Regulatory Interference from Closing
Kilns Act of 2018; S. 2827, a bill to amend the Morris K. Udall
and Stewart L. Udall Foundation Act; S. 1934, Alaska Remote
Generator Reliability and Protection Act; S. 593, Target
Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act; S. 1537,
Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Act; then, as
well, Presidential Nomination 2347, which is Harold B. Parker
of New Hampshire to be Federal Cochairperson of the Northern
Border Regional Commission; and four General Service
Administration resolutions.
Now, it appears several members are present and would like
to speak. In order to maximize everyone's time to debate the
items on the agenda, I am going to defer any additional opening
statements until other members have had the opportunity to
speak. Members speak up until 10:15.
I will submit my opening statements for the record.
Senator Carper.
[The prepared statement of Senator Barrasso was not
received at time of print.]
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS R. CARPER,
U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF DELAWARE
Senator Carper. Thanks.
I have some comments I would like to give on my Amendment
No. 1, which addresses S. 1857, Senator Capito's bill. Shelley
and I were talking a little bit yesterday, and she indicated
her staff hadn't received our amendment until a couple days
ago, which I was just unhappy about. As it turns out, I talked
with them, and they said, let's go back and look. Apparently,
they said they met with your staff on July 25th, presented what
we wanted to do on the 26th, and the actual language that came
out tweaked it a little bit, but not too much. But the sum and
substance of it was presented a couple months ago, which makes
me feel better, because I don't like to give somebody something
at the last minute. I just wanted to mention that.
I still remember my staff preparing me for last year's
November legislative hearing on S. 1857. They told me there are
over 11 million homes using residential wood heaters today,
most of which are inefficient and without proper emission
control technology. Older wood heaters are inefficient, produce
a deadly mix of particulate matter known as PM, volatile
organic compounds, and air toxics.
Pollution from these heaters is problematic in a number of
States, including Alaska, Oregon, and Vermont, to name a few.
I also learned that sometimes it is hard for homeowners to
upgrade wood heaters on their own; they often need financial
incentives to do so.
Finally, I found out that the technology exists today to
reduce the pollution from these wood heaters by up to 70
percent. That is seven-zero percent. That is when I stopped my
staff, and I said to them, I think we have seen this movie
before and know it pretty well. Back in 2005, I remember George
Voinovich, our colleague, came to me with almost the very same
situation--not about wood burning stoves, but about inefficient
diesel engines. In 2005, George said, we have a great idea, the
Diesel Emission Reduction Act, and he asked me to be his
Democratic cosponsor, which I was pleased to do.
But DERA, as you all recall, didn't roll back emission
standards for diesel engines. Instead, it created a program
that incentivized the use of newer diesel technology. Together
with Senator Inhofe and a couple of other colleagues, we went
forth to establish one of the most successful clean air
programs on the books. My statement here says one that is
loved. I don't know that it is loved, but it is warmly embraced
by retailers, by manufacturers, by States, and health groups
alike.
My amendment today builds on what we know to be a
successful formula. Instead of delaying standards that many in
the industry are already meeting and States depend on for
healthy air, the amendment I am offering today creates a 5-
year, $75 million wood heater replacement program mirrored
after our successful DERA program.
What I am calling the Wood Heater Emission Reduction Act,
or WHERA, allows States, it allows Tribes, it allows
territories, and regional and local air agencies to apply for
EPA funding to create residential wood heater programs that
work for their State. Because rural areas and tribal areas have
a disproportionate need, we require at least 4 percent of WHERA
to go toward Tribes and require EPA to ensure that rural areas
are represented in funding allocations.
The amendment doesn't stop there, though. We heard during
our hearing in November that retailers needed a little more
time to get the older products off their shelves. Giving
retailers some extra time is also beneficial to manufacturers.
So, my amendment today gives retailers an extra year to sell
these so called Step 1 residential wood heaters. Thus, it moves
the deadline from May 20th, 2020, to May 20th, 2021, which is
almost 3 years from now.
This amendment also gives wood heater manufacturers some
flexibility in the testing program.
Finally, my amendment codifies the manufacturers' Step 2
emission standards, keeping public health gains and giving
States and manufacturers something they like, and that is
certainty.
As we saw with DERA, delaying emission standards is not a
recipe for success, so let's adopt a formula that we know works
for public health, for States, for American jobs.
Mr. Chairman, I am going to be asking for a roll call vote
on this amendment. I hope my colleagues will join me in
supporting it today.
Thank you so much.
[The prepared statement of Senator Carper follows:]
Statement of Hon. Thomas R. Carper,
U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware
Today, our Committee favorably reported S. 593, the Target
Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act, a bipartisan
bill. Our Committee previously favorably reported a slightly
different version of this legislation as part of S. 1514, the
HELP for Wildlife Act.
Ideally, our Committee would have considered and discussed
those differences in a hearing. The stakeholder organizations
that support the intended policy outcome support both versions.
To date, no organizations have expressed public opposition to
either version.
That said, we may need to better reconcile these
differences now that both bills--S. 593 and S. 1514--have
advanced to the full Senate. I look forward to working with my
colleagues to that end.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you, Senator Carper.
Senator Capito.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO,
U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA
Senator Capito. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I thank the Ranking Member. Thanks for the conversation
yesterday. It seems we have a little dispute on when the final
language actually reached our staffs, but we can debate about
that later.
Senator Carper. I think the final language actually reached
them a couple of days ago, but the sum and substance I think
actually did come in July.
Senator Capito. Right. Concepts were there. Like I said, we
can get into that off the dais.
I just want to urge support for S. 1857 to provide
regulatory relief to the wood and pellet stove heater and
forced air furnace industry. This is a bipartisan bill that was
introduced with Senators McCaskill, Shelby, and Manchin. It is
very simple: it extends that deadline from 2020 to 2023. That
extension is vital to the industry to be able to develop,
engineer, test, manufacture, and distribute models that are
compliant with Step 2 standards. It also provides that
certainty to retailers that they can sell existing inventories
through 2023 and to consumers.
The industry has already met the Step 1 standards, which,
according to the Obama's EPA figures, achieved the vast
majority--an estimated 90 percent or more--of the emissions
reductions anticipated as part of the two-step regulation. Step
1 reduced emissions by 70 to 90 percent compared to the
baseline. With Step 2, we are subject to the law of diminishing
returns, with each reduction becoming costlier and more
technologically difficult to achieve.
With that said, the bill would only delay--not modify--
would only delay the strict Step 2 standards to ensure they can
be plausibly met on time.
Members of this Committee have heard compelling testimony
and received letters from industry that there is simply not
enough time to fully engineer and certify. The certification
part is very difficult in terms of certifying new products by
the 2020 deadline. A 3-year delay would help alleviate logjams
at the labs doing their certification and the EPA itself to
ensure that the new models actually do meet the standards.
The Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee, which I
chair, heard testimony last November. It is September. Last
November we had a legislative hearing to the effect that some
manufacturers may only have one-third of their product lines in
limited quantities available for sale to comply with 2020.
At the time of our hearing, of the 540 wood and pellet
stove models that are compliant under Step 1, only 26 of those
would meet the standard under Step 2. Retailers will be making
their orders well ahead of the effective due date and will have
to deal with the regulatory uncertainty of what will be
available, as well as what will become of existing inventory
that may become obsolete and unsellable.
The purchase of these appliances is seasonal, so units may
be in the retailers' inventory for years. The outcome may be
that of the 11.5 million homes using wood heaters as primary or
secondary heating sources will continue to operate their older
appliances, which is what we don't want, many of them not even
compliant with Step 1 for additional years while supplies
increase and prices come down on Step 2 compliant units.
We have already seen the rise in prices. A retailer in
Prichard, West Virginia, had to double prices, from $1,000 to
$2,000, for products compliant with Step 1 compared to previous
revisions. In 2015, this retailer sold 42 warm air furnaces. In
2016, Step 1 induced price increase, he sold 11. By late 2017,
only 8. Which means people are not changing out their existing
units. That means that, and they are not buying the new units.
The impact for jobs and consumers is clear.
So, I would urge my colleagues to vote yes on S. 1857.
If the Chairman would allow, we still have a few minutes,
to talk about the amendment.
Senator Barrasso. Please. I know Senator Wicker wants to
speak, as does Senator Whitehouse. Senator Whitehouse is first
recognized, but go ahead.
Senator Capito. I will go very quickly here on the Carper
amendment that Senator Carper spoke about.
We talked about the merits of it yesterday. Hopefully, we
can arrive at some kind of compromise, but I don't think it is
meeting the standards of regular order, so I urge its defeat.
It would establish the $75 million new regulatory program
with no budget offset and has not been completely vetted by
members of this Committee. It would provide funding for buy
backs, as the Senator said.
While it is well intentioned, it does not address the
broader issue associated with Step 2, and instead, formalizes
them into law. It does not address the fact that there will not
be enough models approved, much less at an affordable cost, to
meet consumers' needs.
A lot of the consumers that use it for their primary source
are on the lower end of the economic scale, and that is a
source of concern for me being from the State of West Virginia.
So, I am opposing his amendment. I have other issues I
could add here, but in the interest of the Committee I will cut
that short and say that I hope we can work together, Senator
Carper, to try to find a compromise here, but in the short term
I would urge defeat of the Carper amendment.
Thank you.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you, Senator Capito. I also will be
opposing the Carper amendment and supporting your bill.
Senator Whitehouse.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE,
U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
Senator Whitehouse. Thank you, Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, the Associate Administrator for the Office of
Air and Radiation at the Environmental Protection Agency, as we
know, is a gentleman named Bill Wehrum. He was confirmed by the
U.S. Senate on November 9th, 2017. He promised to document his
compliance with his EPA ethics agreement within 90 days of his
confirmation. That 90 days ran on February 14th, 2018.
Since that date, I have been trying to get his ethics
statement, without success, in letter after letter, so I filed
Whitehouse 1 as an amendment to S. 2461 to require recusal of
this individual in matters where there would be the appearance
of a conflict or undermining of public confidence in the EPA
and requiring, as a matter of law, to provide a copy of his
recusal letter to the Committee.
Well, lordy be, as of now, we have his recusal letter. It
was not signed on February 14th, 2018; it was signed yesterday.
So, we at least have it. Further inquiry to follow as to what
the hell happened between February 14th, 2018, and September
17th, 2018, during which this individual, who is a walking
conflict of interest, appeared to be operating under no
conflict of interest or recusal statement.
On the basis of that, I would first ask unanimous consent
to put his recusal statement into the record.
Senator Barrasso. Without objection.
[The referenced information was not received at time of
print.]
Senator Whitehouse. And second, ask consent to withdraw my
amendment.
Senator Barrasso. Without objection.
Thank you, Senator Whitehouse.
Senator Wicker.
Senator Wicker. Well, I appreciate Senator Whitehouse
withdrawing his amendment. That will simply give us an
opportunity to vote yes or no on the underlying bill, which is
a good bill, and it provides legislative and regulatory relief
for the over 7,700 people who work in brick manufacturing
plants and the almost 90,000 Americans who are employed by the
larger brick industry, not to mention all of the millions of
construction jobs with brick based elements.
So, I am glad to see the amendment has been withdrawn, and
I urge my colleagues to vote yes for the underlying bill, which
is bipartisan, having sponsors such as Inhofe and Capito from
this Committee and Donnelly, Heitkamp, and Manchin who are not
on this Committee.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you, Senator Wicker.
Senator Sullivan.
Senator Sullivan. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I want to also thank Senator Whitehouse for withdrawing his
amendment, but also for his dogged determination to get members
of the executive branch to do what they said they were going to
do. If they told us they were going to file a recusal
statement, and they haven't done it, then I think it is good
oversight on his part to get them to do that, so appreciate the
hard work of a former attorney general.
Senator Whitehouse. Said the former attorney general.
[Laughter.]
Senator Barrasso. Senator Cardin, I know you also have a
bill, the Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Act.
Anything you would like to add at this point?
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN,
U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MARYLAND
Senator Cardin. Just thank the Chairman and Ranking Member
for including this on the markup today. It is a very important
bill that deals with our international efforts, the U.S.
participating in neotropical birds.
You have all heard me talk about this before. About 200
species are involved in the protection of habitat in our region
to make sure that we, with other countries, do what is
necessary and reasonable to protect their habitat. One of those
neotropical birds is the Baltimore Oriole. For those of you who
are following the baseball season, you know we need to pass
this immediately.
[Laughter.]
Senator Barrasso. We are waiting for one more member of the
Committee to arrive.
Senator Carper. Mr. Chairman.
Senator Barrasso. Yes, Senator Carper.
Senator Carper. Could I just have one last quick thing?
Somebody asked me from the press yesterday, he said, why do you
care about this wood burning stove legislation?
I will just say this; in Delaware alone we have a number of
wood heaters, and you have them in your States, too. We are not
the leader by any stretch of the imagination, but wood heaters
in my State are the second largest source of particulate matter
pollution--second largest source of particulate matter
pollution. If you add together all the PM that we get from on-
highway vehicles, electric utilities, petroleum industry
combined, the particulate matter that comes from wood burning
stoves in my State is more than all those three combined. All
those three combined.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you, Senator Carper.
We are waiting for one more member to arrive. I understand
he is on the way.
Senator Inhofe. He is on the 14th Street Bridge.
[Laughter.]
Senator Barrasso. The Ranking Member and I have agreed to
bring up two bills for separate votes. The Ranking Member has
requested that each of these two receive a roll call vote. The
Ranking Member and I have agreed to vote on the remaining four
bills, the nomination, and the GSA resolutions en bloc by voice
vote. Members may choose to have their votes recorded after the
voice vote.
So, I would like to bring up for call the en bloc passage
of the items, the Barrasso substitute amendment to S. 2827, a
bill to amend the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall
Foundation Act; the Sullivan-Carper substitute amendment to S.
1934, Alaska Remote Generator Reliability and Protection Act;
S. 593, Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act;
S. 1537, Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Act;
Presidential Nomination 2347, Harold B. Parker of New Hampshire
to be Federal Cochairperson of the Northern Border Regional
Commission; and four General Service Administration resolutions
en bloc.
I move to approve the Barrasso substitute amendment to S.
2827 and report S. 2827 as amended, approve the Sullivan-Carper
substitute amendment to S. 1934 and report S. 1934 as amended,
approve and report S. 593 and S. 1537 and Presidential
Nomination 2347, and approve four GSA resolutions en bloc.
Is there a second?
Senator Carper. Second.
Senator Barrasso. All those in favor say aye.
[Chorus of ayes.]
Senator Barrasso. Opposed, nay.
[No audible response.]
Senator Barrasso. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes
have it. We have approved S. 2827, as amended; S. 1934, as
amended; S. 593; S. 1537; and Presidential Nomination 2347,
which will be reported favorably to the Senate. We have also
approved four GSA resolutions.
Now I would like to call up S. 1857, a bill to delay new
source performance standards for wood and hydraulic heaters
that was circulated last Friday. Senator Carper has filed an
amendment to S. 1857.
You are going to offer your amendment, and then we will
have a roll call.
Senator Carper. I offer the amendment. We have discussed
it, and I would ask for a yes vote.
Thanks so much.
Senator Barrasso. Members have already had an opportunity
to speak on Carper No. 1 this morning. Additional members may
speak, if they would like, after voting concludes.
Move to vote on the amendment. Is there a second?
Senator Carper. Second.
Senator Barrasso. The Clerk will call the roll.
The Clerk. Mr. Booker.
Senator Booker. No. Oh, yes.
Senator Carper. Thank you.
The Clerk. Mr. Boozman.
Senator Boozman. No.
The Clerk. Mrs. Capito.
Senator Capito. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Cardin.
Senator Cardin. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Carper.
Senator Carper. Aye.
The Clerk. Mrs. Duckworth.
Senator Carper. Aye, by proxy.
The Clerk. Mrs. Ernst.
Senator Ernst. No.
The Clerk. Mrs. Fischer.
Senator Fischer. No.
The Clerk. Mrs. Gillibrand.
Senator Gillibrand. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Inhofe.
Senator Inhofe. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Markey.
Senator Carper. Aye, by proxy.
The Clerk. Mr. Merkley.
Senator Merkley. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Moran.
Senator Moran. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Rounds.
Senator Rounds. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Sanders.
Senator Carper. Aye, by proxy.
The Clerk. Mr. Shelby.
Senator Shelby. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Sullivan.
Senator Sullivan. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Van Hollen.
Senator Van Hollen. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Whitehouse.
Senator Whitehouse. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Wicker.
Senator Wicker. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Chairman.
Senator Barrasso. No.
The Clerk will report.
The Clerk. Mr. Chairman, the nays are 11; the yeas are 10.
Senator Barrasso. The yeas are 10; nays are 11. Carper No.
1 is not agreed to.
Now move to approve and report S. 1857 favorably to the
Senate. Is there a second?
Senator Inhofe. Second.
Senator Barrasso. The Clerk will call the roll.
The Clerk. Mr. Booker.
Senator Booker. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Boozman.
Senator Boozman. Yes.
The Clerk. Mrs. Capito.
Senator Capito. Yes.
The Clerk. Mr. Cardin.
Senator Cardin. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Carper.
Senator Carper. No.
The Clerk. Mrs. Duckworth.
Senator Carper. No, by proxy.
The Clerk. Mrs. Ernst.
Senator Ernst. Yes.
The Clerk. Mrs. Fischer.
Senator Fischer. Aye.
The Clerk. Mrs. Gillibrand.
Senator Gillibrand. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Inhofe.
Senator Inhofe. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Markey.
Senator Carper. No, by proxy.
The Clerk. Mr. Merkley.
Senator Merkley. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Moran.
Senator Moran. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Rounds.
Senator Rounds. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Sanders.
Senator Carper. No, by proxy.
The Clerk. Mr. Shelby.
Senator Shelby. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Sullivan.
Senator Sullivan. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Van Hollen.
Senator Van Hollen. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Whitehouse.
Senator Whitehouse. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Wicker.
Senator Wicker. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Chairman.
Senator Barrasso. Aye.
The Clerk will report.
The Clerk. Mr. Chairman, the yeas are 10; the nays are 11.
Senator Barrasso. This does pass.
The ayes were 11?
The Clerk. The yeas are 11; the nays were 10.
Senator Barrasso. So, the motion, Senator Capito's bill,
has passed.
Next, I would like to call up S. 2461, the Blocking
Regulatory Interference from Closing Kilns Act, the BRICK Act.
It was circulated last Friday. An amendment has been withdrawn.
I move to approve and report S. 2461 favorably to the
Senate. Is there a second?
Senator Wicker. Second.
Senator Barrasso. The Clerk will call the roll.
The Clerk. Mr. Booker.
Senator Booker. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Boozman.
Senator Boozman. Yes.
The Clerk. Mrs. Capito.
Senator Capito. Yes.
The Clerk. Mr. Cardin.
Senator Cardin. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Carper.
Senator Carper. No.
The Clerk. Mrs. Duckworth.
Senator Carper. No, by proxy.
The Clerk. Mrs. Ernst.
Senator Ernst. Aye.
The Clerk. Mrs. Fischer.
Senator Fischer. Aye.
The Clerk. Mrs. Gillibrand.
Senator Gillibrand. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Inhofe.
Senator Inhofe. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Markey.
Senator Carper. No, by proxy.
The Clerk. Mr. Merkley.
Senator Merkley. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Moran.
Senator Moran. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Rounds.
Senator Rounds. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Sanders.
Senator Carper. No, by proxy.
The Clerk. Mr. Shelby.
Senator Shelby. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Sullivan.
Senator Sullivan. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Van Hollen.
Senator Van Hollen. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Whitehouse.
Senator Whitehouse. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Wicker.
Senator Wicker. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Chairman.
Senator Barrasso. Aye.
The Clerk will report.
The Clerk. Mr. Chairman, the yeas are 11; the nays are 10.
Senator Barrasso. The yeas are 11; the nays are 10. We have
approved S. 2461, which will be reported favorably to the
Senate.
The voting part of this business meeting is finished. I
would be happy to recognize any members who wish to make a
statement on the legislation, the nomination, or the
resolutions that we have just approved.
Would any member like to be recognized? If not--yes, sir,
Senator Carper.
Senator Carper. Mr. Chairman, I want to take just a couple
minutes, now that we have marked up today, to discuss some of
the things that my Democratic colleagues and I sought to amend.
As someone who always tries to look for the positive, we have a
lot here that we have agreed on, and I am happy about that.
I was happy to see that we could come to a compromise on
Senator Sullivan's Alaska diesel bill. I think we addressed a
real tactical issue for remote areas of Alaska, while also
trying to find ways we can better improve energy reliability
and air quality for those areas. I thank Senator Sullivan and
want to thank the Chairman and their staffs for working with
our staff on this issue. I think it is a good compromise.
Additionally, I have advanced legislation to reauthorize
the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act today, and I
want to thank Senator Cardin for his leadership on this issue.
I feel bad about the Orioles but good about his legislation.
Neotropical migratory birds are special to both of our States;
in fact, to many States. People travel to the First State of
Delaware to observe the red knots, which benefit from the
Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act.
Further, we have considered Senator Capito's Target
Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act. This
legislation enjoys bipartisan support. It is endorsed by the
sportsman community as well.
I am also pleased that we were able to add the Udall
Foundation reauthorization bill to our agenda today. It was
last updated in 2004, but this reauthorization provides needed
updates to the Foundation. One of the changes included in the
substitute amendment would be to rename the U.S. Institute for
Environmental Conflict Resolution in honor of our friend, the
late Senator John McCain, which I believe is a great tribute.
On behalf of all of our colleagues, I thank the Chairman for
including this provision.
We also considered today the nomination of Harold Parker to
be the Federal Cochair of the Northern Border Regional
Commission. We heard from the nominee at a Transportation and
Infrastructure Subcommittee hearing 2 weeks ago. I am pleased
to support his nomination.
I mentioned this before, but it bears worth repeating. Old,
inefficient residential wood heaters produce the heat that a
lot of families need, but they also produce a deadly mix of air
pollution that can trigger asthma attacks, cause lung damage,
and create real problems for air quality. I mentioned this
before.
I was stunned when I saw this. In Delaware alone,
residential wood heaters are the second largest source of
particulate matter pollution, second largest source,
contributing more than on-highway vehicles plus electric
utilities and petroleum industries combined. Think about that.
Think about that.
A 3-year delay in the standards that manufacturers are
already meeting today just doesn't make sense to me, and I
think we can do better. I presented another option in Carper
Amendment No. 1. Without these changes, I could not support
Senator Capito's bill.
Second, we have Senator Wicker's bill, the BRICK Act, S.
2461. This legislation delays air toxic Clean Air Act standards
for the brick industry by 2 years. These are standards that
should have been in place almost two decades ago, and EPA has
already stated they are going to give the industry an extra
year to comply. I have concerns about the public health
implications of delaying standards even further, which is why I
voted no on that bill.
But Mr. Chairman, as you know, I am always pleased to work
together with you and our colleagues whenever we can do so. As
a result, we have made progress on a number of different fronts
today. My thanks to everyone--our members and staffs alike--
whose efforts helped make all that progress possible.
On the other issues on which we disagree, we live to fight
another day, or maybe to find consensus. We will see.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you, Senator Carper.
I do ask unanimous consent that the staff have authority to
make technical and conforming changes to each of the matters
approved today.
Senator Rounds.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MIKE ROUNDS,
U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA
Senator Rounds. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, we have a pending nominee, Mr. Peter Wright,
for Assistant Administrator of the EPA's Office of Land and
Emergency Management. As you know, I chair the Environment and
Public Works Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management, and
Regulatory Oversight.
In December 2017, we held a hearing on the challenges
facing Superfund sites following natural disasters such as
hurricanes. One of those challenges should not be a lack of
personnel on hand to mitigate environmental damage. Yet even as
we deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, the Assistant
Administrator of the EPA's Office of Land and Emergency
Management, Peter Wright, has yet to be confirmed by the
Senate.
Now, I understand that by my request I am not asking that
we swiftly confirm him, but I would ask that we perhaps take up
this matter in a more expeditious manner and confirm Mr. Wright
so that our Federal Government can more effectively deal with
the environmental impacts of natural disasters.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you, Senator Rounds. I would like
to agree. When you take a look at North Carolina, South
Carolina, the catastrophic flooding over the last several days,
Hurricane Florence has taken a tremendous toll in terms of
human lives, as well as billions of dollars in damage.
In the midst of this suffering, the EPA has been without
this Assistant Administrator for Land and Emergency Management,
the Subcommittee which you chair. This is the official who is
in charge of EPA's response to inland oil spills, chemical,
biological, radiological releases, national emergencies,
including hurricanes.
The President nominated Peter Wright March 6th of this
year, so it has been 195 days. He was cleared from this
Committee, certainly, but the Senate Democrats have blocked the
nomination. In fact, he has had to wait longer than any of his
predecessors in the last 20 years.
So, I agree it is time for the Democrats in the Senate to
move and stop the blockage so we can get confirmation of Mr.
Wright as soon as possible.
If there are no other Senators who wish to speak?
Senator Carper. I have a couple of unanimous consent
requests, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Barrasso. Senator Carper.
Senator Carper. I want to ask unanimous consent to submit
for the record a letter from environmental groups that are
opposed to Senator Wicker's S. 2461, which would extend the
compliance date for air toxic standards for the brick industry.
That would be one UC request.
Senator Barrasso. Without objection.
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Senator Carper. A second UC request, I would like to ask
unanimous consent to submit for the record letters from 23
environmental health and State agency groups that are opposed
to Senator Capito's wood heater legislation, S. 1857.
Senator Barrasso. Without objection.
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Senator Carper. And one more. I ask unanimous consent to
enter into the record supplemental materials regarding the
legislation we have advanced today.
Senator Barrasso. Without objection.
Senator Carper. Thank you so much.
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Senator Barrasso. In closing, I am going to enter into the
record a letter of support of S. 1857 from the Hearth and Home
Technologies. By giving the industry a compliance extension,
the letter says, S. 1857 would provide critical relief.
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Senator Barrasso. With that, our business meeting is
concluded, and we are adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 10:33 a.m. the Committee was adjourned.]
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