[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 46 (Thursday, March 11, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S1499]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 CONFIRMATION OF MICHAEL STANLEY REGAN

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam President, now is the time to take substantive 
action to combat climate change, address environmental justice, and 
help clean up the Chesapeake Bay. To help address these critical 
issues, President Biden nominated Michael Regan to be Administrator of 
the Environmental Protection Agency.
  Michael Regan most recently served as secretary of the North Carolina 
Department of Environmental Quality. During that time, Mr. Regan led 
the implementation of North Carolina's Executive Order 80, a landmark 
effort to address climate change's impact and transition the State's 
energy economy. Mr. Regan also created North Carolina's first 
Environmental Justice and Equity Advisory Board to address societal 
disparities exacerbated by environmental issues during his tenure as 
secretary.
  Mr. Regan has a strong record of bipartisanship, having previously 
served at the EPA under both Democratic and Republican Presidents. He 
is committed to rebuilding EPA's Federal workforce, which saw record 
departures during the Trump administration. During the Trump 
administration, we saw the EPA workforce shrink to levels not seen 
since the Reagan administration, and those who resigned or retired 
include some of the Agency's most experienced scientific veterans, as 
well as young environmental experts who traditionally would have 
replaced them, causing a brain drain at the EPA. Maryland is home to 
many of those Federal employees, and I look forward to working with Mr. 
Regan to rebuild the civil servant backbone of the EPA.
  One of EPA's most critical roles for the State of Maryland is its 
role in the cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay. We are at a very critical 
junction in the implementation of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement and our 
mutual goal of clean water in the Chesapeake Bay by 2025. On December 
29, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency established the 
Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load--TMDL--a historic and 
comprehensive agreement that includes accountability features to 
restore clean water in the seven jurisdictions within the Chesapeake 
Bay watershed. The agreement is a national and indeed international 
model for watershed restoration. It sets limits for pollution that 
equate to a 25-percent reduction in nitrogen, 24-percent reduction in 
phosphorous, and 20-percent reduction in sediment. As the Bay TMDL 
states, ``The TMDL is designed to ensure that all pollution control 
measures needed to fully restore the Bay and its tidal rivers are in 
place by 2025[.]''
  I look forward to working with Mr. Regan to make sure that EPA uses 
every tool available to them, including enforcement measures when 
necessary, to make sure that all jurisdictions are on track for our 
mutual goal of clean water in the Chesapeake Bay by 2025.
  Furthermore, I am pleased that Mr. Regan has indicated that he will 
reconstituting the position of Senior Advisor to the Administrator of 
the EPA for the Chesapeake Bay.
  I believe that Michael Regan is a strong choice to lead us into a new 
era at the EPA. For these reasons, I supported Michael Regan's 
nomination as the Administrator of the EPA.

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