00:01Senator Curtis. Thank you, Chair. It's great to be with you today. I think it's
00:07fair to say CEQ and EPA play a pretty significant role in what's happening in
00:13Utah, particularly with energy development. Thank you both for taking
00:16the time to come see me in my office. Ms. Scarlett, I'll begin with you. A little
00:22bias, you honeymending in Utah. We feel a connection with you. Mr. Hall, I don't try to beat that.
00:28But I also feel like CEQ touches directly on some really urgent priorities for Utah,
00:38and I'll start with wildfire management. We're experiencing, the West is
00:42experiencing, just the whole place feels like it's on fire. Interagency
00:48cooperation is just really critical. I'm really proud to work with my colleague
00:53Senator Padilla on Fix Our Forest Act, which emphasizes this interagency
00:57cooperation. In your role at CEQ, how can you ensure that there are no lapses in
01:02communication or responsibility among the federal agencies, particularly when it
01:07comes to wildfire mitigation? Thank you for the question, Senator, and thank you for
01:12the meeting. I really enjoyed our conversation last, I think it was just
01:16last week. You know, CEQ at its core is about interagency coordination, which is a
01:23very complicated process, and it doesn't always go the way it is supposed to, but I'm dedicated
01:28and committing to make sure that in this administration, the agencies are communicating
01:33actively in person and virtually at all levels of the administration from down in the field up into
01:39the headquarters offices. And any role that CEQ can play in ensuring that that process goes smoothly,
01:45we will absolutely be doing so. Thank you. And I'd point out, particularly when it comes to a wildfire,
01:50it's so time sensitive. Decisions that are made are very, very time sensitive.
01:56In my capacity as Chair of the Subcommittee on Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental
02:00Justice, and Regulatory Oversight, I also have the direct jurisdiction over CEQ, and by extension, NEPA.
02:08I'd like to be really clear, Utahns, whose communities are rapidly expanding, and whose economy
02:14depends on predictable, timely decisions, NEPA delays are devastating and very frustrating.
02:22They create unnecessary barriers for everything from housing to infrastructure, energy development.
02:27Can you talk about what steps you'll take to ensure all the agencies involved have actually the right
02:33technology and capacity to make timely decisions? Absolutely. Thank you for the question, Senator.
02:40We are actively working with agencies on updating their agency-specific NEPA procedures to be
02:46responsive to the directive from Congress and the Fiscal Responsibility Act amendments. Specifically,
02:53Congress imposed a two-year time limit for EISs, a one-year time limit for EAs. So we are working
02:59to establish a very disciplined process with the agencies so that they can achieve those timelines.
03:04Thank you. Mr. Hall, thank you also for visiting my office. Utah is very grateful to the Administrator.
03:13Please pass on our appreciation for his interest in our issues there. His visit and engagement have
03:18been really significant. As you know, we have these very unique air quality challenges in Utah, especially
03:24in regions where we have these basins, like the Uintah Basin, where ozone issues are very complex. They're not
03:30just as simple as they are in other places. And I believe the oil and gas producers in Utah have
03:36really stepped up. They've tried to mitigate these as much as they can, and oftentimes they've used
03:40innovation or ways to deal with this that have not been recognized by the previous administration,
03:47and in some cases actually penalized. So if confirmed, how do you plan to recognize and support
03:52producers who are proactively using innovation and ways to accomplish this that haven't fit necessarily
03:58in the exact squared boxes? Thank you, Senator, for that question. Because it is one of the main goals of
04:05this administration to advance energy dominance, and so oil and gas producers are critical.
04:12When I was Acting Assistant Administrator, I made sure to hold them account, but also to
04:16not hinder appropriate investment and development of energy resources. And that's why we put out the
04:22National Enforcement Compliance Initiative revision to make sure that that happened. In terms of recognizing
04:28those unique investments and productive ways in which they're going about complying with the law,
04:39I want to make sure that we take all that into account. If confirmed, we would look at that.
04:44And there's a couple different ways that can occur. One is through just pushing cooperative federalism,
04:49because the states are in a better position often to know exactly what's occurring on these.
04:54And so the federal government should not get in the way of the state dealing with
04:58those regulated communities if they're doing a good job. And that's what cooperative federalism means.
05:04But also focus on clear violations to make sure that when you're actually going after somebody,
05:11it is an important violation that actually impacts the community and harms it. And I think focusing on
05:17clear violations that are actual significant violations of the law is critical to making sure that
05:27the good actors like you're talking about are not unduly impacted.
05:30Thank you. And of course, we invite both of you to Utah to come see firsthand what we're doing.
05:34Appreciate it. I yield my time.
05:36I yield my time. Thank you.
Comments