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EPA administrator supports lighter reviews of air quality standards

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Chief Scott Pruitt's afternoon testimony before the U.S. House seemed more like a job interview or introduction than a congressional hearing, as lawmaker after lawmaker on both sides of the aisle asked for commitments from the administrator to support one initiative after another.

Pruitt appeared before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce's subcommittee on Environment Dec. 7, which was split between a morning and afternoon session to accommodate a meeting the administrator had to attend at the White House.

The afternoon round was arguably less intense for Pruitt, who offered to work with Democrats to improve transparency and information sharing. He also committed to working with the lawmakers on issues from lead in drinking water and the effluent limitation guidelines for steam electric power plants to Superfund and greenhouse gas emissions limits for vehicles.

The EPA chief faced a tough line of questioning from a number of Democrats over his agency's failure to issue nonattainment designations for the 2015 ozone standards as required on Oct. 1. After missing the deadline, the EPA did announce the areas of the country that are meeting the standard but has yet to notify regions that are not. Pruitt said his agency is working diligently on the nonattainment designations and they will be issued soon.

He also told Rep. Bill Flores, R-Texas, that he would prefer that future reviews of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards — under which ozone and a handful of other pollutants are regulated — occur every five years but not necessarily result in an overhaul and tightening of the standard. Pruitt's statement is pertinent in light of a bill that cleared the House in July that would extend the deadline for National Ambient Air Quality Standards reviews to 10 years.

"I think the five-year review process that we engage in should be a review and not necessarily a ratcheting down," Pruitt said.

Pruitt was later put on the defensive for his use of private aircraft for business travel and the $25,000 secure phone booth he had installed in his office. Pruitt asserted that the phone booth, also referred to as a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, was required because the agency occasionally deals with secure information, and cabinet-level officials must have a secure line to discuss those matters. He could not say how often the facility is used in response to questioning from Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Co. He also said all trips on private aircraft were due to the unavailability of commercial air travel.

Pruitt also addressed the Clean Water Rule, more commonly known as the Waters of the U.S., or WOTUS. The agency is working on rescinding the Obama-era definition of waters that are subject to federal regulation, and Pruitt said a replacement rule will be issued April 2018.