‘What Are Your Next Steps To Address Lead In Aviation Fuel?’: Nanette Barragán Asks EPA Admin

5 months ago

During a House Energy & Commerce Committee hearing earlier this month, Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-CA) spoke to EPA Administrator Michael Regan about lead in aircraft emissions, the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act and other regulations.

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Transcript

00:00 Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Administrator Regan, I want to thank you for your tireless work

00:06 to strengthen our air and our water protections and invest in environmental justice communities.

00:12 It was great to have you in my district last month to announce EPA's Clean Porch Program,

00:17 which I was proud to secure funding for in the Inflation Reduction Act the Democrats

00:21 fought to pass. And I'm sorry you have to deal with questions about pages and things

00:29 of that nature, because if I sat here and asked a member of Congress how many pages

00:32 one of their bills was, they probably wouldn't know the answer to it. Or if I asked the member

00:37 of Congress the meetings they took six months ago and with whom and where, I would probably

00:42 have to get back to my staff. So I apologize you have to get gotcha questions and instead

00:49 focus on the work that you're doing for the American people, which is so critical. And

00:54 one of those is EPA and lead in aircrafts that I want to ask you about. Last fall, the

01:01 EPA issued an endangerment finding that lead emissions from aircraft are harmful to public

01:08 health. The science is clear. There is no safe blood level of lead. And exposure to

01:14 lead can have permanent detrimental health impacts on children. My constituents live

01:21 near Long Beach Airport suffer from this lead pollution where planes emit almost 1600 pounds

01:28 of lead each year into neighborhoods. Now that the endangerment finding has been finalized,

01:34 EPA is obligated to propose regulations for lead emissions from aircraft that use leaded

01:40 fuel. Can you tell us where the EPA is in the process? And what are your next steps

01:45 to address leaded aviation fuel? Well, thank you for that question. And thank you for your

01:50 leadership. Yes, because we have issued an endangerment finding, the Clean Air Act directs

01:57 EPA to propose and promulgate standards. So our subsequent regulatory action will be done

02:03 in concert with FAA. We're going to be working together to carefully consider the technology,

02:08 the cost, the lead time, the safety. We are well on our way having those conversations.

02:14 And we're working on regulatory options that address these potentially harmful emissions.

02:20 And we're going to keep doing that in partnership. Great. Well, when a rulemaking process is

02:26 launched, I would respectfully ask the EPA to hold a public hearing in Long Beach, California.

02:34 So my constituents can have an opportunity to give public comment and certainly would

02:38 love that engagement. Great. Mr. Administrator, moving on to my next question, the Inflation

02:43 Reduction Act included $3 billion for the Environmental and Climate Justice Grant Program.

02:49 Based off of my bill, the Climate Justice Grants Act, how have the initial grants from

02:54 this program benefited environmental justice communities? And is EPA on track to award

03:00 the remaining $2 billion in community change grants by the end of this year? Well, thank

03:05 you for that. And yes, we are on track. As of last November, we launched our new community

03:11 change grants program, which will invest $2 billion in activities that benefit disadvantaged

03:16 communities. As you know, many of these communities have had solutions for decades. They just

03:21 haven't had a seat at the table. This is a significant opportunity to do that. In December

03:26 of 2023, we announced $600 million for 11 selected grant makers under the Environmental

03:32 Justice Thriving Communities Grant Program. So we're ensuring that we're soliciting

03:36 partnership with those who have been on the ground, who understand where these investments

03:40 should go, and we're very confident that we're on track doing that.

03:43 Great, thank you. There are eight adopted California climate and clean air rules waiting

03:48 on federal waivers from EPA. These rules include zero emission standards for tugboats, locomotives,

03:54 and trucks. I know you've heard me already ask you privately, so publicly, will EPA prioritize

04:00 the review of these waivers? We absolutely will. We have. We've been working

04:05 with CARB. They are eight waivers. They are very ambitious waivers, and so we want to

04:10 give the correct technical evaluation to them. So we've been having those conversations,

04:15 and we've begun to prioritize those eight waivers in response to how California is also

04:21 advising the priority of those eight waivers. Great, thank you. If EPA were to approve all

04:26 these waivers, nearly 9,000 lives could be saved, and California would see over $75 billion

04:31 in public health benefits. This also has national implications, since other states can opt into

04:36 California standards. So I just urge EPA to make these waivers a priority.

04:41 For my next and last question, for the President's proposed fiscal year 2025 budget, there is

04:46 a significant requested increase for EPA's civil rights program, which enforces compliance

04:53 with civil rights laws to address environmental injustice in communities. Can you provide

04:57 greater detail on how EPA plans to use these additional funds to address environmental

05:01 and public health disparities? Absolutely. We are responding to an unprecedented

05:06 volume of civil rights complaints filed with the agency. These resources will represent

05:12 about a $20 million increase, and that will help us advance this very important work.

05:18 It'll help us to not only give a close review of these complaints, but also engage with

05:25 those who have filed these petitions in a timely manner, and provide a level of transparency

05:30 on that civil rights program. So that request is in, is sorely needed, and we look forward

05:37 to the partnership in receiving those funds. Great, thank you. I yield back.

‘What Are Your Next Steps To Address Lead In Aviation Fuel?’: Nanette Barragán Asks EPA Admin

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