EPA chief Lee Zeldin pushes natural gas pipeline revival in NH visit | CloseUp
WELCOME BACK TO CLOSE UP. THIS LAST WEEK. LEE ZELDIN, THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, VISITED NEW HAMPSHIRE. PART OF HIS SWING THROUGH THE REGION CENTERED AROUND THE PUSH TO BRING MORE NATURAL GAS TO NEW ENGLAND THROUGH THE REVIVAL OF THE CONSTITUTION PIPELINE PROJECT, WHICH WOULD NOT NEED ANY NEW INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. TO ADD TO THAT SUPPLY. IN A ONE ON ONE INTERVIEW, WE ASKED HIM ABOUT THAT EFFORT AND HIS RECENT DECISION TO BEGIN THE PROCESS OF RESCINDING AN OBAMA ERA CLIMATE CHANGE REGULATION. ADMINISTRATOR ZELDIN, TAKE US THROUGH. HOW BIG OF A PRIORITY IS IT FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP TO GET THESE PIPELINES, LIKE THE CONSTITUTION, INTO NEW ENGLAND? I HEAR PRESIDENT TRUMP TALKING ABOUT UNLEASHING ENERGY DOMINANCE SO OFTEN. IT’S NOT JUST WHAT THE PUBLIC HEARS DURING PUBLIC SPEECHES, BUT DURING PRIVATE MEETINGS. THE NATIONAL ENERGY DOMINANCE COUNCIL WAS ESTABLISHED BY PRESIDENT TRUMP RIGHT AFTER HE WAS INAUGURATED, BRINGS TOGETHER DIFFERENT AGENCIES WITH EQUITIES IN THIS ENERGY CONVERSATION SO THAT WE’RE WORKING TOGETHER AND WE’RE COLLABORATING DURING THESE MEETINGS THAT WE HAVE. PRESIDENT TRUMP WANTS TO KNOW ABOUT PROGRESS WITH CONSTITUTION PIPELINE TO DELIVER NATURAL GAS IN NEW ENGLAND. NESSIE PIPELINE, WHICH IS TO BE BUILT ONTO LONG ISLAND AND THERE’S, YOU KNOW, YOU GO ACROSS THE ENTIRE MAP ALL THE WAY OUT TO ALASKA, SEVERAL HUNDRED MILE LNG PIPELINE THAT THEY’RE DISCUSSING THERE. AND YOU THINK OF THE BENEFIT TO THE U.S. ECONOMY, TO OUR NATIONAL SECURITY. AND I WOULD SAY TO OUR ENVIRONMENT, TOO. WE IN THE UNITED STATES PRODUCE ENERGY AND TRANSPORT ENERGY, SO MUCH MORE SAFER THAN SO MANY OTHER COUNTRIES ELSEWHERE AROUND THE WORLD. AND AS PRESIDENT TRUMP AND THIS ADMINISTRATION LOOKS TO NEW ENGLAND, WE SEE SO MUCH OPPORTUNITY FOR U.S. ENERGY TO HELP POWER HOMES, TO BRING DOWN COSTS, TO CREATE JOBS. IT’S AN EXCITING OPPORTUNITY FOR NEW ENGLAND AND PRESIDENT TRUMP. I’VE HEARD A LOUD AND CLEAR FROM HIM MANY TIMES. HE WANTS TO HELP. WHAT IS THE EPA’S ROLE, THOUGH IN PARTICULAR, WE’VE HEARD IN THE PAST, THE OBSTACLE IS YOUR HOME STATE, NEW YORK. WHAT CAN THE EPA DO TO SMOOTH THE ROAD, PERMITTING, PERMITTING, PERMITTING? YOU KNOW, IT’S THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS EPA IS CAPABLE OF SLOWING THINGS DOWN, BUT EPA ALSO HAS A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS TO HELP SPEED THINGS UP. WE WANT TO ADVANCE COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM. WE WANT TO WORK WITH THESE LOCAL STATES AND MUNICIPALITIES. WE WANT TO GET THESE PROJECTS OVER THE FINISH LINE. NOW, IN SOME CASES, WE’LL GET INVOLVED IN SITING WHERE PROJECTS POWER PLANTS MIGHT GET BUILT ON TOP OF A SUPERFUND SITE OR A BROWNFIELD SITE. SO THAT’S IMPORTANT. SO ALL THREE OF THOSE ASPECTS COME TO MIND. THOSE ARE JUST THREE OF THE EXAMPLES OF PERMITTING WITH SITING AND ADVANCING COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM. CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE DECISION TO REPEAL THIS ENDANGERMENT FINDING FROM THE OBAMA ERA REGARDING CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE IMPACT TO HUMAN HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT? IT’S A PROPOSAL THAT’S NOW GOING OUT TO PUBLIC COMMENT FOR 45 DAYS, AND THEN A DECISION WILL GET MADE AFTER THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD. THIS PROPOSAL THAT WENT OUT IS A PROPOSAL THAT’S GONE OUT NOW AFTER THE SUPREME COURT WEIGHED IN IN SOME VERY MAJOR CASES IN RECENT YEARS, THE LOPER CASE OVERTURNING THE CHEVRON DOCTRINE, WEST VIRGINIA VERSUS EPA, MICHIGAN VERSUS EPA AND OTHERS, MAKING IT CLEAR THAT WHEN INTERPRETING LANGUAGE THAT’S IN STATUTE, WE CAN’T GET CREATIVE. WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THE PLAIN READING OF THAT STATUTE. AND THERE’S ALSO SOMETHING CALLED THE MAJOR POLICY DOCTRINE. SO WHEN A DECISION IS MADE BY EPA, WHICH THEN GETS FOLLOWED WITH WHAT AMOUNTS TO TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF REGULATION, THAT’S A PRETTY BIG DECISION. AND CONGRESS, WHERE I SERVED FOR EIGHT YEARS, SHOULD BE NOT JUST INVOLVED IN THAT, BUT THEY SHOULD BE THE LEAD IN DETERMINING WHAT THE STATUTE SAYS. AND I, AS THE HEAD OF EPA, SHOULD BE MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE FOLLOWING THE LAW AND NOT GETTING CREATIVE. AND THE AMERICAN PUBLIC SPOKE LAST NOVEMBER. AND I THINK THAT IT’S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WHILE I’M THERE IN CHARGE OF EPA, THAT I, I’M NOT TRYING TO GET CREATIVE WITH LAW, THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY RETURNING TO THE RULE OF LAW AND RESPECTING THESE DECISIONS OF THE SUPREME COURT. AND WHILE FOCUSING ON OUR CORE MISSION, WHICH IS PROTECTING HUMAN HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT WHILE LOOKING TO ADVANCE CLEAN AIR, LAND AND WATER FOR ALL AMERICANS, THAT WE’RE ALSO COGNIZANT OF WHAT THE AMERICAN PUBLIC SPOKE OUT LAST NOVEMBER WITH THEIR ECONOMIC CONCERNS, THEIR ECONOMIC DEMANDS, AND WHEREVER POSSIBLE, WE CAN BOTH PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT AND GROW THE ECONOMY. IS THIS ABOUT DISAGREEING WITH THE SCIENCE FROM 2009, OR RECONFIGURING THE POLICY MATRIX IN HOW THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OPERATES? WE CARE ABOUT FACTS AND TRUTH, AND THIS IS A GOOD THING. IN 2009, WE’RE ABLE TO DEAL WITH MORE FACTS THAN WHAT IN 2009 WERE ASSUMPTIONS THAT WERE GETTING MADE. SO IN 2009, WHEN TRYING TO REACH THE ENDANGERMENT FINDING, THERE WERE OPTIMISTIC VIEWS OF WHERE THINGS WERE GOING WITH THE CLIMATE. THERE WERE PESSIMISTIC VIEWS OF WHERE THINGS WERE GOING WITH THE CLIMATE. AND THE GREAT NEWS IS 16 YEARS LATER, WHERE IN 2009 THEY WERE MAKING DECISIONS, RELYING ON MORE PESSIMISTIC VIEWS AND MOST PESSIMISTIC VIEWS. THE GREAT NEWS IS THAT IN 2025, WE’RE ABLE TO LOOK BACK AND REALIZE THAT THE MOST PESSIMISTIC VIEW DIDN’T COME TO REALITY. ADMINISTRATOR ZELDIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU. THAT WRAPS UP THIS EDITION OF CLOSE UP NEW HAMPSHIRE. THANKS FOR WATCHING. 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EPA chief Lee Zeldin pushes natural gas pipeline revival in NH visit | CloseUp
During his visit to New Hampshire, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Lee Zeldin said, “During these meetings we have with President Trump, he wants to know about progress with the constitution pipeline to deliver natural gas in New England.”
During his visit to New Hampshire, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Lee Zeldin said, “During these meetings we have with President Trump, he wants to know about progress with the constitution pipeline to deliver natural gas in New England.”