On April 30, 2024, the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies held a hearing on the fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget request for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies held a separate hearing on EPA’s FY 2025 budget request on May 1, 2024, and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held its own hearing on May 8, 2024. On May 15, 2024, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials held a hearing. EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan testified before both of the House Subcommittees, the Senate Subcommittee, and the Senate Committee (written testimony is hyperlinked).
April 30, 2024, House Subcommittee Hearing
During the April 30, 2024, House Subcommittee hearing, Ranking Member Chellie Pingree (D-ME) asked for an update on EPA’s risk assessment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in biosolids. Regan stated that EPA is working on issuing it in final in 2024, and it will include a focus on certain PFAS to help EPA understand better the specific risks posed to farmers and the uptake in crops and livestock. Regan noted that EPA is working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to research the risk from biosolids application. EPA intends to hold the polluters responsible for the PFAS accountable and does not want farmers, water systems, or taxpayers in affected communities to bear the burden of the contamination.
As reported in our November 3, 2023, blog item, on November 2, 2023, EPA announced that it granted a petition filed under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to address the use of the chemical N-(1,3-Dimethylbutyl)-N′-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6PPD) in tires. Representative Derek Kilmer (D-WA) asked whether EPA still planned to issue an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) under TSCA Section 6 by the end of 2024 to obtain more information to inform a subsequent regulatory action. Regan stated that EPA expects to issue the ANPRM by fall 2024.
May 1, 2024, Senate Subcommittee Hearing
During the May 1, 2024, Senate Subcommittee hearing, Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) asked Regan to explain how EPA will address PFAS contamination under the FY 2025 budget request. Regan noted that EPA recently issued its first-ever National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR), which will reduce PFAS exposure to over 100 million people. EPA also announced grants available to help smaller communities comply with the NPDWR. According to Regan, EPA needs the resources and staff to have a comprehensive approach to protect water quality from PFAS. Regan stated that EPA would use the funding to continue to collect scientific evidence and to study how to design technology and health-based standards to protect as many people as possible from different forms of PFAS.
Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) noted that during a 2023 Senate hearing, Regan testified that EPA had an additional 29 PFAS on its radar for a similar drinking water update and asked Regan about the status of the rulemaking. Regan stated that through the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, EPA is monitoring drinking water in communities across the United Sates for these 29 PFAS and that EPA intends to pursue regulation for these PFAS.
Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, asked Regan about the key funding increases included in the FY 2025 budget request for some of EPA’s core programs. Regan stated that the increases are intended to allow EPA to keep up with recent progress that it has made. While EPA recently issued the NPDWR for six PFAS, there are an additional 29 PFAS being monitored, and thousands more. EPA wants to ensure the safety of chemicals before they hit the market, and that is one of the places where EPA has a deficit in terms of staffing. According to Regan, EPA is getting more requests from agricultural communities about herbicides and pesticides.
Senator Katie Britt (R-AL) stated that EPA’s recent Endangered Species Act (ESA) proposals, such as the Herbicide Strategy, could impose hundreds of millions of dollars in new restrictions on farmers. Britt asked Regan how EPA would implement Congress’s bipartisan instructions in the FY 2024 appropriations report to consider best available data on pesticide usage, conservation practices, and real-world studies on spray drift and water concentrations. Regan testified that previous EPA decisions spanning decades and court rulings have put EPA in a precarious position. According to Regan, EPA is speaking with the farming and agricultural community and has come up with strategies that have received positive feedback. Britt asked whether EPA would consider appointing designated non-federal representatives to help EPA meet its ESA responsibilities. Regan responded that EPA needs more staff and resources to respond to court decisions and that the particular EPA office is down to levels from the early 2000s. Regan stated that he would need to talk through the use of non-federal representatives and agreed to discuss the issue with Britt.
Subcommittee Chair Jeff Merkley (D-OR) asked Regan what Congress can do to accelerate a solution to replace 6PPD with something that works as well without harming salmon. Regan stated that EPA intends to publish an ANPRM by fall 2024 and that EPA is also researching mitigation efforts to fill in the gap until it can take regulatory action.
Ranking Member Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) noted that in its FY 2024 budget request, EPA proposed a significant decrease in discretionary funding because of new revenues coming in from the Superfund tax, while the FY 2025 request includes additional funding for the program. Murkowski asked Regan for his view of the long-term funding outlook for the Superfund program. Regan testified that the tax collections for the first two years were lower than forecasted by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Because of the gap, for FY 2025, EPA has requested additional funding.
May 8, 2024, Senate Committee Hearing
Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) described EPA’s designation of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) as flawed, stating that this would place the financial burden on passive receivers such as water utilities. More information on the designation and on EPA’s PFAS Enforcement Discretion and Settlement Policy Under CERCLA is available in our April 23, 2024, memorandum.
Committee Chair Thomas R. Carper (D-DE) asked Regan to describe the impact that the FY 2024 funding levels had on the TSCA program and what EPA could accomplish if it received the full amount requested in the FY 2025 budget request and maximized revenue collection through the recently updated TSCA fees rule. Regan stated that EPA received a small increase for TSCA in the FY 2022 and 2023 budgets, and it more than doubled the number of chemical reviews that it did each month. Without the funding in the FY 2025 budget request, EPA will see slower approval of new chemistries, especially for those companies in the semi-conductor, automotive, and battery sectors.
May 15, 2024, House Subcommittee Hearing
During the hearing held by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials, Subcommittee Ranking Member Paul Tonko (D-NY) asked Regan what EPA is doing to address the backlog of new chemical reviews and what Congress can do to support EPA. Regan stated that with the budget increases that EPA received in 2022 and 2023, it more than doubled the number of new chemicals reviewed each month. According to Regan, EPA has reduced the backlog by half and prioritized new chemistries for the semi-conductor, automotive, and battery manufacturing sectors. According to Regan, without the funding in the FY 2025 budget request, EPA will see slower approval of new chemicals.
Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, noted that the reinstated Superfund tax has brought in lower receipts than projected by the Treasury and asked how EPA is adapting to the difference between the Treasury’s forecast and the actual funds collected. Regan testified that EPA is working with the Treasury Department to refine its estimates. According to Regan, the $300 million in the FY 2025 budget request will fill in the gap between the projected and actual tax receipts. Without the additional funding, Regan stated that there would be a slowdown in EPA’s ability to clean up Superfund sites. Pallone then asked Regan what the designation of PFOA and PFOS as CERCLA hazardous substances and EPA’s enforcement policy mean for different sectors. Regan responded that EPA is focused on the manufacturers responsible for the PFAS and will not pursue enforcement actions against sectors such as farmers or water systems.
Representative Randy Weber (R-TX) asked about EPA’s final rule amending the TSCA risk evaluation framework and its removal of the definition of “best available science.” Regan stated that he would have to get more context to respond to Weber. More information on EPA’s final rule is available in our May 14, 2024, memorandum.
Representative Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) asked Regan to comment on the almost 400 premanufacture notifications (PMN) awaiting a risk determination and the more than 90 percent that have passed the statutory deadline of 90 days. According to Regan, the issue predates the Biden-Harris Administration. Regan repeated that with the additional resources from Congress in 2022 and 2023, EPA has more than doubled the reviews completed each month.
Representative John Curtis (R-UT) noted that applications in EPA’s New Chemicals Program have dropped from 600 annually to just over 200 and that in the last two calendar years, EPA made 95 and 101 determinations, respectively. According to Curtis, although EPA is required by law to return fees if it misses deadlines, it has never returned the fee to an applicant when EPA has missed the deadline because applicants coincidentally suspend or withdraw their applications before the deadline. Curtis asked Regan to explain the coincidence of PMNs being suspended or withdrawn just in time to allow EPA to keep the money. Regan stated that he was unaware that applications were being withdrawn from EPA and committed to looking into it. Curtis stated that he has been told that EPA has effectively threatened applicants by phone to suspend or withdraw their applications and stated he would like Regan to look into this and report back. Regan committed to doing so. Curtis followed up by asking about EPA’s assumption that it can charge user fees covering 25 percent of the TSCA program’s budget, regardless of the cost. Regan responded that he is not sure that he agrees with the premise and that he needs to look at EPA’s performance with the budget that it did receive. Regan agreed to have a deeper conversation with Curtis on the topic.
Commentary
The hearings for EPA’s FY 2025 budget request were similar to the hearings for EPA’s FY 2024 budget request. Republicans pressed EPA on why it needs additional funding, criticizing the cost and reach of its current rulemakings, while Regan highlighted EPA’s obligations under federal statutes, including the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, TSCA, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, and the ESA, as well as recent court decisions. On balance, no new information emerged.