President Trump's plan to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change has angered several close U.S. allies, including Canada, Great Britain, and several E.U. members, who are now refusing to release a joint statement with the U.S. endorsing pro-coal and pro-nuclear positions. President Trump has also announced his intention to nominate Dan Brouillette as Deputy Secretary of Energy; Brouillette has served on the Louisiana State Mineral and Energy Board as well as with the Energy Department serving as Assistant Secretary for congressional and intergovernmental affairs. Meanwhile, the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court has environmental groups concerned over the new justice's past arguments against the Chevron defense, a Supreme Court ruling often used by the EPA to defend climate regulations.
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Environment held a hearing on April 4 to discuss efforts to develop legislation to reauthorize the EPA's Brownfields Program. The hearing featured testimony from five witnesses: Maede Anderson, on behalf of the Association of State and Territorial Waste Management Officials; J. Christian Bollwage, Mayor of Elizabeth New Jersey; Hon. Harris P. Glendening, President of Smart Growth America's Leadership Institute; Robert Martineau, on behalf of the Environmental Council of States, and Salvatore J. Panto, the Mayor of Easton PA.. This legislation would be integral to the restoration of the many brownfield locations that are scattered along the Mississippi River. The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works passed by voice vote: S. 518, the Small and Rural Community Clean Water Technical Assistance Act; S. 692, the Water Infrastructure Flexibility Act of 2017, both of which focus on positive economic and environmental benefits from less federal regulation the, and S. 826, the Wildlife Innovation and Longevity Driver (WILD) Act, which aims to create new solutions to the issues which face our wildlife, namely invasive species, conservation efficiency, and poaching.
