Hill Heat

On Wednesday, August 4, at 10:00 AM ET, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a hearing on three of President Biden’s nominees to key positions at the Environmental Protection Agency.

• Amanda Howe to be Assistant Administrator for Mission Support of the Environmental Protection Agency
• David Uhlmann to be Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance of the Environmental Protection Agency
• Carlton Waterhouse to be Assistant Administrator of Land and Emergency Management of the Environmental Protection Agency

Uhlmann, nominated to be the chief enforcement officer at EPA, served for 17 years as a federal prosecutor, including seven years as chief of the Environmental Crimes Section at the U.S. Department of Justice.

At the end of the 2020 election season, Uhlmann wrote of the urgency to enact sweeping climate legislation:

The United States may soon have the chance, for the first time in more than a decade, to enact urgently needed legislation to address global climate change—but only if Democrats don’t repeat the mistakes they made at the start of the Obama administration.

The top corporate-polluter law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth warned that Uhlmann’s nomination “is a very strong signal of how serious” the Biden administration’s intention to “increase environmental enforcement” is, and that “companies should prioritize review of environmental compliance and performance and remain vigilant.”

Waterhouse, a Howard University law school graduate and professor, is an “an international expert on environmental law and environmental justice, as well as reparations and redress for historic injustices.” He served as an EPA lawyer from 1991 to 2000. If confirmed, he will oversee the Superfund and related programs.

Markup of the “Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2022.”

Markup of the “Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2022.”

Markup of the “Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2022.”

The purpose of the hearing is to consider the nominations of:

• Dr. Geraldine Richmond to be Under Secretary for Science, Department of Energy
• Cynthia Weiner Stachelberg to be an Assistant Secretary of the Interior (Policy, Management, and Budget)
• Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe to be Director of the Office of Science, Department of Energy

Dr. Geri Richmond is a renowned water chemist who has written:

Environmental concerns about adequate clean water resources have increasingly become more global with the recognition that unwanted chemicals in the atmosphere, in our soils and in our surface waters often transport well beyond the national boundaries of origin. As a result, there is a growing international urgency to understand environmental issues that can cross boundaries with climate change, healthy air quality and clean water resources being the most obvious. The focus of the studies in the Richmond Laboratory is to provide fundamental insights into molecular processes that underlie some of the aforementioned global concerns, with a particular focus on understanding environmentally important processes that occur at water surfaces and aqueous-oil boundary layers.

Winnie Stachelberg is a long-time executive at the Center for American Progress. Previously she was the political director for the Human Rights Campaign.

Dr. Asmeret Berhe is a soil biogeochemist who studies climate change. She was born and did undergraduate education in Eritrea before receiving a master’s degree in political ecology from Michigan State and her PhD from UC Berkeley. She is a professor and assistant dean at UC Merced.

The main goal of her research is to understand the effect of changing environmental conditions on vital soil processes, most importantly the cycling and fate of essential elements in the critical zone. She studies soil processes in systems experiencing natural and/or anthropogenic perturbation in order to understand fundamental principles governed by geomorphology, and contemporary modifications introduced by changes in land use and climate.

Markup of the “Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2022.”

The President and The Vice President meet with Governors to discuss ongoing efforts to strengthen wildfire prevention, preparedness and response efforts, and hear firsthand about the ongoing impacts of the 2021 wildfire season, which are growing more severe.

From CNN:

The virtual meeting will last an hour with governors whose states are experiencing wildfires and drought: Govs. Greg Gianforte of Montana, Jay Inslee of Washington, Gavin Newsom of California, Brad Little of Idaho, Kate Brown of Oregon, Tim Walz of Minnesota and Mark Gordon of Wyoming.

Biden and Harris will discuss efforts to strengthen wildfire prevention, preparedness, mitigation and response efforts, and will hear how an early and severe wildfire season is impacting residents and land in the states. The group is also expected to discuss funding and investing in wildland firefighters, including increasing pay for federal firefighters who are battling blazes, and extending hiring for temporary firefighters.

The White House on Friday will also announce two new interagency working groups pointed at the impact wildfires and extreme heat. Biden’s National Climate Task force, which is chaired by National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy, will announce a Wildfire Resilience Interagency Working Group, and an Extreme Heat Interagency Working Group.

The Wildfire Resilience Interagency Group will be chaired by US Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, while the Extreme Heat Interagency Working Group will be chaired by Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator Dr. Richard Spinrad, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan. There are 82 large fires burning in the West this week. Around 3.4 million acres have been burned in wildfires so far this year.

The Red Road to DC is an online and on-the-ground mobilization happening in July connecting 20 Native-led struggles to protect sacred lands, waters, and wildlife from threats posed by dams, climate change, and extractive industries.

Members of Lummi Nation carved a 25 foot totem pole that is being transported from Washington State to Washington DC, visiting tribal nations and Native communities leading efforts to protect sacred places along the way. The journey ends in Washington, DC, with a totem pole blessing, press conference, exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, and delivering the pole to Secretary Deb Haaland at the Department of the Interior.

The House of Tears Carvers and our partners cordially invite you to the culmination of the #RedRoadtoDC Totem Pole Journey in Washington D.C., after thousands of miles traveled visiting dozens of Native-led struggles to protect sacred places. On the 29th, Secretary Deb Haaland will receive the totem pole at a 2pm blessing ceremony on the National Mall, followed by a rally featuring tribal leaders, organizers, and Congressional representatives.

On the 30th, the public is invited to view the totem pole outside the National Museum of the American Indian.

Join us in action, in prayer, or in person to demand:

• The Biden administration must support and uphold Native People’s Free Prior & Informed Consent, as guaranteed by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
• Support the demands and struggles of our frontline partners at each and every journey stop starting June 30.

Hearing page

Witnesses:

• Giles Dickson, CEO, WindEurope
• Heather Zichal, CEO, American Clean Power Association
• Lars Thaaning Pedersen, CEO, Vineyard Wind, Co-CEO, Copenhagen Offshore Partners

Exposure to pollution and lack of access to clean, affordable energy solutions has created economic and health disparities – particularly in Black, Brown, Indigenous, and low-income communities. What are the Biden administration’s policy priorities around environmental justice and pollution-free energy infrastructure? And how do we ensure all Americans have access to clean air, water, and sustainable housing?

The Hill will convene advocates and sustainable energy experts for a comprehensive discussion on environmental justice and climate priorities, moderated by Steve Clemons.

Speakers

• Kim Foreman, Executive Director, Environmental Health Watch
• Brenda Mallory, Chair, White House Council on Environmental Quality
• Ben Passer, Lead Director, Energy Access and Equity, Fresh Energy
• Jacqueline Patterson, Founder and Executive Director, The Chisolm Legacy Project
• Adrianna Quintero, Senior Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Energy Foundation

Sponsor Perspective

• Flo McAfee, President, Summerland Studios
• Peggy Shepard, Co-Founder and Executive Director, WE ACT for Environmental Justice

RSVP

Hearing page

The jurisdiction of the Subcommittee on Readiness includes Department of Defense policy and programs and accounts related to the environment and energy.

Hearing page

Witnesses

• Karim Giscombe, Chief Executive Officer, PLANT-AG, West Palm Beach, FL
• Aaron Gadouas, Managing Director, BC Ziegler & Company Investment Bank, Chicago, IL
• Edward Verbakel, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, VB Group and Atrium Agri Group, Netherlands
• Jason Kelley, General Manager, IBM Strategic Partners, Austin, TX
• Kevin Safrance, Executive Vice Chairman, Mastronardi Produce, Livonia, MI