News

Regan confirmed as the new EPA administrator

The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly confirmed new EPA administrator Michael Regan by a 66-34 vote Wednesday.

The appointment of Regan was supported by twenty-four agricultural groups including the American Farm Bureau, National Farmers Union, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, and all the renewable fuel organizations. 

Kurt Kovarik with the National Biodiesel Board is confident Regan will be a change needed by the biofuels industry. “He was very positive about the Biden administration’s view of the Renewable Fuel Standard, and he also clearly acknowledged the role of agriculture and biofuels, and that’s a seat at the table that we’ll have to have in any conversations around tackling climate.”

The American Coalition for Ethanol issued a statement saying they look forward to working with Regan to address the long to-do list he inherited including reining-in Small Refinery Exemptions, restoring 500 million gallons of ethanol that was not blended as required by the Renewable Fuels Standard.

South Dakota biofuels producer POET says it’s a new day at the EPA and they look forward to working with Regan to combat the climate crisis and reduce toxic vehicle emissions, and encouraging the use of E15 would help meet President Biden’s climate goals.

Regan had bipartisan support, but Republicans including Senator Shelly Moore Capito questioned if Regan and the Biden White House have an environmental plan that’s any different than the Obama administration. “(He) would not comment as to whether the so-called Clean Power Plan or something worse would be reinstituted. He did not rule out a return to the WOTUS rule.”

And, Capito and Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan questioned if Regan would be in charge at EPA or if Climate Czar and former EPA administrator Gina McCarthy would be running Biden’s environmental policy.