EPA's decision on chemicals worries Republicans

"I am worried about this," said Senator Shelley Moore Capito (RW.Va.), whose state has had two major cases of chemical-related contamination. "I'm concerned about what he thinks about why we are going to achieve a safer water level if that's not the direction they're going to take. I think I need a more complete explanation from him.

Capito, due to be re-elected in 2020, will be a crucial Republican vote when the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works decides on the appointment of Wheeler. She said she had a phone call with Wheeler later Tuesday to discuss the issue of water.

The committee has 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats, which means that a Republican defection could prevent the candidacy from becoming a candidate.

In the House, some lawmakers have already asked Congress to intervene and compel the EPA to set a drinking water limit if the Trump administration does not. did not act.

"] If the EPA refuses to do its job, the Congress must interfere," said Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Who co-chairs the bipartite working group of the Congress on chemicals.

Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Whose district found significant chemical contamination this summer, told POLITICO that "doing nothing is not acceptable," he added. "We will have ample opportunity to grill the EPA".

The decision regarding drinking water is included in a chemical management plan that the EPA sent to the White House for review in December, as reported by POLITICO from sources close to the file. Wheeler told lawmakers that the plan was about to be released this month before the partial government shutdown delayed it.

EPA Chief of Water, David Ross, made a statement Tuesday noting that the plan had not yet been approved by the White House and this assumes that what is included in the plan is premature. However, he did not dispute the content of the POLITICO report.

"The agency is committed to following the Safe Drinking Water Act process to assess new drinking water standards, which are not enforceable. is that one of the many elements of the draft plan currently undergoing an inter-agency review, "Ross said.

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), The largest Democrat on the environment committee, said he felt Wheeler could still be pressured to change the agency's decision on 'potable water.

"I do not think the last part of the play was written about it," Carper told reporters. "He will hear a lot of people, Democrats and Republicans. There is a lot of concern. "

Carper stated that the issue was important for Republicans, many of whom face significant drinking water contamination problems in their states.

" They're S & # They care as much as we do. Carper said. "This is a big problem [to Wheeler’s confirmation]. I think we realize more and more that this is the case.

The controversy surrounding the same class of chemicals has already helped derail a candidate for Trump's EPA. In 2017, the two Republican senators from North Carolina opposed the appointment of Michael Dourson as head of the EPA's Bureau of Chemical Safety, forcing his withdrawal.

Dourson, a reputed toxicologist to minimize the risks associated with chemicals, had led a group of experts who recommended in 2002 to fix the drug. West Virginia state a safety threshold 150 times higher than that of the DuPont chemical company [19659004] own internal limit for its employees. He was also thousands of times higher than the standard EPA subsequently approved in 2016.

Colorado Republican Senator Cory Gardner may be subject to increased political pressure because of his own contamination. problems. He told POLITICO that he expected the federal government to play a role in the regulation of chemicals, but he wanted to know the results of an included health study. in the National Defense Authorization Act for the 2018 fiscal year.

"I think it's very important that we get as much information as possible and then act appropriate, "he said.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D -W.Va.), the only Democrat yet in the Senate to support the appointment of Wheeler as deputy director, told POLITICO that the revelations were about him and promised him to demand answers.

Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), Democratic Co-Chair of Fitzpatrick's Chemicals Task Force, described the decision not to regulate the two substances as "almost incomprehensible".

"I think this increases the need for Congress to act," Kildee told POLITICO.

In the meantime, three senior members of the House of the Committee on Energy and Commerce – President Frank Pallone (DN.J.), Chair of the Subcommittee on monitoring and investigations, Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and Paul Tonko (DN.Y.), chair of the Subcommittee on the Environment and Climate Change, took advantage of this information to renew their request for documents, originally submitted in May 2018, regarding the efforts of the EPA. those named to block a safety hazard study focused on this class of chemicals.