EPW Advances Nominees, Inhofe Bills

Statement

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, today praised EPW advancement of the nominations of Annie Caputo and David Wright to serve on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Susan Bodine's nomination to be EPA assistant administrator of the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. Caputo and Bodine previously worked for Inhofe during his tenure as EPW chairman.

Inhofe also praised the committee's unanimous approval of two bills he co-authored, S. 822 the Brownfields Utilization, Investment and Local Development Act of 2017 and S. 1447 the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) of 2017.

"I have worked first-hand with Annie and Susan for years. They are both dedicated public servants and leaders in their areas of expertise," Inhofe said. "Further, I am impressed with David's extensive knowledge on nuclear and regulatory issues and believe he will also make an excellent addition to the NRC. The Senate should now move quickly to confirm all three supremely-qualified nominees.

"The Brownfields and Diesel Emissions Reduction programs are strong examples of what the EPA can and should be doing," Inhofe continued. "Both programs enjoy bipartisan support and clean up our communities in a financially responsible way. Oklahoma has enjoyed tremendous success through the cleanup of brownfield sites including the Mayo Hotel in downtown Tulsa and Bricktown in Oklahoma City. Brownfield grants transform abandoned sites, generating economic growth and revitalizing local economies. The DERA grants have been extremely successful in generating manufacturing jobs and reducing real risks caused by air pollution by upgrading old diesel engines. I will continue to work with my colleagues to advance these bills in both the Senate and the House."

The BUILD Act reauthorizes the Brownfields program at current funding levels through 2020. The program provides grants and technical assistance to states, local governments, tribes and redevelopment agencies to support the assessment, cleanup and reuse of brownfield sites. Among other things, the BUILD Act would provide funding for technical assistance grants to small communities and rural areas, expand the scope of eligible grant recipients to include non-profit community groups and authorize funding for multi-purpose grants to tackle more complex sites.

DERA reauthorizes the Diesel Emissions Reduction Program through fiscal year 2022 at current funding levels. The program is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and uses federal funding --through grants and rebates-- to leverage state and other non-federal funding sources to finance the voluntary replacement or installation of retrofits on existing heavy-duty diesel vehicles and engines. Since its initial enactment, DERA has enjoyed overwhelming bi-partisan support. In 2010, the DERA reauthorization bill passed unanimously in the Senate and by voice vote in the House.

Source