Washington — On Tuesday, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt testified before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.  Pruitt faced questions on a wide range of issues, including politics. 

In the hearing, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) asked Administrator Pruitt about a 2016 interview where he said, “I believe that Donald Trump in the White House would be more abusive to the Constitution than Barack Obama — and that’s saying a lot." Pruitt pivoted away from the comment during the exchange, only saying that he did not recall that specific incident and his opinions have changed. After the hearing, he released a statement saying, “After meeting him, and now having the honor of working for him, it is abundantly clear that President Trump is the most consequential leader of our time. No one has done more to advance the rule of law than President Trump. The President has liberated our country from the political class and given America back to the people." 

Many other issues were raised in the hearing, including several important to the convenience and fuel retailing industry.  Here are a few of those issues and discussion from the hearing:

• E15: Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) asked Pruitt if he has clarification on whether EPA can extend the RVP waiver and allow E15 to be sold year-round. Pruitt said that EPA is looking for ways to allow E15 to be sold but that it’s not a policy issue, it’s a legal issue regarding “whether the waiver can be granted nationally or not.” Pruitt said that determinations about EPA’s legal authority in this space are ongoing. Regarding a timeline, Pruitt said, “It is very important, and we are working to get an answer as soon as we can." No specific timeline was provided.
• Octane: Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) brought up the potential for octane as a solution to RFS sunset issues. Specifically, he said that corn ethanol is a “very valuable” octane enhancer for liquid fuels, and asked if it is reasonable for Congress to have a “discussion long-term about the viability and the need for octane enhancements with regard to fuel standards and so forth coming of age?” In response, Pruitt said that EPA has often ignored the “fuel side of the ledger” in seeking better environmental outcomes, but that high octane is one way to achieve better outcomes. He noted that Europe has looked into using higher octane, though the U.S. has tended to focus on the design element of vehicles—that it, the automobile side of the equation. Pruitt said EPA is “looking at those kinds of issues.” Rounds then asked if EPA’s considerations will allow for high-octane enhancements from a variety of sources, not just corn ethanol, to which Pruitt said, “we’re agnostic about the source” and just looking at a “high-octane approach generally.”
• New RFS Pathway: Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) thanked Pruitt for creating an RFS pathway for sorghum, which is important to many farmers in his home state of Kansas. He asked for a timeline on when it would be finalized now that the comment period has recently closed, to which Pruitt replied that a timeline would likely depend on the number of comments received.
• NAAQS: Pruitt said that EPA expects to finish its ozone attainment designations in April of this year. He said that overall, the agency’s focus has not been on whether lowering the standard to 70 ppb was the right move, but rather working with states on implementation issues. Pruitt noted that issues such as exceptional events and high background levels of ozone can prevent areas from complying even when they are trying to.
• Clean Air Act: Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) asked Pruitt if he would look to retain the California waiver pertaining to its ability to regulate emissions standards. In response, Pruitt said that “one national program is essential” and that, “Federalism doesn’t mean that one state can dictate to the rest of the country.” Pruitt said EPA is working with California to find a “consensus” around the issue.
• Endangerment Finding: Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) asked if EPA was planning to repeal and/or replace the endangerment finding, which states that greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide are harmful to human health and has been a basis of many of EPA’s regulations under the Clean Air Act. In response, Pruitt said there has been no determination on that.