Acting EPA Chief Wheeler: Will Not Change EPA Direction

Andrew Wheeler, acting administrator of the EPA after Scott Pruitt resigned, told the Wall Street Journal in an interview that he plans to continue the agency’s current policy trajectory on environmental regulations. He said that while he is likely to continue President Trump and Pruitt’s regulatory plans, there may be shift in tone of "how I talk about some things... “I have thought for years environmental issues need to be depoliticized. In 1991 when I came to town they were not as politicized as they are today. And I would love to return to that.”Priorities include reducing the time it takes for environmental permitting and giving additional clarity on length of enforcement reviews. He also said EPA could communicate better about health risks in times of crisis, such as after the Flint water contamination and September 11 attacks.Wheeler said he believes in climate change; but there are legal limits to what EPA can do about it.The article said Wheeler declined to say if he’d take administrator job if nomination were offered. The WSJ revealed that among others who might be considered: Donald Van der Vaart, formerly North Carolina’s top environmental regulator; Bryan Shaw, environmental regulator in Texas and Jeff Holmstead, a former EPA official under George W. Bush, who said he had no comment on whether he would consider the position.As for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), Wheeler said during his confirmation hearing in November that the RFS "is the law of the land" and that he supports "both the law and the intent of the RFS program.