{"id":1572073,"date":"2022-07-26T16:19:46","date_gmt":"2022-07-26T20:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1572073"},"modified":"2022-07-26T16:21:46","modified_gmt":"2022-07-26T20:21:46","slug":"exclusive-conservative-and-pro-energy-activists-urge-senators-to-reject-top-biden-epa-nominee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-conservative-and-pro-energy-activists-urge-senators-to-reject-top-biden-epa-nominee\/","title":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: Conservative And Pro-Energy Activists Urge Senators To Reject Top Biden EPA Nominee"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fexclusive-conservative-and-pro-energy-activists-urge-senators-to-reject-top-biden-epa-nominee%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1572073&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><ul>\n<li><strong>Conservative and pro-energy activists are urging senators to reject President Joe Biden\u2019s nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s (EPA) Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), according to a letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Joseph Goffman, an Obama-era EPA official who was executive director at Harvard Law School\u2019s Environmental Law Program between 2017 and 2021, was selected by Biden in March to lead the OAR.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cMr. Goffman is yesterday\u2019s EPA regulator,\u201d Myron Ebell, director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute\u2019s Center for Energy and Environment, who led the coalition letter, told the DCNF.\u00a0\u201cThe Senate should only confirm nominees who know how to follow the law, and that leaves Mr. Goffman out.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Nearly two dozen pro-energy activists are demanding senators reject an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) nominee they say will help President Joe Biden achieve his overreaching \u201cclimate and anti-energy agenda,\u201d according to a letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>Joseph Goffman, an Obama-era EPA official who was executive director <a href=\"https:\/\/today.law.harvard.edu\/joseph-goffman-joins-environmental-law-program-new-executive-director\/\">at<\/a> Harvard Law School\u2019s Environmental Law Program <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/joseph-goffman-b90969148\/\">between<\/a> 2017 and 2021, was selected by Biden in March to lead the EPA\u2019s Office of Air and Radiation (OAR). The OAR, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/aboutepa\/about-office-air-and-radiation-oar\">which<\/a> sets National Ambient <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/criteria-air-pollutants\/naaqs-table\">Air<\/a> Quality Standards (NAAQS) through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/laws-regulations\/summary-clean-air-act\">the<\/a> Clean Air Act, should not be led by someone seeking to \u201cexpand regulatory authority\u201d for the Clean Air Act \u2014 the 23 activists wrote in their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/584268994\/Coalition-Letter-Opposing-Goffman-Confirmation-to-EPA-Asst-Administrator-Air-Final-26-7-2022\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">letter<\/a> Tuesday to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMr. Goffman is yesterday\u2019s EPA regulator,\u201d Myron Ebell, director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute\u2019s Center for Energy and Environment, who led the coalition letter, told the DCNF.\u00a0\u201cThe Senate should only confirm nominees who know how to follow the law, and that leaves Mr. Goffman out.\u201d <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2019\/08\/13\/trump-coal-clean-power-plan\/\">(RELATED: States Sue Trump Over Plans To Ding Obama-Era Environmental Regs)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Goffman was a <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/PQX7m\">key player<\/a> behind the failed Clean Power Plan \u2014 an Obama-era plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/stationary-sources-air-pollution\/electric-utility-generating-units-repealing-clean-power-plan#:~:text=Additional%20Resources-,Rule%20Summary,the%20Affordable%20Clean%20Energy%20rule.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">regulating<\/a> carbon dioxide (CO2). Critics <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chemistryworld.com\/news\/obamas-clean-power-plan-stirs-controversy\/8832.article\">held<\/a> that the plan, which was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/u-s-supreme-court-blocks-obama-s-clean-power-plan\/\">stayed<\/a> by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/21pdf\/20-1530_n758.pdf\">ruled unconstitutional<\/a> in June 2022, would stifle job creation and growth as well as overextends the EPA\u2019s authority.<\/p>\n<p>The Clean Air Act \u201cdefines EPA\u2019s responsibilities for protecting and improving the nation\u2019s air quality and the stratospheric ozone layer,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/clean-air-act-overview\/clean-air-act-text#:~:text=The%20Clean%20Air%20Act%20is,has%20made%20several%20minor%20changes.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according<\/a> to the EPA. The act allows the EPA to set NAAQs, known as criteria pollutants, \u201cto protect public health and public welfare and to regulate emissions of hazardous air pollutants,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/laws-regulations\/summary-clean-air-act\">according<\/a> to the agency.<\/p>\n<p>Goffman, who Harvard Law School <a href=\"https:\/\/today.law.harvard.edu\/joseph-goffman-joins-environmental-law-program-new-executive-director\/\">cites as<\/a> the \u201cEPA\u2019s law whisperer\u201d for his expertise in \u201cteaching old laws to do new tricks,\u201d oversaw controversial rules while serving under former President Barack Obama that \u201chave done tens, and arguably hundreds, of billions of dollars of economic damage,\u201d according to the activists.<\/p>\n<p>This includes the 2011 <span>Mercury and Air Toxins Standards (MATS) rule, which \u201cforced electric utilities to close hundreds of coal-fired power plants and indirectly devastated the coal mining industry and destroyed thousands of mining jobs,\u201d the activists say.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>MATS was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lw.com\/thoughtLeadership\/TheSupremeCourtStrikesDowntheMercuryandAirToxicsStandards\">struck<\/a> down by the U.S. Supreme Court and put coal mines out of business as well as raised electric prices, Ebell pointed out.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7485555\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7485555\" class=\"wp-image-7485555 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-1242019573-scaled-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-1242019573-scaled-1.jpeg 2560w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-1242019573-180x120.jpeg 180w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-1242019573-620x413-1.jpeg 620w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-1242019573-768x512-1.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-1242019573-1536x1024-1.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-1242019573-2048x1365-1.jpeg 2048w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7485555\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">SOMERSET, MA \u2013 JULY 20: President Joe Biden delivers remarks on climate change and clean energy at Brayton Point Power Station on July 20, 2022 in Somerset, Massachusetts. Biden announced executive actions on the \u2018climate crisis.\u2019 (Photo by Scott Eisen\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The activists also criticize Goffman for allegedly aiding Democratic attorneys general while at Harvard Law School to sue the EPA to make the agency set NAAQs for ozone \u201cthat would target the causes of climate change\u2014that is, greenhouse gas emissions\u2014on the grounds that climate change will raise ozone levels.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, Goffman corresponded with the New York attorney general\u2019s office, who sought to know how to use ozone NAAQs to get C02 regulated as a \u201ccriteria pollutant,\u201d according to Energy Policy Advocates, a <a href=\"http:\/\/epadvocates.org\/\">nonprofit<\/a> seeking to \u201cbring transparency to the realm of energy and environmental policy\u201d that obtained emails through a public records request.<\/p>\n<p>Led by New York, 17 Democratic attorneys general are now <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chamberlitigation.com\/sites\/default\/files\/cases\/files\/21212121\/Petition%20for%20Review%20--%20New%20York%20v.%20EPA%20%28D.C.%20Circuit%29.pdf\">suing<\/a> the EPA to further regulate ozone through NAAQs. Chris Horner, a lawyer for Energy Policy Advocates, filed an <a href=\"https:\/\/climatelitigationwatch.org\/dc-circuit-filing-reveals-pretextual-pas-de-deux-collusive-litigation-between-epa-and-progressive-attorneys-general-to-vacate-legitimate-ozone-standard-part-of-wh\/\">amicus<\/a> brief in February 2021 citing the communications between Goffman and the New York attorney general\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs head of OAR, Goffman would be responsible for choosing options to advance Biden\u2019s \u201cclimate\u201d agenda, designing and promulgating the regulation(s), and, e.g., deciding whether to defend or roll over for his friends\/former colleagues\u2019 suit to rescind and replace the ozone NAAQS\u00a0 \u2014 which immediately prior to joining the administration he consulted with them on replacing with a backdoor GHG regulation,\u201d Horner told the DCNF over email.<\/p>\n<p>Things like vehicular exhaust, combustion of fossil fuels and industry emissions impact ozone levels, Daniel Kish, senior vice president for policy at the Institute for Energy Research, explained to the DCNF. Should the attorneys general be successful, states may be forced to crack down on internal combustion engines and appliances tied to natural gas.<\/p>\n<p>The legal case could result in a \u201csue and settle\u201d agreement, the activists say, in which a group challenges a department it knows agrees on an issue, followed by the department voluntarily ending a dispute and enacting policy that perhaps would not pass through legislative or other means.<\/p>\n<p>Goffman will soon sit before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the body that evaluates EPA nominees, <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/PQX7m\">the<\/a> Washington Post reported. A hearing date is not yet set, according to sources familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n<p>Goffman did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the EPA or the New York attorney general\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"View Coalition Letter Opposing Goffman Confirmation to EPA Asst Administrator, Air, Final, 26-7-2022 on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/584268994\/Coalition-Letter-Opposing-Goffman-Confirmation-to-EPA-Asst-Administrator-Air-Final-26-7-2022#from_embed\">Coalition Letter Opposing G\u2026<\/a> by <a title=\"View Gabe Kaminsky&#039;s profile on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/user\/595267212\/Gabe-Kaminsky#from_embed\">Gabe Kaminsky<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Goffman was a key player behind the failed Clean Power Plan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":381,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1572073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1572073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/381"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1572073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1572073\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1572073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1572073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1572073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}