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The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the United States House of Representatives Committee on Energy & Commerce (“Subcommittee”) held a February 26th hearing titled:

EPA Enforcement: Taking the Environmental Cop off the Beat

The Subcommittee described the hearing as examining the:

. . . effectiveness and consistency of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and implementing and enforcing federal environmental regulations and laws, as well as the resulting impacts of the Agency’s efforts and actions on human health and the environment.

A February 22nd memorandum (“Memorandum”) from the Committee on Energy and Commerce Staff addressed:

• EPA Enforcement Overview
• EPA Enforcement Indicators
• New Enforcement Policy Directives and Review
• Enforcement Staff Reductions and Proposed Budget Cuts

The Memorandum noted that seven witnesses were scheduled to testify which included:

Panel I

The Honorable Susan Bodine

Assistant Administrator

Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Panel II

Bruce Buckheit, JD, MS

Analyst and Consultant

Former Director

Air Enforcement Division, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Bakeyah Nelson, PhD

Executive Director

Air Alliance Houston

Eric Schaeffer, JD

Executive Director

Environmental Integrity Project

Chris Sellers, PhD, MD

Professor of History

Director, Center for the Study of Inequality and Social Justice

Stony Brook University

Jay Shimshak, PhD

Associate Professor of Public Policy and Economics

Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy

University of Virginia

The Honorable Ronald J. Tenpas, JD

Partner

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Former Assistant Attorney General

Environment and Natural Resources Division U.S. Department of Justice

A link to the witnesses’ prepared remarks and the February 22nd Memorandum can be found here.