Sen. Tammy Duckworth Blocks Key EPA Nominees, Cites Ethanol Stance and Ties to Koch Industries

by Ben Wolfgang (The Washington Times) Citing one nominee’s stance on the federal ethanol mandate and another’s supposed ties to Koch Industries, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Illinois Democrat, on Wednesday placed holds on two key nominations for top-level jobs at the Environmental Protection Agency.

The move comes a day after Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, threatened to block those same nominees until EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt committed to upholding the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the federal ethanol mandate that’s produced economic booms for both Mr. Grassley’s state of Iowa and Ms. Duckworth’s state of Illinois.

In a statement announcing the hold — which at least temporarily prevents the nominations from moving forward — Ms. Duckworth specifically cited the RFS in explaining why she’s blocking a vote on Bill Wehrum to lead the agency’s office of air and radiation.

“Mr. Wehrum’s history of attacking the biofuels industry and his refusal to recuse himself from RFS-related issues despite his well-documented conflicts of interest should alarm all of my colleagues,” the senator said. “As someone who fought to defend this nation, I have seen firsthand the price we pay for our dangerous dependence on oil imported from our adversaries. Any senator who supports the RFS program, our farmers, and our commitment to the environment and energy dependence must oppose his nomination.” READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico's Morning Energy: . "We have enough of a bloc of Midwestern senators that they're going to have to pay attention to us," Sen. John Thune, a member of Senate leadership, told ME.

EPA's response: Pruitt spoke to Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds Wednesday, a spokesman said. "What Administrator Pruitt said in his confirmation hearing still stands: he doesn't want to take any steps to undermine the objectives in the statute of the RFS."

And ICYMI: White House officials asked EPA to stop back off plans to reduce advanced biofuel volumes and allow credits for exported ethanol, Pro's Eric Wolff reports, citing multiple sources. "They had no choice," said one refining industry source who'd spoken to White House aides.

Meanwhile, the heads of four refiners at the heart of the skirmish - Valero, HollyFrontier, PBF and Monroe Energy - sent a letter to Trump Wednesday urging the administration to make biofuel exports eligible for credits, known as RINs. Pruitt has reportedly been considering such a move. "EPA has within its power the ability to level the playing field by treating exports the same as domestically-consumed products, removing a self-imposed trade barrier that unfairly discriminates against exports," they wrote.

Unless there's a deal to move ahead with some of the administration's EPA picks, Sen. Jim Inhofe has no plans to release his hold on Democratic FERC nominee Richard Glick, Pro's Darius Dixon reports. "I don't think it could happen as one package, but it could be an agreement that they will bring those up prior to the next recess," he said of the nominees. In slowing the process - picks usually move in bipartisan pairs - Inhofe is delaying down the efforts of Energy Chairman Lisa Murkowski, who has attempted to have both FERC nominees confirmed quickly. READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico's Morning Energy(2): She's been urging her GOP colleagues to let EPA's final biofuels volumes come out on Nov. 30 before considering Wehrum's nomination on the Senate floor, because Duckworth questions the legality of the reassurances Pruitt sent to corn-state senators last week. "I don't know that it doesn't open the administration to lawsuits from the very same oil interests Mr. Wherum used to represent," she told ME. "I've been pressuring them to not accept just the word of Mr. Pruitt ... It's simple - just wait, let the rulemaking be done. Just wait!" READ MORE