doug benevento esq
wheeler did not go back, but minion (best man at wedding]
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rump-era EPA official Doug Benevento is joining Faegre Drinker, a law firm with connections to former EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler.
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Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP announced the move Tuesday, saying Benevento is serving as counsel in the firm’s environmental and energy practice in Denver.
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The law firm was formed last year in a merger between Drinker Biddle & Reath and Faegre Baker Daniels, where Wheeler worked as a lobbyist before joining the Trump administration.
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Benevento served a variety of top roles at the Environmental Protection Agency during the Trump administration, including acting deputy administrator, associate deputy administrator, senior counsel, ...
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2/19 d post op ed
when Andrew Wheeler appeared for his confirmation hearing last month, his responses to questions from U.S. senators were disingenuous at best and often outright misleading. This should come as no surprise since the former coal lobbyist stands with the polluters he’s supposed to oversee rather than the American people he would be charged to protect as head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Following the resignation of Scott Pruitt amid ethics scandals, we had hoped that the next EPA administrator would uphold the agency’s mission: To protect public health and the environment. However, as acting administrator, Wheeler has shown that in his hands commonsense protections are in greater jeopardy than ever.
That’s why the Colorado Latino Forum and other grassroots advocates oppose his nomination to become EPA administrator, and urge Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner to do the same.
Among the critical rules at risk are the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, also known as the MATS rule. MATS, which even industry supports, limits the amount of mercury coal-fired power plants can dump on our air.
Mercury is extremely dangerous to humans, especially babies, and research has shown there is no safe level of exposure. When ingested, it passes through the bloodstream into the placenta and then into the brain of a fetus. Once there, mercury can cause severe brain damage. In adults, even slight mercury exposure can lead to serious brain, heart, kidney, lung and immune system problems.
EPA created MATS in 2011 not just to limit mercury emissions, but also emissions of lead, arsenic, chromium and other toxic chemicals. The rule went into effect in 2012 and has been a huge success. According to the Edison Electric Institute, the owners and operators of these plants have invested more than $18 billion to adhere to MATS. Coupled with other requirements, these investments “have reduced mercury emissions by nearly 90 percent over the past decade.”
Yet in December, Wheeler proposed to rollback MATS, using tactics that would overturn the government’s determination that regulating mercury emissions is “appropriate and necessary.” This is deeply problematic for Colorado, which has 11 coal plants and gets some 60 percent of its energy from coal.
Like so many of Trump’s appointees, Wheeler spent his career helping big industry maximize profits, regardless of the risk to people’s health. So it is no surprise that he would like to deregulate the way power plants operate, allowing them unfettered ability to pollute our air.
But while MATS is a major concern, it is not our only worry.
If Wheeler’s appointment to the EPA is confirmed, he’d be free to attack standards that provide Americans with cars that emit fewer greenhouse gases.
He is also keen to weaken a proposed ban on methylene chloride,a lethal chemical found in paint strippers that has killed workers in Colorado. In fact, this substance is so dangerous that Lowes recently removed products with this chemical from its shelves.
Under his stewardship, EPA also scrapped a plan for an enforceable drinking water standard to manage PFAS, a class of chemicals used in Teflon pans and other fire or water repellent products. PFAS, which have polluted communities in Colorado, are linked in some studies to serious medical problems, including infertility, and impaired fetal development.
Sen. Gardner supports these safeguards. He has even co-sponsored a bipartisan amendment to an appropriations bill to address PFAS water contamination near military bases.
We urge him to stand up for the health of Colorado and all Americans by voting no on Wheeler’s nomination.
Ean Thomas Tafoya is treasurer of the Colorado Latino Forum and chair of the Environmental Justice Committee.
d post op ed BS
By DOUG BENEVENTO |
February 26, 2019
Ean Thomas Tafoya’s February 13 critique of EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheelerwas replete with inaccuracies and ignored the real record of the agency’s actions taken to protect human health and the environment here in Colorado.
First, the claim that Andrew Wheeler wants to “roll back” a rule that establishes standards for mercuryemissions is not true. In fact, in 2015, the Supreme Court determined the previous administration failed to perform the required steps in developing the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, including failing to consider a cost-benefit analysis. Our proposal corrects flaws in the previous administration’s 2016 response to the Supreme Court order. We completed the long-overdue, cost-benefit analysis and maintained the existing rule while soliciting feedback from the public on options.
Even more egregious, and inaccurate, are Mr. Tafoya’s attacks on the Environmental Protection Agency’s actions to address harmful contaminants in our water resources. Take for example PFAS, a class of contaminants found in groundwater at three known locations here in Colorado. These substances pose significant human health concerns, and the EPA has worked closely with state and local agencies, as well as water utilities, to address exposure.In fact, last week, at Andrew Wheeler’s direction, the EPA released the first comprehensive national plan to address this threat to our nation’s drinking water.
The progress the EPA is making to clean up Superfund sites under the leadership of Acting Administrator Wheeler should also be noted. [record # left to bBIDEN ]
In 2014, several neighborhoods in Pueblo were found to be contaminated with heavy metals to the extent that they required cleanup under Superfund, a law designed to clean up the nation’s most polluted sites. At the funding levels the EPA had originally established for this site, it would have taken well over a decade to clean up lead and arsenic at impacted homes, meaning a decade of exposure for children. When brought to the attention of Andrew Wheeler, he accelerated funding for the site to complete the cleanup in three to four years. We are working similarly to improve the quality and pace of progress at other sites here in Colorado, and across the West.
While the Senate will deliberate and vote to determine who the next EPA administrator will be, that process should not be an invitation for the Colorado Latino Forum or other opportunists to engage in scare tactics that mislead the people of Colorado. The public deserves better.
Doug Benevento is the administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 8, serving Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming and 27 Tribal Nations.
ethanol? huh/ cand woman?
The Hill
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June 26, 2020
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The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will not take up Douglas Benevento’s nomination for the No. 2 position at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) announced her opposition.
Ernst said in a statement on...
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$wall fired
an 28, 2021 — Michael Stoker, appointed as the EPA's Region 9 administrator in May 2018, oversaw the agency's efforts in Arizona, California, Hawaii, ...
Former EPA Regional Chief Says Agency Heads Defamed Him https://www.law360.com › employment-authority › articles
Jan 28, 2021 — In addition to Wheeler, the defendants are former EPA Associate Deputy Administrator Doug Benevento, former EPA Chief of Staff Ryan Jackson ...
thehill
lawmakers on both sides of the aisle pressed President Trump’s pick for the No. 2 position at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on a range of issues during an at times contentious Senate hearing Wednesday.
Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) pressed Douglas Benevento about ethanol requirement exemptions for small refineries after a federal court ruled that the EPA would have to reconsider certain waivers.
The EPA has the option to appeal the court’s decision.
“Can you commit to me that the EPA will not grant any of these pending small refinery exemptions of 2019 until the legal action is settled?” Ernst asked during the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing.
Benevento said he would get back to her with a response.
“Our farmers and producers are tired of being yanked around by the EPA and again these illegal [exemptions],” Ernst replied. “A number of these ‘small refineries’ are actually owned by much larger companies, oil companies like Exxon and Chevron.”
After the nominee similarly told Duckworth that he’d get back to her on whether the agency would temporarily stop issuing the waivers until the litigation is resolved, the senator said, “It’s an easy thing to say. Don’t grant any more waivers, since you’re going to be appealing this ruling, or if you’re not going to appeal the ruling, then you don’t need to grant any more waivers.”
“I just don’t think it would be prudent to be making a regulatory decision right here,” Benevento responded.
“This is not a regulatory decision, this is just suspending any future actions on granting any more small refinery waivers,” Duckworth said.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) also raised concerns about the agency’s ethics rules, particularly asking questions about Mandy Gunasekara, who is expected to return to the agency after leaving early last year and founding an energy nonprofit.
“You haven’t updated your ethics rules, you don’t even ask about dark money conflicts of interest. You’re still using ethics rules that predate the explosion of dark money that has corrupted our politics,” Whitehouse said.
“How could you possibly know if she is behaving in violation of her duty of impartiality without knowing who her big funders were through this time when she was in her hiatus from the EPA?” the senator added, referring to Gunasekara.
“We expect all employees to follow the ethics rules as they are written and to coordinate all their activities — their obligations — with career ethics counsel,” Benevento responded.
“And you don’t ask the right questions ... so it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Whitehouse replied.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) also questioned Benevento on contamination by a class of cancer-linked chemicals known as PFAS.
“We need to make sure ... we have the backup science,” the nominee said on PFAS. “We’re moving as quickly as science allows us to move and as quickly as the statute allows us to move.”
“Time is of the essence here. I think that this is so pervasive and I don’t know what the damage could be,” Capito said. “Quicker is better, more aggressive is better, and using the science, yes, but also, we all know that things can get expedited and move faster if you have the passion behind it.”
“Where we find PFAS, we are making sure to cut off exposure,” Benevento said.
PFAS chemicals can be found in a variety of products and are also known as “forever chemicals” because of their persistence in the environment and the human body.
President Trump announced last month that he would nominate Benevento to be the deputy EPA administrator.
Benevento has held various roles at the EPA since 2017, including serving as associate deputy administrator. Before joining the Trump administration, he worked for Xcel Energy, a gas and electric utility. He was also registered as a lobbyist for Colorado Interstate Gas.
He is reportedly close with Andrew Wheeler, the agency's administrator. According to E&E News, Wheeler was a groomsman in Benevento's 2000 wedding.
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off bs
https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/doug-benevento-nominated-epa-deputy-administrator
nom
February 13, 2020
Contact Information
EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)
WASHINGTON (February 13, 2020) — Today, President Donald J. Trump announced his intention to nominate Douglas H. Benevento as deputy administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Doug Benevento has spent much of his career working to help protect the environment. He served as EPA Region 8 Administrator from October 2017 through March 2019. He then moved to EPA Headquarters where he has served as Senior Counselor for Regional Management and State Affairs and later as Associate Deputy Administrator. He was previously executive director for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment,where he managed the state’s environmental and public health programs. He also served as the Department’s director of environmental programs, where he managed the state’s air, water, waste, and consumer protection programs. From 2010 until 2017, Mr. Benevento was working on energy and environmental issues in the private sector at Xcel Energy in various roles, and practiced law at Greenberg Traurig. He also has a wonderful wife, Gwen and two daughters Anna and Kate.
"I have known and worked with Doug for many years and he is uniquely qualified for this important position," said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. "I have the upmost confidence that he will succeed in helping me advance President Trump's agenda and the agency's mission of protecting human health and the environment."
His nomination is receiving high accolades from across the country:
U.S. Senator Cory Gardner (CO): "I want to congratulate Doug Benevento on his nomination to serve as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Deputy Administrator. It’s welcome news any time a Coloradan can serve in a leadership position across any administration because we need more Colorado in Washington. I have known Doug for nearly twenty years, and his appreciation for a clean environment and his pro-business background make him well suited for this important role. During his time at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the state successfully achieved compliance with federal health-based air quality standards. When Doug was in the private sector, he worked on the transformation of our state’s largest investor-owned electric utility to produce cleaner energy and reduce emissions. I welcome Doug’s nomination and look forward to his consideration in the U.S. Senate."
U.S. Senator Steve Daines (MT): “I want to congratulate Doug Benevento on his nomination to serve as Deputy Administrator of the EPA.” Daines said. “Doug has been a great partner on important issues facing Montana including putting Montana’s Superfund sites on a solution-oriented glide-path to help many areas find a final resolution. He has a strong understanding of the West, and will bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to his new role.”
Former Obama EPA Region 8 Administrator Jim Martin: "I have known and worked with Doug for a number of years and in many capacities. Doug brings to every issue he encounters an open mind and a keen intellect. He is perfectly suited for this position."
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves: "Doug Benevento is a great choice to serve as Deputy Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. I look forward to working with Doug and the rest of the EPA to protect Mississippi’s natural resources that we treasure in this beautiful state."
Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Assistant Director Dariel Yazzie: "The Navajo Nation is both pleased with and supports the White House's decision to appoint Doug Benevento as the new Deputy Administrator of EPA. Early last year, as the Associate Deputy Administrator, Mr. Benevento spent considerable time touring the Navajo Nation in order to better understand the various environmental issues facing our Navajo people. In particular, Mr. Benevento was greatly concerned about the negative impacts to human health and the environment as a result of the 524 abandoned uranium mines scattered across Navajo lands. Since that visit, Mr. Benevento has continued to reach out, be accessible, and provide his support to the Navajo Nation. In light of this, not only does the Navajo Nation appreciate Mr. Benevento’s support and advocacy, but even more so, we greatly value his friendship. Consequently, we extend our warmest congratulations to Mr. Benevento and his family as they begin this new chapter."
Montana Attorney General Tim Fox: "On behalf of the State of Montana, I wish to congratulate Doug Benevento on his nomination to the position of Deputy Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Doug’s initial position within EPA was as EPA Region 8 Administrator which includes Montana. The people of Montana appreciated his hands on approach to cleaning up legacy sites in Montana, and his personal touch and understanding of the significance of the EPA’s work on our land, water, air and people. I thank President Trump for nominating Doug, and the U.S. Senate for confirming him to this important position."
Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board Chairman Chip Kline: "Throughout his time as Chair of the RESTORE Council, Doug has shown a clear understanding and dedication to advancing the projects and programs needed to help the Gulf Coast fully recover from the BP Oil Spill. Under his leadership, we are implementing the largest ecosystem restoration project in the history of Louisiana’s coastal program. Doug’s new role as Deputy Secretary is not only a good thing for the Gulf Coast, but for the nation as a whole."
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Chairman Jon Niermann: "I have appreciated Doug’s responsiveness to states’ issues and Texas looks forward to working with him in his new role."
Oklahoma Secretary of Energy & Environment Ken Wagner: "Oklahoma is thrilled with the nomination of Doug Benevento to be Deputy Administrator of US EPA. He’s a proven leader and problem-solver, which was fully-evident during his time as Regional Administrator leading the mountain region. His common sense approach, along with a history of leading a state environmental agency, a US EPA Region, years as hill staffer, successful career in the private sector, and his time at headquarters make him uniquely qualified to serve as Deputy to Administrator, Andrew Wheeler."
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality Director Todd Parfitt: "I look forward to working with Doug in his new role at EPA. He demonstrated his knowledge of complex environmental challenges in Wyoming while he was the Region 8 Administrator. It will be nice to have someone who understands western issues in that position."
Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Interim Executive Director Chris Wells: "Having worked closely with Doug on the work of the RESTORE Council, helping restore Gulf of Mexico resources injured by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, I have seen first hand the value of Doug’s experience and leadership abilities. Those abilities wil serve him and EPA well in this new role. I look forward to continuing to with with him in the future."
Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Noah Valenstein: "I couldn’t be more pleased with the nomination of Doug Benevento as Deputy Administrator. Doug has always been a great supporter of Florida’s environmental initiatives. I look forward to working with him in this new capacity to continue protection of our state’s natural resources."
Montana Department of Environmental Quality Director Shaun McGrath: "We commend the choice of Doug Benevento for the Deputy Administrator role. He understands well the needs of states, particularly in the West, and he has been a collaborative partner in our dealings with him."
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Cabinet Secretary Austin Caperton: "Doug is certainly deserving of this appointment. He is a knowledgeable professional and always conducts himself accordingly. I look forward to working with him."
Alabama Department of Environmental Management Director Lance LeFleur: "Doug is an excellent choice for Deputy Administrator. We know him to be a seasoned no-nonsense professional who gets things done. He is accessible and a pleasure to work with. I look forward to continuing working with him on state issues."
Jefferson County (CO) Commissioner Libby Szabo: "I have known and worked with Doug Benevento for many years and I know he would be a great Deputy Administrator of the EPA. He is a skilled professional and has vast experience in EPA-related issues. The Doug I know will put his heart and soul into this position, giving the work his very best. There is not anyone I think is more deserving of this position."
Former Colorado Governor Bill Owens: "Doug's nomination as Deputy EPA Administrator is good news for the country. His time in my Administration running the Department of Public Health and Environment demonstrated his commitment to environmental protection. Perhaps more importantly he will bring a western perspective to EPA. I wish my friend a speedy confirmation."