President Biden nominated David Uhlmann more than a year ago to lead the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, which holds companies accountable when they violate the nation’s environmental laws.
Now Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) must prioritize floor time for the nomination, especially after a Supreme Court ruling that limited the EPA’s ability to tackle climate change, the leaders of the five green groups argue in a joint statement.
“Mr. Uhlmann is exceptionally well-qualified, and his confirmation will allow EPA to better protect vulnerable communities from the harmful effects of pollution and ensure that all Americans have access to safe drinking water,” the leaders wrote.
“His confirmation also will allow EPA to increase its efforts to enforce existing climate regulations, an immediate step that the Senate can take in the aftermath of last week’s Supreme Court decision in West Virginia v. EPA curtailing the Agency’s ability to address climate change,” they added.
The joint statement was signed by the following leaders:
- Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund
- Abigail Dillen, president of Earthjustice
- Gene Karpinski, president of the League of Conservation Voters
- Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation
- Manish Bapna, president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council
Vickie Patton, general counsel at the Environmental Defense Fund, told The Climate 202 that the environmental groups have been in touch with Schumer’s office about Uhlmann’s nomination in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling.
“This is a defining moment where six Supreme Court justices have damaged our nation’s environmental laws, and we need policymakers who will protect clean air and clean water,” Patton said in an interview Sunday. “The nomination of Mr. Uhlmann was made over a year ago, and every day of delay hurts the American people.”
Schumer’s office announced Sunday that he has tested positive for covid-19 and will work remotely this week while in quarantine.
“Anyone who knows Leader Schumer knows that even if he’s not physically in the Capitol, through virtual meetings and his trademark flip phone he will continue with his robust schedule and remain in near constant contact with his colleagues,” Schumer spokesman Justin Goodman said in a statement.
If confirmed, Uhlmann could help reverse a worrisome drop in enforcement, according to a June 6 letter supporting his nomination from 67 former U.S. attorneys from both Republican and Democratic administrations.
- From 2018 to 2021, there was a roughly 50 percent drop in civil inspections, criminal investigations and cases referred for prosecution compared to the average from 2002 to 2017, according to EPA data analyzed by the Environmental Integrity Project, an advocacy group.
- “The failure to confirm an EPA enforcement chief deep into the second year of the Biden administration undermines the rule of law, public health, and environmental protection,” the former U.S. attorneys wrote.
Uhlmann has sterling credentials for the job, according to a June 2021 White House news release announcing his nomination.
- He spent 17 years as a federal prosecutor, including seven years as chief of the Environmental Crimes Section of the Justice Department.
- Most recently, he directed the Environmental Law and Policy Program at…
Read More: EPA needs a Senate-confirmed enforcement chief, groups say
