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Today was the Senate Environment and Public Works hearing on the budget. Much better today. General feel is they know the proposed budget is unrealistic and moved on and they prob have an idea of what they will budget. Also - seemed more coordinated, less repetitive comments. Some thoughts:

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16/ pretty much a summary of my thoughts but like I said much better than the other two. And lots of on the record let’s work together comments.

Contamination on ANCSA Conveyed Lands | US EPA

15/ Ricketts loves biofuels and cheap gas and to close Sullivan wants EPA to continue cleaning up polluted land we transferred to Alaskan Natives, then tried to use CERCLA to go after them - EPA in the wrong on that one. Good news, we are committed to helping still! www.epa.gov/r10-tribal/c...

epa.gov

EPA's program to address contamination on lands conveyed under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA).

One of Arizona’s worst lead emitters gets pass on pollution controls

14/ it’s appropriate when tech isn’t available AND nat security risks. The company went through the exemption drive thru and emailed for an exemption, and Z says he receives and ships off to WH with no EPA input. Sounds legit. Z discussing with Kelly if can fix www.azfamily.com/2026/04/28/o...

azfamily.com

Arizona copper smelter gets EPA exemption from added pollution controls despite toxic emissions concerns.

13/ Kelly brought up a case of a smelter in AZ releasing 12T of lead and 3T of arsenic a year - located 1 mile away from a school. They would have needed to install a baghouse (cost 60M compared to 2.7B profit) but nope they got an exemption under sec 112 of the CAA. Where, Kelly points out -

12/ comment on schools near chemical facilities (yikes) and the 4 step risk assessment page being down - Z is on the case again! Not sure exactly which one she was referring to so didn’t confirm if it’s fixed already. Nod from Z on Best Available Science used for 4 part risk assessments

11/ Shady grants were cancelled, and all individually reviewed by Z - would still like to see definitive evidence and prosecution if indeed shady shit. Z wants to modernize CAA, CWA, NEPA and nuclear permitting for less time, less money, more certainty. Fair point if protections stay

10/ BUT you need to have qualified experienced people reviewing. Eh. Note - the new FTEs are qualified and experienced, just not necessarily for that job. Padilla brings up 3 WIFIA recipients whose loans stalled at the station suddenly last year - Z is on the case!

9/ some concerns about not taking into account the health impact analysis (health costs, insurance) vs prioritizing cost to companies with soot, vehicle GhG and mercury. Chemical backlog - goal of 500. They did make a good point that the backlog prevents better chemicals replacing the bad ones

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8/ the waters of the United States revision addressed and needed clarity to reduce additional homebuyer costs due to confusion (attorneys, consultants) ok fair. This is in public comment review and Z says he WELCOMES public comments and engagement on anything that is proposed

7/ Z did bring up problems with the program with the pass through of multiple entities diluting the funding. B is happy to adjust accordingly to keep the program going. Cramer is a rate maker and won’t even try to explain that with renewables don’t cost as little as discussed, over my head

Sanders calls on administration to restore Solar for All program | Vermont Business Magazine

6/ Sanders brought up the Solar for all cancellation (IRA funds). Z says Congress cancelled funding and hampered ability to execute, B says no and asked for future cooperation to reinstate. Background below. Whether this happens, hopefully but who knows. vermontbiz.com/news/2025/oc...

vermontbiz.com

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How the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Works | US EPA

5/ my feel is not sure if there will be a cut, but it absolutely won’t be as significant as what is proposed. Bipartisan support that this is an important program that benefits every state and should stay on. www.epa.gov/dwsrf/how-dr...

epa.gov

The DWSRF was established by the 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) as a financial assistance program for systems and states to achieve the health protection objectives of the law, ...

About the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) | US EPA

4/ will go more into it later but attaching 2 references to what these revolving funds are and why they are so important - there the clean water fund and drinking water fund. These are significant programs and huge for states, and a cut of 2B would be devastating www.epa.gov/cwsrf/about-...

epa.gov

The Clean Water State Revolving Fund provides financial assistance for a range of water infrastructure projects. Learn how it works, project eligibility, and types of financial assistance it can provi...

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3/ state revolving funds are important to address PFAS. He didn’t opine on their decisions today more than once on how they use the fund but Congressionally directed spending makes it not revolving as intended. Did acknowledge that there is a gap states face with H2O infrastructure development

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