The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works favorably reported John Busterud’s nomination as the assistant administrator of the U.S. EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management on Wednesday.
The committee voted 10-9 to move the nomination forward. The nomination now heads to the full Senate for consideration.
Busterud has a background in environmental law and has served the board of the California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance, a public policy organization meant to focus on environmental initiatives that also help grow businesses. During the first Trump administration, Busterud was appointed EPA administrator for Region 9. Busterud also served as an officer in the Army Reserve, retiring in 2014 as a colonel.
If confirmed, Busterud has said he would prioritize several initiatives related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, including supporting a “polluter pays” model aimed at protecting certain entities from PFAS-related cleanup liabilities.
He also said he would lead efforts to prevent releases of PFAS from manufacturing facilities and called for more frequent updates to EPA guidance on PFAS destruction and disposal methods, saying OLEM will play an “important role” in the process. His nomination comes as the agency recently announced it would roll back part of a PFAS drinking water standard.
The OLEM role is significant to the waste and recycling industry because of its involvement in such policies at the national level. It also oversees Superfund and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act activities.
During the Wednesday meeting, committee chair Shelley Moore Capito, R-W. Va., said Busterud was the right candidate because his “exceptional experience has prepared him to lead OLEM and to tackle some of the nation's most pressing environmental challenges.”
Yet many committee Democrats, including ranking member Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said they would not vote to move Busterud’s nomination forward, aiming criticism not at the nominee but at the leadership of the U.S. EPA under Administrator Lee Zeldin. Whitehouse has said the EPA has made decisions that make it easier for fossil fuel companies to pollute, among other criticisms.
“Whatever [Busterud’s] personal merits, I cannot support this nominee for an agency so dishonorably in the service of polluting interests,” Whitehouse said during the hearing.
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., also voted against Busterud’s nomination, adding that he would continue to place a “blanket hold” on all EPA nominees to protest the EPA’s recent actions on clean air regulations in California.
Meanwhile, the full Senate on Tuesday confirmed David Fotouhi as EPA deputy administrator. In his role, he will oversee OLEM and other EPA offices. Fotouhi previously served as served as EPA’s acting general counsel and principal deputy general counsel during the first term of the Trump administration.
