FRED UPTON, MICHIGAN HENRY A. WAXMAN, CALIFORNIA

CHAIRMAN RANKING MEMBER ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS 

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COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE 2125 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON, DC 20515-6115

MajorIty (202) 225-2927 Minority (202) 225-3641

The Honorable Lisa Jackson Administrator U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20460
Dear Administrator Jackson: We write to follow up on your testimony before the joint hearing of the Energy and Power and Environment and the Economy Subcommittees of the Committee on Energy and Commerce on February 28, 2012. During that hearing, Committee members raised several questions concerning information the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides the public with regard to potential rulemaking activities, Tier 3 gasoline regulations, and the agency's budgetary resources. First, during the hearing you were asked by Representatives Terry and Walden whether EPA would make available in one publicly accessible place on its website the following information: (a) a list of all petitions for rulemakings submitted to the agency; and (b) a list of all notices of intent to sue to compel a rulemaking submitted to the agency. You testified that posting such information would require minimal resources and you committed to making it publicly available. We write to ask that the agency promptly make this information publicly accessible. In making this information available, we specifically ask that there be a single place on the agency's website where EPA compiles these petitions, notices and requests for agency action, including copies of the documents themselves, and makes them accessible to the public upon receipt. To ensure the usefulness of the information, we also ask that you commit to updating the list and posting any new requests for agency action on a timely basis going forward. We appreciate your commitment to increasing the transparency of EPA's rulemaking process.Letter to the Honorable Lisa Jackson

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Second, as with many other proposed and recently-promulgated EPA rules, new gasoline specifications threaten to increase transportation and other costs for businesses and households, cause job losses, and weaken America's overall global competitiveness - and do so in the midst of a struggling economy. At the hearing, you were asked to confirm the expected scope of the Tier 3 gasoline regulations which we understand you are seeking to propose in early 2012. Specifically, you were asked whether the Tier 3 gasoline regulations would include Reid Vapor Pressure or octane components. You testified that it would not and that the Tier 3 rule would be limited to reducing sulfur. We ask that you confirm in writing that the final rule for Tier 3 gasoline regulations will not include Reid Vapor Pressure or octane components together with your response to the requests that follow. Third, during the hearing Representatives Burgess, Latta and Gardner inquired of you about EPA's timely reporting of details on its unexpended obligations. The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations received testimony this past October that EPA does not report in its annual budget justification information about use of recoveries of unpaid obligations. According to Government Accountability Office (GAO) data, EPA over the past six fiscal years recovered an average of $200 million per year for use in various accounts. Such information about EPA resources would be useful for Congress as it considers EPA's proposed budget requests. You testified that such information is provided in EPA's annual financial statements, and that you would look into the matter. We write to ask for a more detailed analysis of recoveries of prior year unpaid obligations, and specifically request that you respond to the following by April 13, 2012:

1. For each of the past ten years, beginning with FY 2002, please provide the annual amount of fUnding recovered from deobligated balances.

2. Please explain why EPA has not implemented the suggestions of GAO to report in EPA's annual budget justifications information about the portion of prior year funding that was from recoveries of unpaid obligations.

a. Can EPA bring forward the information of recovered deobligations in the agency's financial statements and place that information in Congressional budget justifications? If not, why not?
b. Will you report this information, by program area s in future EPA Congressional budget justifications?ee Terry

Vice Chairman Subcommittee on Communications and Technology khael C. Burgess ice Chairman Subcommittee on Health Greg W Chairman Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Letter to the Honorable Lisa Jackson Page 3

Thank you for promptly attending to our requests. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Peter Spencer of the Majority Committee staff at 202-225-2927.

Ed Whitfield Chairman Subcommittee on Energy and Power

Subcommittee on Environment and the economy

The Honorable Henry A. Waxman, Ranking Member The Honorable Bobby Rush, Ranking Member Subcommittee on Energy and Power The Honorable Gene Green, Ranking Member Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy