Biden EPA nominee vows to preserve resources, boost economy

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's nominee to run the Environmental Protection Agency says he learned the importance of preserving the outdoors while hunting and fishing with his father and grandfather in rural North Carolina.

“Those beautiful waters and land are a legacy they were proud to share with me, but also taught me that protecting them was my responsibility as well,'' Michael Regan told a Senate committee Wednesday in prepared testimony for his confirmation hearing. ”Preserving our natural resources isn’t something to balance with economic growth. It’s one of the keys to economic growth, along with protecting public health and our way of life.''

Regan, who has served as top environmental regulator in his home states since 2017, would be the first African American man to run the EPA. He made a name for himself in North Carolina by pursuing cleanups of industrial toxins and helping the low-income and minority communities significantly affected by pollution.

If confirmed by the Senate, Regan would take over the EPA after four years in which former President Donald Trump sought to weaken or eliminate dozens of key public health and environmental protections for clean air, water and climate-changing carbon pollution.

In North Carolina, Regan led negotiations that resulted in the cleanup of the Cape Fear River, which has been dangerously contaminated by industrial chemicals known as PFAS. They sometimes are referred to as “forever chemicals” because of their longevity in the environment and have been associated with increased risk of cancer and other health problems. With Duke Energy, Regan negotiated what North Carolina says was the largest cleanup agreement for toxic coal ash, a by-product of coal-fired power plants.

Regan, 44, spent nearly 10 years working at EPA under presidents of both...