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LIPOWERB

Welcome back to Power in Politics. 4 years ago, Lee Zeldin was the Republican candidate for governor of the state of New York. His campaign performed better than any Republican since former Governor George Pataki, but he still fell short to current Governor Kathy Hochul. So how are the Trump administration's environmental policies impacting New Yorkers? And what about state projects like congestion pricing? Our conversation with Lee Zeldin continues now. I know in your current role here as EPA administrator you can't talk specifically about politics in New York, but we do have a governor's race this year. You know something about that. You ran for governor, of course, here 4 years ago. This time around, congestion pricing figures to be one of the big issues at play. The Republican and the likely Republican candidate Bruce Legman says day one if elected, he'd. Move congestion pricing. Governor Hochel, the MTA, they're touting the environmental benefits. They're citing studies that are saying it's improving air quality in the central tolling zone. From an environmental standpoint, is it a sound policy? No, um, more truck traffic, uh, South Bronx, more truck traffic, Staten Island Expressway, more small vehicle traffic on, uh, small streets in Queens and Brooklyn as you try to find some route to not have to pay a toll. Uh, the environmental impacts, uh, that I, that I just stated are real. Uh, now, then you talk about the economic consequences of people who are already struggling to survive here in New York. Uh, now you're gonna add a whole another fee on top of it. They're getting hit with it every single day. Um, it's a bad policy from, from that front as well. I've been long outspoken against congestion pricing. Um, it didn't work in London. It's not gonna work here. Uh, and as I travel the entire country, I get to see how well things are going in all of these other states. Um, there are so many groundbreakings that I've attended, um, whether it's, you know, billions of dollars in West Memphis, Arkansas, uh, for a new data center, a, a new data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming, a new nuclear site in Idaho Falls, Idaho. I mean just billions upon billions of dollars all across the entire country. There's a lot of opportunity. Out there, the, the policies here that create a climate that's good for business, that's good for families, uh, it's very important to foster that as much as possible because a lot of New Yorkers are fleeing for good and they're not looking back. Congestion pricing for, uh, more New Yorkers can be that final straw for them, uh, and you add it to all of these other policies that have pushed them to the brink. Uh, people are at the point where they realize their money goes further elsewhere, and I'm seeing it as I travel the rest of the country, uh, and meeting New Yorkers in Florida, Texas, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and elsewhere. So let's flip the issue then. We know the Trump administration tried to stop congestion pricing. We know the Transportation Department's had a role in that. It's tied up in the courts. What about the EPA? Is there a role for the EPA in trying to stop congestion pricing? This has been primarily, uh, as you pointed out, a, a DOT function. Uh, and, uh, you know, my, my, I have opinions, I have strong opinions as it relates to it on the policy, the practical implications, uh, but this is a DOT-led effort. We're here in support. I'm happy to share my opinion, my thoughts, uh, at any point when anyone asks, whether it's Secretary Duffy or it's Rich Barrabi. Let's talk about another issue where I'm sure you have strong opinions and we know the president does as well. Wind power again tied up in the courts right now we've seen offshore wind projects off of the coast of Long Island here in New York, uh, start and stop and start again. Uh, what's the position of the EPA on wind power? Is it part of a potential, you know, all of the above effort here to, to improve and increase energy sources? Uh, well, we're part of the Trump administration. The president's been clear on what his policy is, and we implement the president's policy. He's the one who was elected president. Uh, and that's something that, uh, that we respect at, uh, at EPA. The decisions that were made here locally, uh, the agency that runs Point on the permitting, uh, is the Department of Interior, uh, working with the Department of War, there were national security, classified national security concerns, uh, that were used as justification on the permitting. There was, uh, announcements made that includes unclassified information to give some perspective as to what the classified. Uh, national security concerns are about as it relates to the radar, the, the blades, phantom targets, uh, and more. What I've seen, uh, at EPA and uh really across the entire, uh, federal government with district court judges across the country. Is that you have, uh, you have the full range of district court judges. There are people who are appointed by President Obama and Biden, people who were there from President Trump or Bush or even going even further back than that that are on the bench as you go through the court process. Uh, and you get closer to the Supreme Court, uh, you have different judges, they're weighing different factors, uh, but there have been a lot of district court judges that have used their position to, uh, try to stop the president's agenda. Uh, ultimately I, I see this continuing to work itself up through the, uh, court system for there to, uh, to be a decision. As to how it goes now, um, as it relates to all the different forms of power, uh, there's a very, very heavy emphasis on wind in New York, unlike anything that I see in, I mean, I'm talking about the other 49 states. I do not see such a strong emphasis. Now there are others that they, you know, they talk about wind. But to sacrifice baseload power as much as we do here in New York is absurd. Um, we don't allow the extraction of natural gas. We're unique in, in not doing that, especially with the resources we sit on. Uh, we, the New York State has policies that won't allow gas, uh, hookups on new construction. Uh, they've set climate goals that the state, you know, whether it's in public or private, that's, you know, I guess it's up to you as to, you know, what form you're able to ask and get an answer to that, but the politicians in Albany will tell you that they will not meet the goals that they have in the law, but they're willing to cause, uh, a lot of economic pain on people who can least afford it to try to hit those goals. We need more baseload power in this country. Uh, we need more baseload power in New York. We're missing out on opportunities, and New York's decisions, by the way, aren't just hurting New York. Uh, we're seeing it with ratepayers in New England because they're relying on foreign sources of energy. They're paying higher costs because New York wants to play politics and not allowing natural gas to go from Pennsylvania into New England. They want to block a pipeline. Uh, the Williams Company has Constitution Pipeline. Uh, and for too long they've been playing politics on that in Albany. A lot of pipeline opportunities, uh, have been collecting dust, not being approved, uh, and that's a big mistake as well. We'll have more of our conversation with EPA administrator Lee Zeldin right after this on Power and Politics. Stay with us.

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LIPOWERC

Welcome back to Power in Politics. Our conversation continues now with EPA administrator Lee Zeldin. I would be remiss if I didn't ask you about your health. You had a health scare last month and uh you're very public about it. How are you feeling? Yeah, no, I'm feeling good. Uh, basal cell carcinoma, it started, um, on the left side of my nose. It was a small pearly dome that, uh, actually the first time I went to a dermatologist, um, they're like, don't worry about it. Just let us know if it gets bigger. Uh, that was a few years ago. I went for a, uh, my checkup with Walter Reed as a, uh, as a member of the cabinet, dermatologist comes in, looks at my nose, I'm like, that's basal cell carcinoma. Um, so we'll do a biopsy. So I'm not 100% sure, but, so they do the biopsy, they test it, sure enough. Uh, so the surgery is called Mohs surgery. They go in, they take out the bad stuff and a little bit of the healthy tissue around it. They test it, it takes about 45 minutes. They let you know whether or not they have to keep going. So after my first round, I have a small hole. They're hoping that we're done. Uh, they're not done yet. Do a 2nd round, a 3rd round. They said it's possibly it might be 2 or 3 rounds. They come back after the 3rd round and like we're not done yet. Did a 4th round, they had to do a 5th round. So now the bottom half of the left side of my nose is gone. This is mid December. And um by the way, there was a whole lot of uh emotional prayer going on after that 5th round. Like I really hope that she's done because we're running out of real estate here on my nose. Uh, it turns out it was probably in my nose for about 5 to 10 years. Uh, so this is a very slow growing but the most common form of cancer. But after you get past that 5 year point, starts with bursts, and I'm glad we caught it when we did, uh, and for anyone who's out there and you have it, I'm like, well, it's slow moving. I'll just live with it. Um, I mean, listen, if I just kept waiting, I mean, the burst, I could have ended up losing an eye. Uh, so for anyone out there, if you, you know, it's important to get your skin checked, uh, you go do it once a year, once every 6 months, you know, whatever your doctor tells you, but get that full skin check and, uh, get a second opinion. Uh, and if you see a small dome-shaped pearl-looking, um, bump on your nose or some other part of your face or your body. Uh, take it seriously, get it biopsied, um, play it safe, and it just in case it's something like a basal cell carcinoma, get it removed while you can, and maybe for you it'll be one round of most surgery instead of 5. Wow, a cautionary tale for sure. We're glad you got it checked. We're glad you're well. Thanks for being here. Good to see you. That's all the time we have this week on Power and Politics. I'm Rich Barrabe. Thanks for watching.

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EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin joins the show as we mark one year in office for the Trump administration.

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