S. HRG. 111–1224 HEARING ON THE NOMINATIONS OF ARTHUR ELKINS TO BE INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE EPA; EARL GOHL TO BE FEDERAL COCHAIR OF THE APPALACHIAN REGIONAL COMMIS- SION; SANDFORD BLITZ TO BE FEDERAL CO- CHAIRPERSON OF THE NORTHERN BORDER REGIONAL COMMISSION; AND MARILYN A. BROWN, BARBARA S. HASKEW, NEIL G. MCBRIDE, AND WILLIAM B. SANSOM TO BE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION FEBRUARY 9, 2010 Printed for the use of the Committee on Environment and Public Works ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 21–161 PDF WASHINGTON : 2016 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION BARBARA BOXER, California, Chairman MAX BAUCUS, Montana JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey DAVID VITTER, Louisiana BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont MIKE CRAPO, Idaho AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Missouri SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee TOM UDALL, New Mexico JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, New York ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania BETTINA POIRIER, Staff Director RUTH VAN MARK, Minority Staff Director (II) CONTENTS Page FEBRUARY 9, 2010 OPENING STATEMENTS Snowe, Hon. Olympia J., U.S. Senator from the State of Maine ......................... 2 Collins, Hon. Susan M., U.S. Senator from the State of Maine .......................... 3 Brown, Hon. Sherrod., U.S. Senator from the State of Ohio ............................... 5 Cardin, Hon. Benjamin L., U.S. Senator from the State of Maryland ................ 7 Corker, Hon. Bob, U.S. Senator from the State of Tennessee ............................. 10 Alexander, Hon. Lamar, U.S. Senator from the State of Tennessee ................... 11 Boxer, Hon. Barbara, U.S. Senator from the State of California ........................ 13 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 76 Inhofe, Hon. James M., U.S. Senator from the State of Oklahoma, prepared statement .............................................................................................................. 331 WITNESSES Elkins, Arthur A., Jr., nominated to be Inspector General, U.S. Environ- mental Protection Agency .................................................................................... 42 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 45 Responses to additional questions from: Senator Boxer ............................................................................................ 49 Senator Inhofe ........................................................................................... 51 Senator Vitter ............................................................................................ 52 Senator Barrasso ....................................................................................... 53 Gohl, Earl, Jr., nominated to be Federal Cochair, Appalachian Regional Com- mission .................................................................................................................. 54 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 56 Responses to additional questions from: Senator Boxer ............................................................................................ 60 Senator Cardin .......................................................................................... 62 Senator Inhofe ........................................................................................... 65 Blitz, Sandford, nominated to be Federal Cochairperson, Northern Border Regional Commission ........................................................................................... 68 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 70 Responses to additional questions from Senator Boxer ................................ 72 Response to an additional question from Senator Inhofe ............................. 74 Brown, Marilyn A., nominated to be a Member, Board of Directors, Tennessee Valley Authority ................................................................................................... 78 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 79 Responses to additional questions from: Senator Boxer ............................................................................................ 219 Senator Carper .......................................................................................... 222 Senator Inhofe ........................................................................................... 225 Senator Alexander ..................................................................................... 227 Haskew, Barbara S., nominated to be a Member, Board of Directors, Ten- nessee Valley Authority ....................................................................................... 229 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 231 Responses to additional questions from: Senator Boxer ............................................................................................ 249 Senator Carper .......................................................................................... 252 Senator Inhofe ........................................................................................... 255 Senator Alexander ..................................................................................... 257 (III) IV Page McBride, Neil G., nominated to be a Member, Board of Directors, Tennessee Valley Authority ................................................................................................... 259 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 260 Responses to additional questions from: Senator Boxer ............................................................................................ 300 Senator Carper .......................................................................................... 303 Senator Inhofe ........................................................................................... 306 Senator Alexander ..................................................................................... 309 Sansom, William B., nominated to be a Member, Board of Directors, Ten- nessee Valley Authority ....................................................................................... 311 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 312 Responses to additional questions from: Senator Boxer ............................................................................................ 314 Senator Carper .......................................................................................... 317 Senator Inhofe ........................................................................................... 322 Senator Alexander ..................................................................................... 324 HEARING ON THE NOMINATIONS OF ARTHUR ELKINS TO BE INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE EPA; EARL GOHL TO BE FEDERAL CO- CHAIR OF THE APPALACHIAN REGIONAL COMMISSION; SANDFORD BLITZ TO BE FED- ERAL COCHAIRPERSON OF THE NORTHERN BORDER REGIONAL COMMISSION; AND MARILYN A. BROWN, BARBARA S. HASKEW, NEIL G. MCBRIDE, AND WILLIAM B. SANSOM TO BE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF DIREC- TORS OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AU- THORITY TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS, Washington, DC. The full committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:30 p.m. in room 406, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Barbara Boxer (chair- man of the committee) presiding. Present: Senators Boxer, Alexander, Cardin, Barrasso, and Whitehouse. Also present: Senators Snowe, Collins, Brown, and Corker. Senator BOXER. I want to thank everyone for being here today. I am so pleased we have so many Senators here. We are going to get right to the introductions so that Senators who are here can get back to their busy schedules. We are going to hear today on the first panel the EPA Inspector General, and that would be Arthur Elkins and Earl Gohl, to be Federal Cochair of the Appalachian Regional Commission, and Sandford Blitz to be Federal Cochair of the Northern Border Re- gional Commission. And then on the second panel, and we really thank these very brave TVA nominees for going to the airport, coming back from the airport, now headed out to the airport after this, we will hear from you. And those are Marilyn A. Brown, Barbara S. Haskew, Neil G. McBride, and William B. Sansom to be on the board of the Ten- nessee Valley Authority. So in deference to our colleagues who are here, Senator Cardin, is it OK if I allow them to do their introductions; is that all right? Or would you like to go first? (1) 2 Senator CARDIN. I want to introduce one of them. Senator BOXER. OK. Well,