Lee Zeldin, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as U.S. EPA administrator, on Jan. 16 testified during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The Renewable Fuel Standard, E15 and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) were among the issues discussed during the event. 

Trump in November announced his intent to nominate Zeldin the lead the EPA. Zeldin previously served as a member of Congress, where he cosponsored legislation to repeal and revise the RFS and nullify existing waivers allowing the sale of E15. 

During the hearing, Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., stressed that the EPA has been chronically late in setting annual RFS renewable volume obligations (RVOs) and brought attention to the negative impact caused by RVOs being set at levels below industry production capacity. He asked if Zeldin would commit to providing producers with the certainty afforded by setting timely and appropriate RVOs. In response, Zeldin said “yes.” 

Ricketts also addressed ongoing efforts to enable year-round sales of E15, expressing disappointment that Congress failed to include a provision allowing year-round sales of E15 in a legislative package signed into law in late 2024. He asked Zeldin if the EPA, under his leadership, will do all it can to help ensure nationwide access of E15. 

Zeldin told the committee he understands how important the issue of E15 is to Trump and expressed hope that Congress would take action to ensure certainty around year-round access to E15. “To the extent that you are relying on the EPA to establish that certainty, I look forward to being able to do my part and I want to continue to work with you to achieve the outcomes that we had discussed,” he said, referencing previous conversations with Ricketts and other members of the Senate. 

Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., addressed the potential of SAF during the hearing, noting that the SAF industry brings together his state’s extensive aviation and agricultural industries. Moran told Zeldin that lawmakers will need the EPA’s help in opportunities to develop SAF technologies and any regulations that would follow that. In response, Zeldin said he will look forward to that conversation. 

The American coalition for Ethanol expressed gratitude to Ricketts, Moran and other lawmakers who have raised issues related to RFS and the biofuels industry during the confirmation process. "If confirmed as EPA Administrator, Mr. Zeldin will be tasked with overseeing the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and E15 — two critical issues for the biofuels industry that he has previously opposed,” said Brian Jennings, CEO of ACE. “We are grateful for Senators Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), John Thune (R-SD) and others for raising these priorities and additional issues like sustainable aviation fuel during their discussions with Mr. Zeldin today and leading up to his nomination hearing. We appreciate his commitments to follow the law as it relates to timely and appropriate RVO rulemakings and doing his part to ensure year-round E15 nationwide, building on the momentum of E15 legislation initially included in the year-end funding package.”

A full replay of the hearing is available on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works website.