To:
Dourson, Michael (doursornl)[doursoml@ucmall.uc.edu]; David
Ross[i Personal Email/Ex. 6 Leopold, Matthew Z.[MLeopold@carltonfields.com]
Cc:
Lyons, Troy[lyns.troy@epa.gov]; Palich, Christian[palich.christian@epa.gov]; Ringel,
Aaron[ringel.aaron@epa.gov]; Rodrick, Christian[rodrick.christian@epa.gov]; Shimmin,
Kaitlyn[shimmin.kaitlyn@epa.gov]; Cory, Preston (Katherine)[Cory.Preston@epa.gov]; Frye, Tony
(Robert)[frye.robert@epa.gov]; Gunasekara, Mandy[Gunasekara.Mandy@epa.gov]; Bowman,
Liz[Bowman. Liz@epa.gov]
From: Wehrum, William L.
Sent: Thur 10/5/2017 2:42:25 PM
Subject: RE: QFR Process/Tips
Thanks Michael. You did a great job yesterday. Very impressive
From: Dourson, Michael (doursoml) [mailto:doursoml@ucmail.uc.edu] Sent: Thursday, October 05, 2017 9:21 AM To: Wehrum, William L.; David Ross; Leopold, Matthew Z. Cc: Lyons, Troy; Palich, Christian; Ringel, Aaron; Rodrick, Christian; Shimmin, Kaitlyn; Cory, Preston (Katherine); Frye, Tony (Robert); Gunasekara, Mandy; Bowman, Liz Subject: Re: QFR Process/Tips
Dear Bill, David and Matt
I am glad that the hearing is over and that the Senate fulfilled its duties, in part, on the confirmation process. I am especially thankful to Troy and his wonderful team for coaching me through the practice rounds and trying (not always successfully) to keep me on message. Now having gone through this experience, I can see where attempted defenses of past work are not practical in a hearing, and that we (the nominees) need to depend on EPA's public relations staff to set the record straight.
Towards this end, I image that you may be wondering about TERA's work, especially those regarding specific chemicals. The attached text will lead you through some claims and realities. This information has been sent to Liz Bowman of EPA's public relations team, and she plans to use this as appropriate counters to some of the flagrant misinformation being bantered about. I am happy to have her take the lead on any response.
Please feel free to use this text, as needed, in discussions with family members or friends if they want to know more information. Also, I would be happy to speak with any of you if you have questions.
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I very much look forward to working directly with all of you.
Cheers! Michael --Those who have the privilege to know, have the duty to act. Albert Einstein
From: "Lyons, Troy"
iroy@.'r.u.co/>
Date: Wednesday, October 4, 2017 at 11:18 PM
To: "Wehrum, William L"
Cc: "Palich, Christian"
David Ross <( Personal' Emaii/Ex. 6 h,
Michael Dourson
"Leopold, Matthew Z."
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"Ringel, Aaron" <;- L>. "Rodrick, Christian"
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y->>, "Shimmin, Kaitlyn" <yy - " > T r
"Cory, Preston
(Katherine)"
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"Frye, Tony (Robert)" ^lyyypy^^
"Gunasekara, Mandy" <Gunasekara.Mandy@epa.gov>
Subject: Re: QFR Process/Tips
Haha how did that go?!?
Troy M. Lyons Associate Administrator Office of Congressional & Intergovernmental Relations U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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202-309-2490 (cell)
Sent from my iPhone On Oct 4, 2017, at 7:31 PM, Wehrum, William L. <wwehrum@hunton.com> wrote:
For the record, Senator Carper was on train 188 to Wilmington tonight. Bumped into him at Union Station.
On Oct 4, 2017, at 5:42 PM, Palich, Christian <palich.christian@epa.gov> wrote:
Hi All,
First off, terrific job! Today was a huge success. Next step will be responding to the QFR's the committee will send us for you all to answer. We will receive them by COB Friday and they will need to be completed by COB next Thursday October 12th. In an effort to have an efficient process we have put together attached (and below) QFR Process and tips sheet to help you.
As always please let us know if you have any questions. Enjoy celebrating the successful hearing this evening!
EPA Nominee Questions for the Record Response Process October 4th, 2017
Background:
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At 10 am on Wednesday, October 4th, 2017, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public (EPW) works held a full committee hearing entitled, Hearing on the Nominations of Michael Dourson, Matthew Leopold, David Ross, and William Wehrum to be Assistant Administrators of the Environmental Protection Agency, and Jeffery Baran to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The following document provides a brief outline of the process that will be undertaken to respond to the corresponding questions for the record (QFR).
Overview:
Friday, October 6th
Close of Business: Senate EPW relays QFRs to OCIR
Friday, October 6th
Close of Business: OCIR relays QFRs to nominees to
review and provide preliminary responses to all questions
Monday, October 9th Noon: Nominees return preliminary responses to all questions, identifying questions or responses the nominee would like additional technical or political assistance from EPA staff
Monday, October 9th Afternoon: OCIR reviews flagged questions and responses and relays to appropriate political and program office staff for technical assistance
Tuesday, October 10th Morning and Afternoon: Political and program office staff review flagged questions, provide response, clear response, and return cleared responses to OCIR
Tuesday, October 10th Close of Business: ALL reviewed, completed, and cleared questions with responses must be returned to OCIR
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Tuesday, October 10th Close of Business: OCIR relays completed responses to 0MB for review
Thursday, October 12th Morning: OCIR relays 0MB cleared QFRs to nominees for final review
Thursday, October 12th Afternoon: OCIR returns FINAL QFRs to Senate EPW
Tips for drafting responses to QFRs:
Short responses are completely acceptable. For example, if a question has a yes or no response, then a yes or no answer is fine.
o Less is more.
If multiple questions can be answered accurately with the same response, it is acceptable to repeat responses.
Responses provided by Administrator Pruitt to similar questions are eligible for reuse.
o https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/cache/files/6d95005c-bdla-4779-af7e-
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188&s=A8CNIFy'
Previously issued talking points serve as excellent starting points when constructing responses.
Materials prepared by EPA staff in advance of the nomination hearing will prove useful as you consider potential responses.
Most importantly, if you have any doubt, please flag questions of concern.
Christian R. Palich Deputy Associate Administrator Office of Congressional & Intergovernmental Affairs U.S Environmental Protection Agency O: 202.564.4944 C: 202.306.4656 E: Palich.Christian@epa.gov
<2017.10.04 - EPA QFR Process.docx>
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