Document gDbbnOE43Mx8mgMk99DYgkqEa

Chemours- Mark P. Vergnano__ President [_) l_ ! Chief Executive Office! May 30. 2017 The Honorable Scott Pruitt Administrator United States Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20460 wzzmmtiz pm i2:4 7 Wilmington, DE 19899 ,, CFFCE OF Tif EXECUTivE ScCfttiAW Dear Administrator Pruitt: 1 write to thank you for our recent meeting in Washington, D.C. We appreciated the opportunity to hear you describe your vision for leading the Environmental Protection Agency. As we discussed during the meeting, you represent a new type of leader at HPA; namely, a professional who understands that the agency can deliver on its core mission of protecting human health and the environment and. at the same time, promote U.S. investment and job creation via responsible and consistent environmental policies and regulations. Chemours believes the EPA can do both; indeed, we believe the agency snould do both, and we welcome th: opportunities that such a rational approach will create for the 1J.S. economy. We also appreciated the chance to provide you with more information about Chemours. With approximately 7.000 employees, (5,000 of whom are located in the United States) and 26 manufacturing sites, which serve approximately 4,000 customers in North America. Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Europe, we are committed to putting American innovation to work to create global, market-leading product opportunities, and. in the process, support new manufacturing investments and new jobs in the United States. Please know that our discussions with you about how your staff is going about the process of implementing key changes to the Toxic Substances Control Act, required by the 2016 l.autenberg Chemical Safety Act, produced immediate and substantive results. Since our meeting, significant progress has been made to address our concerns about EPA's implementation of the changes to Section 5 the new chemicals program - and we believe the backlog for new product approvals that existed when you took office is on the way to being addressed. We appreciate your leadership on this important issue. Directly related to one of the many market sectors we are involved in, we also shared with you that we have previously invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the development of new generation refrigerants, such as hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs). These refrigerants provide automobile manufacturers with a low'-cost alternative to meeting light-duty vehicle standards that are already being implemented in the United States. Importantly, Chemours is also making investments that will create additional American manufacturing and commercial jobs. The Honorable Scott Pruitt May 30, 2017 Page 2 Of note, you will recall we talked about an ongoing $300 million manufacturing investment that will result in the construction of a new HFO production facility at our Corpus Christ? plant site in Ingleside, TX. Please consider this letter a personal invitation for Chemours to host you and your senior staff this fall at the Corpus Christi plant. We would value the opportunity to provide you and your invitees with a tour of the facility, including the new' expansion project, and to talk in more detail about our new products and the global markets that will be served from this plant. We also w'ould value the opportunity to continue dialogue with you about how your leadership at EPA can pave the way for new investment and job creation by the entire U.S. chemical industry. We trust you will favorably view this invitation to tour our Corpus Christi plant later this year, and we will follow up directly with your senior staff to select a date for same. cc: Mr. Ryan Jackson Mr. Greg Smith c Chemours Mark P. Vergnano N938 The Chemours Company 1007 t/a-ket Street Wilmington, DE 19899 WILMINGTON DE 197 I1 jVlV ZiP 13333 041 Ml 1271305 The Honorable Scott Pruitt Administrator United Slates Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N. W. Washington, D.C. 20460 jun 1 * 1 THE HON JOSH FRYDENBERG MP 20IJ J(JH 13 . . MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Administrator Scott Pruitt Environmental Protection Agency Office of the Administrator 1101A 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20460 At*,ir Dear Admiihsfrraattor OF THE vmt smvm Thank you for your time and hospitality during our meeting on 26 April. I vers much appreciated the opportunity to share ideas about important public policy issues of mutual environmental interest to both our countries. The United States has always been, and will continue to be, a valued friend of Australia and I look forw ard to our ongoing collaboration. I would like to reciprocate your hospitality and extend an invitation for you to visit Australia this year. I can promise you an interesting trip w ith many practical site visits and productive discussions with government leaders and experts. It would also be my great pleasure to host you at an Australian Football League game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. I have asked my officials to w ork w ith the embassy and your staff to arrange a suitable time and program. During our meeting, I promised to provide you with some additional detail on the Australian Government's regulatory reform agenda. In recent years, we have been shifting from a highly detailed and prescriptive regulatory approach which was often in conflict with developers and state governments to a more risk-based and outcome-based approach, dime in collaboration with them. We call this approach `cooperative federalism' and believe these changes are clearer for industry and our citi/ens while leading to solid environmental and economic outcomes. Australia's efforts to reform our regulatory approach are continuing. In 2016. we undertook an independent review of our regulatory practice. We are now implementing its recommendations through a co-dcsign process that directly engages industry. As a result, wc should be a more effective, transparent and predictable regulator. I have attached a short note highlighting a few examples of our reform approach and w ould be happy to discuss this further during your visit. I welcome your offer for our agencies to share information on ongoing research into fracking and unconventional gas extraction. We have invested significantly in this area to improve our understanding, particularly on impacts of unconventional gas extraction on water. As a first step, I propose our agencies hold a video conference between our scientists and regulators to identify areas of interest, including consideration of the approach being taken in Texas. As promised. I have enclosed a copy of my address to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, along w ith a short document on the history of US-Australia military relations. It was a great pleasure to meet you and I look forward to seeing you again in Australia. Yours sincerely ft lVV oJUvt. v/jjU tavC. ^ . Hj 1 .. EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA WASHINGTON, O.C. 20036-2273 Administrator Scott Pruitt Environmental Protection Agency Office of the Administrator 1101 A 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20460 neopost'* US POSTAGE $000.46: ZIP 20C `'MlZ-f1