-- wasn't too hocked in a way because the democrat has held that office i didn't years and think the powers that be would to hold it another four years, so that would have in all that a democrat would have held the office of president. think trump is a danger to this country. do.eally and i believe that he is for self and self only. host: all right. that is laura in garland, texas. we'll have to leave it there. to all of you for call nothing and watching today's "washington journal." back tomorrow morning with more of your phone calls, e-mails, tweets and your facebook comments. thanks for watching.

the lobby ofide trump tower this morning, the president-elect is here continuing his meeting with aids and potential cabinet members. and thehe campaign second debate, donald trump said he would instruct his attorney general to appoint an attorney prosecutor to investigate former secretary of state hillary clinton. his campaign manager said this morning on msnbc that the trump administration will not pursue further investigations into mrs. clinton's e-mail server. ms. conway said "she still has to face the fact that the majority of americans do not have to find her honest or ifstworthy" and added " donald trump can help her heel,

perhaps that is the best thing to do. " donald trump outlined his priorities. this is about 2.5 minutes. to trump: i would like provide the american people with an update on the white house transition and our policy plans for the first 100 days. our transition team is working very smoothly, efficiently, and truly great talent of men and andn are being brought in many will soon be a part of our government, helping us to make america great again. my agenda will be based on a simple core principle, putting americans first. prison steel, killing disease, i want the next generation of production and innovation to happen right here on our great homeland, america. creating wealth and jobs for the american workers. as part of this plan, i've asked my transition team to develop a list of executive actions we can take on day one to restore our

laws and bring back our jobs. about time. these include the following. on trade, i will issue our notification of intent to withdraw from the transpacific -- partnership, a potential disaster for our country. we will negotiate fair and bilateral trade deals to bring jobs and industry back on american shores. on energy, i will cancel the job killing production of energy including shell energy and clean coal, loosing many millions of high-paying jobs. that is what we want. that is what we have been waiting for. on regulation, i will formulate a role that says for everyone knew regulation, two old regulations must be eliminated. so important. will askal security, i the department of defense and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff to develop a comprehensive plan to protect america's vital infrastructure from cyber attacks and all other

forms of attacks. directgration, i will the department of labor to investigate all abuses of visa programs that undercut the american worker. as part of ourm, plan to drain the swamp, we will propose a five-year ban on executive officials becoming lobbyists's after they leave the administration. executive ban on officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government. these are just a few of the steps we will take to reform washington and rebuild our middle-class. inill provide more updates the coming days as we work together to make america great again for everyone and i mean everyone. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] >> follow the transition of government on c-span as donald trump becomes the 45th president of the united states and republicans maintain control of the u.s. house and senate. .e will have key events

watch live, on demand at c-span.org, or listen for free on the c-span app. an hour here on c-span, a look at politics inside russia and the continued popularity of russian president vladimir putin. we will have that live this morning. and at noon, a discussion of the dakota access pipeline which .ill transport crude oil that will be hosted by the institute of policy studies and we will have it live here on c-span. obama willident reward the presidential medal of freedom. 21 people will receive the medal, including ellen degeneres, kareem abdul-jabbar, tom hanks, and linda gates. you can watch that live also here on c-span.

>> here are some of our featured programs thanksgiving day on c-span. just after 11:00 a.m. eastern, nebraska senator on american values, the founding fathers, and the purpose of government. >> there is a huge civic mindedness in american history not informed by the government. >> healthy food and the rise of childhood obesity in the u.s. >> everything from monster thick calories, 107 -- 20of fat, 220 outs ounce cokes and pepsi's, feeding an epidemic. of obesity. the evolution of the online encyclopedia and the challenge of providing global access to information. >> i know there is a small community there.

users. 10 really active they think of themselves as a community. >> an inside look at the years long effort to restore the capitol dome. 8:00, a justice reflects on her life and career. >> than i did my thesis, which taught me an incredible amount and also taught me what it was to be a serious historian and sit in archives all day every day. i realized it just was not me. >> followed by justice clarence thomas at 9:00. >> genius is not putting a two -- ar idea in a $20 without any loss of meaning. >> at an exclusive ceremony in the white house, president obama

freedome the medal of to participants including michael jordan, bruce springsteen, and philanthropists bill and melinda gates. listen from the free c-span radio app. epa administrator gina mccarthy spoke yesterday at a press club in washington dc including the paris climate agreement in the powerplant. she spoke for about 30 minutes and then took questions. >> welcome to the national press club. i'm the 109th president of the national press club. today is gina

mccarthy. i want to remind you, you can follow the action on twitter using the #npclive. now it is time to deduce our -- to introduce our guests. stand briefly as your name is announced. please hold your applause until i'm finished introducing the entire table. frank, a partner at policy resolution group. elizabeth mcgowan. energy intelligence correspondent. bill loveless. energy columnist at usa today. matt, the chief of staff at the epa. emily holden. reporter at ene news. associative administrator for the epa. donna, usa today. breaking news editor. skipping over our speaker for just a moment, rob, a reporter at ene news.

maggie, the daughter of our speaker today. melissa burke. a reporter at the detroit news. alvina a reporter at cq roll , call. i messed that up. we had this conversation before. i would give it a try. jack williams. former usa today weather editor. thank you all. [applause] epa administrator gina mccarthy of our current day was last at this podium in september 2013 to unveil the obama administration's opening bid to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. those rules curb emissions from power plants, a precursor of the clean power plan issued in 2015, which was designed to reduce carbon emissions are u.s. power plants 32% below 2005 levels by 2030. the clean power plan is america's chief commitment to the world in pursuit of achieving the paris accords goals two, global warming.

but the fate of that, as well as many others issued by the epa are uncertain following the election to a president-elect donald trump has called climate change a hoax and has vowed to roll back federal regulations seen as crippling to u.s. businesses. during her tenure, mccarthy has been in the crosshairs of republican members of congress and the fossil fuel industry for her perceived leadership over the so-called war on coal. but if you asked kerr, mccarthy would say that her critics have been wrong. her job is to protect the health of americans not just from air and water pollution, but from

things such as carbon monoxide, methane, lead, and others. mccarthy remains resolute in the epa mission. in a memo to her staff just after election day, she said, we are running, not walking to the finish line of president obama's presidency. today, we learn more about what she has in mind and what her expectations are that those efforts will stand up to expected challenges. please welcome epa administrator gina mccarthy. [applause] >> thank you for your remarks. i think you probably gave mine as well. [applause] that is great. thank you, everybody, at the

national press club for welcoming me back again. it's great to be here. a few of you may be old enough to remember -- i am certainly not -- but there was a time when congress passed a law with unanimous vote in the senate and only one nay vote in the house. i will give you a hint, it was not the renaming of a post office. it was actually the clean air act of 1970. it was an historic law that was signed by a republican president, and it was a global turning point. the clean air act was actually passed in response to a changing world.

it sought to build this country up, to look forward, and to consider how our actions would impact people that we may never know, or that we may ever see ourselves. today, times are different. but the nature of change has not changed. the world continues to be in motion and it will continue changing regardless of the few who choose not to acknowledge it. while the world continues to change, epa's mission continues to endure. our mission is to protect public

health and to safeguard the precious natural resources that we all need to survive and to thrive. our task is timeless. it is nonpartisan. it is essential to every single life. we cannot pursue liberty or happiness without clean air to breathe and clean water to drink. we cannot neglect to continue to support those hard-working americans who get up every morning, they get their kids to school, they take extra class, or they pick up an extra shift, and remember that the last thing that they actually want to do is listen to the rank or that too often characterizes our politics -- rancor that too often characterizes our politics. they may be fed up with what we hear from washington, but that does not mean that they do not care about what we do and do not do. they care about clean air and water, fishable rivers and streams, safe places to live, work, and play. every one of those hard-working americans cares about having food that is free of harmful pesticides. how about products that are free of harmful toxics? in our neighborhoods in kids future, free from the day birds of climate change. epa is here because the american people demanded it. we will be here because they continue to demand it, because we stand between pollution and our people. we have made incredible progress over the past five decades. pollution today is less visible

than it was in the good old days when i grew up, when smokestacks spewed black clouds and rivers caught on fire, but people expect us to deal with the pollution that they can no longer see, like air pollution that travels into our country or scoots across the states, or chemicals present in our drinking water that nobody can articulate the name of because it is way too long to figure out. people expect us to do our jobs using the best science and research to define not only the challenges but the solutions. people expect us to understand and use change as a catalyst for growth and prosperity. if we do not, if we place rancor over action, if we betray the people who put us here, if we stubbornly deny the science and the change that is happening around us, we will fall victim to our own paralysis. science tells us that there is no bigger threat to american progress and prosperity than the threat of global climate change. if you take absolutely nothing

else from my speech today, take this. the train to a global clean energy future has already left the station. so we have a choice. we can choose to get on board and actually provide leadership, or we can choose to be left behind to stand stubbornly still. when presented with that choice, president obama chose leadership. he chose action. he chose a calculated investment in our collective future. president obama recognizes that the inevitability of our clean energy future is bigger than any one person or any one nation. faxed today paint a very clear picture.

climate change is among the most significant public health, economic, and security challenges that we have ever faced as a nation, or as a world. and under his administration, with an economic recession, the likes which we have never seen since 1930, he had the foresight to invest in solar and wind and clean energy and clean auto manufacturing, to set a course for strong domestic action, positioning the u.s. to actually lead the way to securing an historic international agreement. and he was right. the paris agreement was negotiation, and it is now in full force. and epa will continue to be essential to cutting carbon pollution in the united states and making good on our global leadership. we set greenhouse gas standards for cars and trucks that/carbon pollution and save money for people at the pump.

while it boosted the auto industry from near bankruptcy, to increases in both sales and jobs here in the united states. we set methane standards for landfills. no oil and gas production units. we are gathering the data nexus area set standards on existing ones. we helped a broker and historic -- two historic international agreements to lower carbon emissions from aircraft. and something else that i am incredibly proud of, we have led the united states delegation that successfully amended the montreal protocol, an international agreement to reduce hydrofluorocarbons. they are highly potent greenhouse gases. in this one agreement, in and of itself, will avoid up to 80 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases missions. folks, that is equivalent to 10 years of u.s. omissions. and the businesses like it. they were pushing for it, they celebrated in the end and once we got it over the finish line. of course, we took historic

action to set sensible carbon pollution limits at our largest stationary sources, our power plants, which we call the clean power plant. i have heard some people talk about epa's clean power plan like it is the driving force kind this country's transition to clean energy. in the reality, those folks give us too much credit. the cpp was designed to follow the clean energy transition that was already underway. the one that the energy market depends on and the one that the

energy market will continue to demand. just look at where the u.s. energy sector is now. in 2014 alone, clean energy investment increased by 14%, that is five times greater growth than the rest of the u.s. economy. u.s. power plant co2 emissions in 2015 were about 24% below 2005 levels.

already well on the way to the cpp's 2030 targets. 2015 admissions were about the same as the cpp's first-year goal in 2022, in 2015. that is seven years ahead of schedule. 24 states have lower emissions in 2015 than the 2020 annual

goal. the first year of compliance in the cpp, including states like ohio, north carolina, pennsylvania, and south dakota. in the energy -- the energy information agency estimates 17% of new energy capacity expected to come online in 2016 will actually be zero imaging. mostly solar and wind. so folks, clearly, there is more going on in our world and our energy sector than the cpp can account for. i am really not trying to say that the cpp is not important. you know that. i love it. i think it is great. but the truth is, if i were to stand here and explain the significance and virtues of the clean power plan, it would keep you here for quite a lengthy period of time and i cannot fit it into a soundbite.

it certainly does not fit into a tweet. i have tried it. i know. [laughter] i truly believe, guided by president obama's deliberate vision, that history will show that the clean power plan marked a turning point in american climate leadership, a point where our country stepped up to the plate and delivered, and the rest of the world followed us. it is a sign of u.s. commitment, a market signal to investors and innovators, and that brings stability and certainty to the energy sector and to the world. but the global transition to a low carbon economy is much more than anyone regulation, the energy market, and the commitment of the private sector is what is driving and will continue to drive this inevitable journey. and that journey is consistent with virtually every nation's understanding of climate science, and our obligation to protect our children's futures. we are in a spectacularly different place today than we were when president obama took office. before developing countries would point a finger at us. now they are wondering if the u.s. will turn its back on science and be left behind. that is the choice that we face. as the president said, the inevitability of our clean energy future is again bigger than any one person or nation and must be guided by a simple but profound truth. we don't have to choose between the economy or environment. folks, we can and must choose both. the truth has been the foundation of all of the progress that we have made at epa. this truth. we have a track record to show for it. over the past eight years, under president obama's leadership, we have taken tremendous strides forward in economic growth. eight years of economic expansion and a record increase

in median incomes. at the same time, we have made incredible progress in cutting pollution and protecting public health. and at the same time, this president has understood and stood up and said so clearly that a clean, healthy environment is not a luxury, it is not windowdressing. it is a right. it is the foundation of our economy and our lives. our work to cut pollution must always focus not only on what the nation needs as a whole, but also on those who have been disproportionately hurt, disadvantaged communities that bear the burden of environmental injustice. in the past eight years, we have paid attention not only to our

national challenges but our ability and willingness and effort to partner with our states, local communities, and tribes. we set measurable, common sense standards. let me tell you about a few of them. we have reduced mercury emissions from power plants and protected more people from harmful levels of ozone and particulate matter in our era. -- air. we have lower sulfur content in fuels and pollution from our cars. we have made a states accountable for harmful levels of air pollution that they send downwind. we have required fence line monitors around refineries. we have made progress in cleaning up our ports. we have clarified the jurisdictional boundaries of the clean air act. 40 years of work we finally did it.

we reduced toxic effluent from power plants, set new standards for the management of coal ash. we provided farmworkers with the same levels of protection that other workers have enjoyed for many years. and we made progress in restoring iconic water bodies, like the precious chesapeake bay, and the great lakes. and we have made sure that the standards are met with enforcement that puts people first, like the deepwater horizon spill settlement that provided $20 billion to restore and protect the gulf. or the volkswagen settlement that ensures $14 billion to compensate consumers, to reduce pollution, and to invest in an infrastructure for zero imaging vehicles. and we have leveraged the power of information to broaden and empower our environmental enterprise in this country through programs like energy star, water sense, safer choice. they empower consumers to grow demand as well as the market for greener products. through their purchases. epa apps are tools that you can use to get in the game, folks, to protect yourself, to actually make a difference in your own lives, and the difference in your neighbor's lives.

we have tools like our climate adaptation resource center, the green infrastructure wizard. these are things that help communities and businesses understand how they can protect themselves and find the least cost and most effective way to become an environmental steward. we unlock the power of citizen science to help us protect more people using people power, not money. transparent, readily accessible information, new monitoring technologies, like our cool village green bench. go sit on one. they double as an air monitor, so people can see what their local air quality looks like. there are cameras that we are sharing with states and communities that can literally see pollution that otherwise would be invisible, like leaks from storage tanks that are

still just as dangerous as those smokestacks spewing out black smoke be we have deepened the focus on vulnerable communities that have been left behind. through our work with crimes, we are -- tribes, we are recognizing treaties in the work we are doing. in our work looking ahead, such as our ej2020 plan, or our efforts which have been so successful, where we have collaborated with other federal partners to support communities and their effort to become more sustainable, like our local food, local places. and we have increased our attention on drinking water. lessons learned in flint are being shared across this nation, so we can better prepare to finish the job on addressing legacy contaminants. we can face the new ones and we can fix our aging infrastructure. doing more, doing better, that is the epa's constant

aspiration. it is also the nature of our democracy. we made progress using science and the law. and we continued to be responsive to change. we do not oppose it. that is how epa was born. that is how our mission will exist far beyond the bounds of electoral cycles. because at its core, epa embraces the american ideal, e pluribus unum. of many come one. because pollution and health risks do not discriminate, and we, like this nation, will always be a place where we draw strength from our differences. and under this president's watch, we have engaged more americans than ever in the work we do. millions have informed our climate rules. and vast majorities simply want us to protect them and their

children's future by following real science in the law. mothers of every color have banded together to ensure their voices are heard and leaders of all faith have come into epa and beyond speaking about our moral obligation to take climate action. the stork and african-american -- historic and african-american voices are speaking up. they are reminding us that they are way too often the ones at risk when we fail to act appropriately. businesses big and small are making the risks of an action very clear and calling attention to the opportunities that are sitting in front of us to boost our economy and create new sectors of jobs. epa has listened to those voices. i am so proud of the work we have done to reach a more diverse constituency, to make

epa more accessible, to make it a place where more voices can be heard, and make a difference. where communities concerned about their health and businesses concerned about their operations are welcomed into the decision process, to work with us and in hand. i know there is a lot of anxiety these days, but i'm very hopeful for the future for a few reasons. let me articulate them. epa has done its job well and the environmental enterprise has never been more effective. we have energize the american people who will demand not only clean air and water for their children, they will demand a stable planet as well. we have created the kind of residents that motivates a generation of young people, a familiar movement that resembles times past, when millions of voices standing up and speaking out, that is what change the country's trajectory, and that is what is going to keep us moving toward a low carbon future. i am hopeful because, in 2016, just this year, a bill passed on

a voice vote in the senate and in the house with only 12 nay votes. can you believe it? it was an environmental bill. it was not the naming of a post office. it was bailout number chemical safety act. that is the first update to an environmental statute in 20 years. congress overwhelmingly came together -- this congress -- to give the epa more authority to protect the american people from

dangerous chemicals bit when he signed the bill into law, president obama said "this is proof that here in washington, things can work. it is possible. we can keep family safe and unleash the engine of american innovation. if we can get this bill done, it means somewhere out there on the horizon we can make our politics less toxic as well." i think president obama was right, although we may have ways to go on his last point. but we can make things work in washington, if we choose to focus on the job we are given. for the epa, it is protecting the health of the people that we have pledged to serve.

i want to end with this. i want to thank the unsung heroes i have had the privilege of working with at epa, the scientists, economists, policy people, lawyers, regulators who have devoted their lives to public service, and to the outside advocates, businesses, innovators, and industry visionaries. we need you, we still need you, we always need you. i know who you are. i know you place science and service above partisanship. i have seen what you are capable of. that is why i'm certain that our future will be brighter and healthier and more just for all. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you. we have a lot of questions to get through, but one of the top of our minds, you sort of addressed it, but i want to get back to it. how do you real to the prospect that the causes you have worked so hard on for the last eight

years are threatened to be overturned by a series of executive orders? >> as i said, i'm very confident in the work we have done. there has been not progress through executive orders but executive authorities. i mentioned the clean air act, and we have taken a lot of steps moving forward. i think they are sound, reasonable steps. i'm looking forward to a smooth transition so that folks can see the work of the agency and how well we have done our job. >> have you met anyone from the trump transition team? >> we have not been contacted, no. >> you are talking about the clean water act, clean air act. you have a republican white house in january, republican majority house and senate. are you concerned that some of those laws could be repealed? >> if you go back -- i try to make it pretty clear. what we do is protect public

health and precious natural resources. it is a mission, i think, that still endures. we have been successful over the five decades in avoiding partisan politics as much as possible, to remind folks that it does not matter if you are republican or democrat, you still want your kids to be healthy and their future to be sound. those have stood the test of time. i am pretty confident that the agency is doing its work well, and people will still want the same thing they have always wanted, and that is a bright future for their kids. >> still, president-elect trump has promised to undo many environmental and climate change regulations. if you had to beg them to spare

one, would you choose? >> you are asking me to pick among my children? i cannot do that. [laughter] my job right now is to do a smooth transition. that is what the president has told us, that is my commitment. we will do that, we will tell people what's going on in the agency. if you sit in my shoes every day, you see the breath of what that agency does, how hard we work for you pick up the phone and realize, every day, there is a new issue or problem or concern that an individual or community has, work that the states do not have the resources or capacity to do. it is really hard not to respond to those calls for help. i expect that that will continue in the next administration. >> we talked about this in the introduction, but the memo you sent your staff after election day said that you wanted to run to the finish line of the obama presidency. what do you plan to accomplish? >> do you really expect me to

detail that specifically? >> [laughter] >> i don't have any secrets, our agenda is out there. we have a lot of work to do. i think the point of the president is, there is one president at a time. i am working for this one and i will continue with that. the agency right now, we are focused on the work ahead and the work we have to do. that is the best place for the people and the agency to be. that is what we are doing. >> excuse me, i'm sorry. you need to sit down. >> why are you silent on standing rock. >> thank you very much. as a reminder to those watching online or c-span, our lunches are open to the public. this is not a reporter. thank you, ma'am. >> you mentioned tribal nations three times. where are you in terms of standing up? where are you? >> i'm going to get to that in a little bit, but we were talking about the mood of the epa employees. is there a concern with your employees, bureaucratic staff that has been there, about

rolling back the work you have done? >> we call them career staff. i like the word bureaucrat emma but many people -- but many people think of it differently. my folks are doing fine. most have been through transitions before. they are working with one another, just continuing to hunker down and do their job. they are pretty confident that the mission of epa is a good one and it will be in dohring and they will be able to continue to

do the work of the agency. >> let's go back to your speech. name the top three of compliments, achievements that you believe you have made. >> again, you are asking me to pick between my children. i spent my first four years in the administration working in the air program. i probably have more familiarity and love with that work, but we do a breadth of work. i will give you a couple. as you know, i am from new england. specifically anywhere in particular, do you think? >> [laughter] >> i came in with a couple of rules but i knew i wanted to get over the finish line.

one of them was the mercury and air toxic standard. i thought it was time, under the clean air act, somebody thought these old units with no modern controls on them would somehow have faded out, but they didn't. lowering the toxics that our kids are so vulnerable to -- it was really important to me. the other one was the pollution role. we did not do so well the first time. we ended up doing really well on appeal. that was really important to me because in the new england area we get a lot of that downwind air that comes from up when sources. we spent a lot of resources to make sure the air that we produce in new england is clean. we felt it was an equity and justice issue that required folks do the best they could everywhere. we did it in a way that is

reasonable and cost-effective by designing a trading program around that. having said that, i am really happy that we got the clean water polo or the finish line. i am looking forward to the agency defending it in court. i think we should be embarrassed to have a law that old -- twice getting yelled at by the supreme court and never addressing the jurisdictional question. i worked pretty hard on that individually when i was administrator to make sure that we were not just being respectful of the agriculture industry but making sure it provided them the clarity that they need as well. i think it is a great role in a really proud of it. >> i do not want to reward protesters, but it is a valid question. can you talk about your concerns and thoughts about indigenous peoples concerns about the standing rock pipeline? >> i have met with the tribal council and standing rock.

the president has been to standing rock and met with the council. it is not an issue that is off our radar screen in any way. i indicated in my speech how respectful i am in the interest of tribes. i know folks are directly involved in that with the administration. i will leave the details to them. but i think if you go to those tribes, you will see i have spent a great deal of my professional time making sure that we pay attention to the tribes, not just standing rock. it is one of the things that you get to see as administrator, that you don't see otherwise. that is the realization that many tribes do not have drinking water, that many tribes do not have safe places to live. it is an eye-opening experience

when you realize some of these challenges. we have spent a great deal of time not just recognizing those but actually being in a leadership position among federal agencies to be responsive to tribal needs. i am really proud of the work we have done. >> residence of a suburban st. louis community have been awaiting epa's cleanup plan for the westlake landfill that contains nuclear waste. the residents consider it hazardous. one of the cleanup plan be in place before you leave office, or will it be left to the trump administration? >> we have been working, i don't want you to think that because a plan which we call a record of decisions, a final decision, does not mean that we have not been hanging out and doing the work, because we have. we have done extensive work, remedial work to take care of the biggest challenges. i have met with some of the mothers from that area.

we have talked about what we can do. i do not know the exact timing. we are confident it will come soon. but i know that it is a specific concern of that community. we have been working with the state of missouri not just to address that landfill, but it is an area where this is not the only thing to worry about in terms of impact on the environment in that area. we have been doing an awful lot of work, looking at the area as well, as well as this small landfill. it is a big deal and we are being as responsive as we can. we will at the record of decision as quickly as we can. >> some are worried about a protective action guide regarding radioactive water. why is the epa proposing this, and does the protective action guide pose a risk to the public? >> there are two ways that we are looking at this protective action guide. and i will explain this from the viewpoint of someone at work at state for 17 years. this guideline is a guideline to

explain to states what they should do when an emergency happens, when there is a release of radioactive material, and how do you manage that situation, knowing full well that it will take time to resolve the situation? there is a guideline for water, but there is another large guidance document that we are hoping to get out soon, that talks about all of the other things states should do based on our recommendations, because we have quite a bit of expertise in this area. states have been driven crazy because it's been years that anyone has a hated it. and because they know that we have more at issue with radiation. we have little bombs that can happen. we need to update it be we deserved to give them the information.

we are in the finals of updating that larger effort. there is a smaller piece, which is the drinking water issue. let me tell you where this came in. i don't want anyone to think that we are changing our standards for drinking water. that is not the case. what we are trying to do is figure out how to actually start transitioning from a case where everybody is in their house and hunkered down and cannot drink drinking water, to being able to

understand what exposures in a temporary way would allow life to continue, but not present a hazard to those individuals. so we are providing the best information we can in this transition days, not sending a signal that we think that those numbers should be the standard for drinking water. it clearly should not be. but we have to recognize you cannot go from zero to 90 without figuring out how to start wrapping up again. how we provide the right recommendation. a lot of this information and concern came out of japan in the fukushima incident. it did not get resolved quickly. there were people that were left not knowing what to do.

we thought that it was necessary to actually provide this information. again, we will see where it goes, it's in the process. we are doing the best we can to provide advice in a situation that we certainly hope nobody will have to face in the united states. >> since we are on drinking water, a recent report was critical of the epa's inactions on flint, michigan. what changes are underway to respond to the report and ensure the agency is more proactive in similar situations, and what would you advise your successor to do in situations like flint? >> we certainly still have a large presence in flint. the good news is we have made a lot of progress but it continues to be a very challenging situation. we have learned some lessons. you will see shortly, we are coming out with a drinking water action plan. when flint happened, shortly after, we began national discussions with all of the stakeholders, because there are a number of shrinking cities like flint that have too large a system. when you have a large drinking water system, it is not a good thing because it means there is stagnant water in those pipes, and you do not want that. how we manage those situations will be important. one of the other lessons in flint, it is very clear that flint was a community that was this and that sit in -- disinvest it in, they lost their manufacturing base. their ability to eat economically manage the system is under threat. since we are getting it to the levels and needs to be. we have handled that across the united states. how do we invest in

infrastructure, not simply for new infrastructure, but how we look at the infrastructure that exist that is either decaying, too big, needs additional treatment, in the case of drinking water, and how do we move that forward. we have completed many rounds of focus groups. we have a plan that we are getting ready to release shortly. that will hopefully be a lessons learned and a path forward, not just to address lead and copper rules, which we know need to be updated, but also to figure out a path forward to look at how we begin the reinvestment, how much we need, and how we keep up with

drinking water and wastewater facilities. we have become very accustomed to not having to worry about drinking water and wastewater. we can no longer have that luxury. >> what is with the recent revision to the city of flint, and how would that reflect with how state and local agencies work? >> one thing we do is make sure that we have aggressive oversight. one of the enforcement orders was recently updated. we did an enforcement order about a year ago. we are doing one again. it is because the situation in flint is shifting. the city is making decisions about where it's horse water will come from. -- source water will come from. we just wanted to make sure that it was inviting.

we needed a three months window to test any new water system and the ability of their treatment facility to handle it because we did not want what happened before, which was, unbeknownst to us, the system is changed, it is not properly tested, not properly managed, and we ended up with a situation. so it is all the change in the order. it was not a surprise to either the city or the state. we are working with them very closely. if there is one lesson learned, when it comes to drinking water, you put it in writing and you make it as tough as you can. that is what that is.

>> switching subjects, how soon can we expect the epa final report on hydraulic fracturing and drinking water, and whether this incorporates the recommendations from the science advisory board that the epa clarifies the conclusion that no systemic link exist between hydraulic fracturing and water contamination? a mouthful. >> it is not easy to say. much easier to say fracking. we are looking at trying to wrap that up soon. i have certainly been advised about where we are now. we will be listening to the direction of the science advisory board. this was one science advisory board that was as fractured as the subject matter. it sort of came up with many different conclusions, some of which conflict with one another. we know what our job is and we will be finalizing that. while i cannot tell you the direction it is going to take, we are going to listen to all sides, in terms of what the members thought, and will come to the best decision we can. but again, remember, this is not a policy document, it is a science document. there is some clear indication from the science advisory board that we needed to do a better

job at explaining the science. while i have been briefed on it, it is my scientists that will make these decisions. >> let's talk about one of those disagreements, the consideration of a widespread impact. what do you consider the impact -- definition of widespread impact, and what impacts does the epa fined acceptable, and why? >> you are asking the same questions that many of the questions in the science advisory board revolved around. the purpose of the hydra fracking study, we were asked to do this and told to do this. the purpose of it was basically to identify -- look at the water cycle and identify what point in the water cycle, and in the hydro fracking operation, could pose a risk to drinking water. it was very clearly done in a way that it was just a science and technical document about what does the data show us, and what do we know.

though the challenge for us is to characterize what we know and to make sure that is not over characterized, that we know everything. our data is limited. how we project that and clarify that in this report is what we are going to accomplish. >> with president-elect trump openly admitting to denying climate change and likely pointing at an epa administered or who is a climate denier, what final steps are you making sure that communities are detected from fracking? will you meet with families from pennsylvania or wyoming when they say water has been impacted by fracking? >> epa folks in the regions have been working on this issue. we all know, and the president has said it, this inexpensive natural gas has been one of the factors that really changed the

energy sector and how it is heading, but we all know it needs to be done save and responsibly. this report will be an opportunity for people to know where the impacts could happen, what we have already seen, so that steps can be taken. at this point in the administration, that is what we are trying to accomplish, to be as clear as possible. >> without using the word "soon" when will the epa release its rules on greenhouse gases and infrastructure? >> i don't know.

>> [laughter] >> so everyone understands, what epa has done, they have sent thousands of requests -- actually not request, we are asking for information that is consistent with our legal authorities to gather it, so that we can take that data and understand where methane is being emitted. so that we can continue to move forward on another rulemaking. but i do not have a timeline for this to be done. if you look at it, it will be done in phases, which will give information to the agency in a few months. but it will give you to go on for a lengthy period of time. one of the things that people don't understand, when we do a rule where we regulate existing, we are looking at requirements that ask us not just what can you reduce but what other costs, what are the technology choices. in the area of oil and gas development, it's been going on forever. there are so many different types of pieces of equipment

that are very challenging, and we want to make sure, when we do a rule, that it will be done well. so it is very challenging. and it can be done in phases or the next administration can make other choices. >> you are here to talk about what you did do at the epa. looking back, is there any climate or environmental action you regret not taking or not starting sooner? >> all of them. >> [laughter] >> the one thing i regret is, i know everybody knows that i had a fairly lengthy process of getting confirmed by the legislature for this position by the senate. i also had a fairly lengthy time getting into the agency in the first place as assistant administrator. i think that is just because it takes a long time. one of the things i regretted was there was an announcement in the rose garden when the president stood up and talked about granting california its waiver, moving forward with the endangerment finding for light that is what i regret.as the big

i will never home watching it saying, mine. but it wasn't. ask, but we do at pfizer your state collects to do if the epa and congress, they believe are working against their interest or environmental goals? >> in any democracy, everybody has a right to their own opinion and voices should be heard. epa has done over the past few years at looking at what the facts are. i think folks should continue to speak if they disagree and don't think that people aren't paying attention. that is the democratic process. >> do you