The US Environmental Protection Agency's air policy chief, who led rollbacks of Obama-era rules regulating power sector emissions and auto fuel economy targets, will leave the job at the end of the week, Administrator Andrew Wheeler said Wednesday.
Bill Wehrum, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, had been planning to step down for "quite some time," Wheeler said.
Last week, EPA repealed and replaced the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan, which set carbon emission rates for fossil fuel plants and state-specific carbon reduction goals. The new Affordable Clean Energy rule would seek heat rate improvements and give states flexibility on how to implement the plan.
EPA is also nearing completion of a rollback of tailpipe pollution standards for light duty vehicles -- a policy expected to raise US oil demand by 500,000 b/d -- despite an 11th-hour challenge by automakers who say the Trump administration's proposal goes too far.
Wheeler has said the agency will release the final fuel economy rule "sometime this summer."
The air office also oversees the Renewable Fuel Standard, which requires oil refiners to blend an increasing amount of biofuel into the nation's transportation fuel supply.
Wehrum's nomination in 2017 was temporarily blocked by farm-state senators until former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt promised not to weaken the biofuel mandate or make major changes pushed by oil refiners.
"I applaud Bill and his team for finalizing the Affordable Clean Energy regulation last week and for the tremendous progress he has made in so many other regulatory initiatives," Wheeler said.
Wehrum's departure comes after the House Energy and Commerce Committee opened an investigation into allegations that he and his deputy may have violated federal ethics rules by taking agency actions to help former utility clients.
Anne Idsal, principal deputy assistant administrator, will become acting administrator of the air office next week.
