Former Long Island Rep. Lee Zeldin, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), was at the center of a tense Senate confirmation hearing Thursday.

Lawmakers peppered Zeldin with questions about his stance on climate change, rising sea levels and the future of environmental policy under his leadership.

One of the most pointed questions came from Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont), who asked Zeldin whether he agreed with President-elect Trump’s previous statements dismissing climate change as a “hoax.”

Zeldin responded firmly, “I believe that climate change is real.”

The hearing took a more localized turn when Zeldin was asked about the pressing issue of rising sea levels.

Drawing from his experience as a representative for Long Island, he referenced a significant engineering project at to protect the Montauk Lighthouse, a well-known landmark in his district.

“The Army Corps had to invest in an Army Corps of Engineers project with the revetment of Montauk lighthouse with fear that if we did not do that the Montauk lighthouse due to erosion would be collapsing into the ocean,” Zeldin said.

Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, expressed cautious optimism about the nominee.

"I think Lee Zeldin’s sensitivity and understanding about sea level rise, climate change, and adverse impacts to coastal communities is very apparent," she said.

However, Esposito emphasized that much more needed to be done to curb pollution from major corporations.

"The public expects that decisions are made on environmental and public health science and not political science," she added. "We really need the public interest to be held higher in value than the corporate interest."