The following article by Emily London was posted on the Center for American Progress website May 22, 2018:
Credit: Pete Marovich/Getty Images
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt is facing at least 16 federal investigations based on his established pattern of harmful actions against the environment and the manipulation of his position of power for personal gains. Throughout the first year of his appointment as the head of the EPA, Pruitt has continually and wrongfully attempted to legitimize his dangerous ideologies and actions under the guise of religion. He has consistently quoted scripture to justify his attacks on public health that will have lasting consequences for the environment. Continue reading “Pruitt’s Misuse of Religion to Sell Out Our Air and Water”
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt is facing at least 16 federal investigations based on his established pattern of harmful actions against the environment and the manipulation of his position of power for personal gains. Throughout the first year of his appointment as the head of the EPA, Pruitt has continually and wrongfully attempted to legitimize his dangerous ideologies and actions under the guise of religion. He has consistently quoted scripture to justify his attacks on public health that will have lasting consequences for the environment. Continue reading “Pruitt’s Misuse of Religion to Sell Out Our Air and Water”
The following article by Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis was posted on the Washington Post website May 20, 2018:
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has faced setbacks on more than half a dozen actions to reverse Obama-era rules. Credit: Andrew Harnik/AP
In March, as part of Scott Pruitt’s aggressive campaign to roll back federal regulations, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed relaxing standards for storing potentially toxic waste produced by coal-burning power plants.
EPA officials cited a study indicating that forcing utilities to get rid of unlined coal ash ponds too quickly could strain the electrical grid in several regions of the country.
But when environmental advocates scrutinized the specifics, they discovered a problem: The evidence cited was not established scientific research. Instead, the agency was relying on a four-page document by the utility industry’s trade association, the Edison Electric Institute, which has acknowledged that its conclusions were not “part of or a summary of a larger study.”
Lisa Evans, a lawyer for the group Earthjustice, was among the advocates who seized on that omission, as well as on gaps in technical data and other evidence, to argue that the agency’s action was ill-advised and legally flimsy.
“The record does not support the proposal,” Evans said, noting that the Obama administration’s 2015 requirement on coal ash drew on years of public input and peer-reviewed scientific studies. “I’ve never seen a rule like this, in terms of the thinness of the evidence.”
The coal ash proposal is among the more than half-dozen major EPA moves that have been snagged by procedural and legal problems. The delays threaten to tarnish Pruitt’s image as an effective warrior in President Trump’s battle against federal regulations, a reputation that has so far saved the EPA administrator his job amid an array of investigations into ethical and management lapses.
Earlier this month, the White House Office of Management and Budget sent back a proposal to ease emissions restrictions for refurbished heavy-duty trucks and ordered the agency to analyze the proposal’s economic impact. That move followed a separate OMB request in April that the EPA offer “some analysis” to show that it would actually yield environmental benefits.
The EPA’s own science advisers have called for a reviewof the “adequacy” of research used not only to justify revoking the truck rule but to reverse fuel-efficiency standards for cars. And over the past year, courts have halted or reversed multiple Pruitt initiatives, in one case forcing the EPA to restore limits on methane leaks from oil and gas operations after a federal appeals panel concluded that their suspension was illegal.
Jeffrey Holmstead, a partner at the law firm Bracewell LLP, who headed the EPA’s air and radiation office under President George W. Bush, thinks it is “premature” to evaluate how durable Pruitt’s policy changes will be.
“Early on, before they really had their folks in place, they sent over a lot of rules that didn’t have a lot of technical support,” Holmstead said, adding that in recent months the Senate has confirmed numerous appointees who previously served at the EPA and so are more experienced in working with career staff. “A lot more work is getting done.”
The following article by Josephine Marcotty was posted on the StarTribune website May 16, 2018:
Proposed limits on research would threaten lives, they say in a blistering letter to the federal agency.
Credit: Kaster/AP Photo
Minnesota’s top health and environmental officials sent a blistering letter Wednesday to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, charging that its controversial plan to impose broad new restrictions on the types of scientific research it uses to craft regulations will cause confusion, mistrust and “threaten the lives of real people.”
The following article by Brady Dennis and Juliet Eilperin was posted on the Washington Post website May 14, 2018:
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt faces rising scrutiny over several ethics issues, including his use of taxpayer money. (Video: Bastien Inzaurralde/Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
This post has been updated.
Scott Pruitt began receiving round-the-clock security from the moment he stepped foot inside the Environmental Protection Agency in February 2017, at the behest of a Trump administration political appointee, according to emails obtained by The Washington Post.
The EPA’s inspector general said in a letter Monday that Pruitt got extensive protection from the very start of his tenure but did not clarify who requested it. The separate series of emails obtained by The Washington Post shows that the decision to provide Pruitt with 24/7 coverage was made by Don Benton, a Republican former Washington state senator who served as the agency’s senior White House adviser in the first weeks of the new administration. Continue reading “Scott Pruitt requested, received 24/7 security starting on his first day at EPA”
WASHINGTON – It was supposed to be a town hall meeting where Iowa ranchers could ask questions directly of Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. But when the agency learned that anyone would be free to ask anything, officials decided to script the questions themselves.
“My sincere apologies,” an EPA official wrote to the rancher who would be moderating the event. “We cannot do open q&a from the crowd.” She then proposed several simple questions for him to ask Pruitt, including: “What has it been like to work with President Trump?” Continue reading “E-mails suggest Pruitt’s biggest fear was facing an open Q&A”
The following article by Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis was posted on the Washington Post website May 3, 2018:
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt faces rising scrutiny over several ethics issues, including his use of taxpayer money. (Video: Bastien Inzaurralde/Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Scott Pruitt’s itinerary for a February trip to Israel was remarkable by any standard for an Environmental Protection Agency administrator: A stop at a controversial Jewish settlement in the West Bank. An appearance at Tel Aviv University. A hard-to-get audience with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Sofitel Marrakesh Imperial Palace Hotel in Marrakesh, Morocco, was one of Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt’s stops in the country in December. Credit: Kevin Sullivan/The Washington Post
MARRAKESH, Morocco — A controversial trip to Morocco by Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt last December was partly arranged by a longtime friend and lobbyist, who accompanied Pruitt and his entourage at multiple stops and served as an informal liaison at both official and social events during the visit.
Richard Smotkin, a former Comcast lobbyist who has known the EPA administrator for years, worked for months with Pruitt’s aides to hammer out logistics, according to four individuals familiar with those preparations. In April, Smotkin won a $40,000-a-month contract, retroactive to Jan. 1, with the Moroccan government to promote the kingdom’s cultural and economic interests. He recently registered as a foreign agent representing that government.
The following article by Chris Mooney was posted on the Washington Post website May 1, 2018:
A customer pumps gas into his dual-tank pickup in 2012 at a gas station in Los Angeles. Credit: Grant Hindsley/AP
Eighteen states on Tuesday sued President Trump’s administration over its push to “reconsider” greenhouse gas emission rules for the nation’s auto fleet, launching a legal battle over one of President Barack Obama’s most significant efforts to address climate change.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt in April said he would revisit the Obama-era rules, which aim to raise efficiency requirements to about 50 miles per gallon by 2025. Pruitt’s agency said that the standards are “based on outdated information” and that new data suggests “the current standards may be too stringent.”
The following article by Brady Dennis and Juliet Eilperin was posted on the Washington Post website April 26, 2018:
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt on April 26 told Congress he was aware of raises for two EPA staffers, contradicting his earlier statements. (Reuters)
This post has been updated.
Scott Pruitt gave little ground Thursday as he testified before two House panels about controversial spending and management decisions he has made while at the helm of the Environmental Protection Agency, blaming aides for exorbitant spending and saying career officials signed off on other controversial decisions.
