In Case You Missed It: The State of Trump’s Assault on the EPA
With so much going on, many people know little about the Trump Administration’s assault on the environmental safeguards that protect our children’s health and the nation’s economic growth.
That’s why we’re launching EDAF ICYMI, a weekly digest of the top stories affecting environmental policy. We’ll be keeping it short and to the point, so you can stay on top of key developments each week.
Edition Three: Friday, September 1st
Mixed Messages, Part I: Weakening the EPA Even as it Works to Save Lives During Hurricane Harvey
The nation is rightly focused on helping the victims of Hurricane Harvey recover. As part of that, many are also concerned about protecting the health and safety of the people affected.
EPA has been a 24/7 partner with Texas before, during and after the storm. But their ability to do so in the future is being threatened by budget cuts proposed by the Trump administration. Praising the federal response to Harvey while cutting EPA’s budget is like cheering on firefighters while taking away their trucks, hoses and hydrants.
- Flooded Superfund sites, oil refineries,and chemical plants are spreading a highly dangerous “toxic gumbo” across the Houston area. This while the Trump Administration wants to slash the Superfund program by 30%, its urgent response budget by 18% and enforcement to make polluters pay by nearly 40%.
- The storm response comes at a time when key leadership positions are still empty at EPA, including the EPA Region 6 administrator position whichcovers Southeast Texas and Louisiana.
Mixed Messages, Part II: Career Politician Vs. Career Scientists
- EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, a career politician,accused career scientists of trying to “politicize” Hurricane Harvey because they reviewed evidence that its intense devastation is likely influenced by climate change.
- Indeed,even as the storm was bearing down on Texas, the EPA under Pruitt has begun forcing scientists to censor their work on climate change.
- As AdministratorPruitt puts it, “science should not dictate policy.”
(More) Politicization and Ethics Allegations at the EPA
- Administrator Pruitt is now under investigation by the EPA Inspector Generalfor spending much of his tenure in his home state of Oklahoma at taxpayer expense.
- One of Pruitt’s top advisors—whose bank once provided $6.8 million financing to help Pruitt buy and then later sell a baseball team—has beenbarred by the FDIC from working for any U.S. financial institution after violating undisclosed financial laws. (He’ll pay a $125,000 penalty, but stay on the EPA payroll at $172,100 a year.)
- Meanwhile, the EPA’s new Deputy Regional Administrator for Region 7 in the Midwest is Cathy Stepp, who cut pollution fines to record lows and failed to enforce state water pollution standards 94 percent of the timeduring her tenures as head of Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources.
Weakening Environmental Safeguards (Again)
- Newly revealed e-mails showedthe Attorney General of South Carolina working hand-in-glove with an oil lobbyist to arrange a meeting between Administrator Pruitt and a Canadian politician known for his support of the industry. Said the grateful lobbyist: “You are the man!”
- Administrator Pruitt is ending EPA’s participation in an awards program which recognizes companies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their internal operations and supply chains. An EPA spokesman said that the move “shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.”
- A new report showed that Administrator Pruitt is continuing a trend begun more than a decade ago of slashing the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division in half.
Sign up today for EDAF ICYMI, and we’ll keep you informed about the Trump Administration’s latest efforts to roll back environmental protections.
[livemarket market_name="KONK Life LiveMarket" limit=3 category=“” show_signup=0 show_more=0]
No Comment