April 17, 2017
By Myriam Alexander-Kearns –
Former Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt came to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promising to eliminate the Clean Power Plan, a priority for the coal industry and utilities, and to get rid of methane standards, a priority for the oil and gas industries.
Shortly thereafter, President Donald Trump issued a wide-ranging executive orderon climate, which calls for a rewrite of the Clean Power Plan and Obama-era limits on methane leaks. But the order is just one example of how the EPA is prioritizing industry demands over public health and environmental protection.
In exactly two months as EPA head, Pruitt has issued several orders complying with oil, gas, chemical, and automobile industry preferences.
The mission of the Environmental Protection Agency is “to protect human health and the environment.” Disgraced EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt tried his best to undermine this vital mission by choosing to slash critical health protections and let corporate polluters off the hook. Now that Pruitt’s been booted, we need an EPA administrator dedicated to undoing his toxic agenda and restoring the agency to its core mission. Progress is possible and necessary – but another corporate crony or climate skeptic will not get us there.
Scott Pruitt is gone, but the fight is just beginning. We need an EPA administrator who puts our health and environment first, period. Any alternative is unacceptable.
