March 12, 2018
By Yvette Cabrera –
A federal judge in California ruled that the nation’s top environmental official, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, violated the law by missing the deadline to implement the agency’s ozone pollution rule.
In his decision, Federal District Court Judge Haywood Stirling Gilliam Jr. wrote that Pruitt broke the law under the Clean Air Act by failing to identify which areas in the United States have smog levels that violate the nation’s ozone health standards.
The EPA revised its national ambient air quality standards in 2015 under the Obama administration, but Pruitt missed the October 1, 2017 deadline to announce the areas that were in compliance under the ozone pollution rule. Pruitt subsequently announced findings only for areas in compliance, not those out of compliance.
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.
