May 01, 2018
By Juliet Eilperin, Brady Dennis and Emma Brown –
Albert ‘Kell’ Kelly, a top aide to Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt who was hired to revitalize the agency’s cleanup of toxic sites, resigned Tuesday amid scrutiny of his previous actions as the leader of a bank in Oklahoma and of his lifetime ban from banking.
Kelly joined Pruitt at EPA a year ago to head up a task force examining ways to improve and streamline the EPA’s Superfund program. Around the same time, as part of a civil settlement, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation fined him $125,000, and it later banned him from banking altogether.
Kelly’s resignation was one of two high-profile EPA departures on Tuesday. The head of Pruitt’s personal security detail, Pasquale “Nino” Perrotta, also announced his retirement from the agency.
Perrotta faces congressional scrutiny for his role in Pruitt’s security arrangements, which have been more extensive than those of previous EPA administrators. He initially had planned to step down this summer but accelerated his retirement, officials said.
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.
