Scott Pruitt’s EPA Fails to Protect Our Environment

Environment America

Americans deserve clean water, clean air and an Environmental Protection Agency that cares about human health and the environment. That’s why the EPA was created by a Republican administration that recognized that “conservation” is by its nature “conservative.” The evidence is clear:  we do not have that awareness in an EPA run by Scott Pruitt.

Environment America opposed Pruitt’s nomination for EPA Administrator because of his abysmal record on the environment and his documented disparagement of  the agency he would run. Unfortunately, his tenure has been even worse than we expected. While many critics are focusing on Pruitt’s ethical lapses as a reason for him to resign or be fired, the main reason for him to go is that he has abdicated his core job responsibilities.

Pruitt and the Trump administration are creating a toxic legacy by ignoring established science and attacking our cornerstone environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the National Ambient Air Quality Standards and the Clean Car Standards. Pruitt and his colleagues like to call these rollbacks “deregulation” or “streamlining.” But make no mistake: Pruitt’s actions to weaken environmental protections will fundamentally and adversely affect both the environment of the United States and the public health of Americans.

Under Pruitt, the EPA is even ignoring flagrant and high-profile rule violations. For example, this week marks the 4th anniversary of the Flint Water Crisis. We recently learned that the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality found 28 water samples in elementary schools there in February that registered above the federal lead limit of 15 parts per billion. And yet the EPA is trying to relax clean water regulations.

It is time for a new EPA administrator who will protect and conserve our resources for future generations. Clearly, that fundamental EPA mission is not Scott Pruitt’s mission.