EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The Republican chairman of a Senate oversight committee is pressing the head of the Environmental Protection Agency to provide details about his use of multiple government email addresses. Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman John Barrasso issued a letter asking EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to disclose all his email addresses and affirm […]
Category: EPA
4/16/2018
EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency violated the law when it approved a $43,000 soundproof phone booth last year for the office of embattled Administrator Scott Pruitt, a congressional watchdog unit said on Monday [4-16-18]. The Government Accountability Office said the EPA violated the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, which […]
4/12/2018
DEMS/EPA/ETHICS/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A high-ranking political staffer at the Environmental Protection Agency has told lawmakers he faced retaliation after pushing back against outsized spending demands from Administrator Scott Pruitt and his top aides. House and Senate Democrats sent letters Thursday [4-12-18] to President Donald Trump and Pruitt describing a meeting they had with Kevin Chmielewski, […]
4/12/2018
EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The Senate on Thursday [4-12-18] is widely expected to confirm the Environmental Protection Agency’s second-in-command, Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist who not only shares the deregulatory zeal of Scott Pruitt, the E.P.A. chief, but also his doubtful view of climate science. More notable, however, are the differences between the two men. […]
4/11/2018
EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “When Scott Pruitt wanted to refashion the Environmental Protection Agency’s “challenge coin” — a type of souvenir medallion with military origins that has become a status symbol among civilians — he proposed an unusual design: Make it bigger, and delete the E.P.A. logo. Mr. Pruitt instead wanted the coin to feature some […]
4/11/2018
CONGRESS/EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The Republican head of the U.S. House of Representative’s oversight committee told Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt on Wednesday [4-11-18] his agency has not provided requested documents about expensive air travel, including documents related to any threats that had been made on Pruitt. Representative Trey Gowdy, the oversight committee chairman, said […]
4/9/2018
EPA/ETHICS/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The federal government’s top voice on ethics has sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency outlining areas of concern regarding agency chief Scott Pruitt. The pointed letter from David Apol, the acting director and general counsel of the Office of Government Ethics, summarizes reports of Pruitt’s conduct, including a rental […]
4/6/2018
EPA/JOHN KELLY/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “White House Chief of Staff John Kelly told President Donald Trump last week that he is convinced Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt needs to step down after a series of negative reports about his spending habits and management style, a White House official said Friday [4-6-18]. Though Mr. […]
4/6/2018
EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “U.S. Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt held 25-times more meetings with industry representatives than environmental advocates during his first seven months in office, according to a Reuters analysis of his schedule, reflecting the agency’s pro-business approach under his tenure. The newly released records, obtained by the Environmental Integrity Project watchdog group […]
4/5/2018
CALIFORNIA/EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Officials from the Trump administration and the State of California, who have been negotiating behind the scenes on car emissions standards, are expected to reopen talks that could preserve rules targeted by the Environmental Protection Agency for elimination, according to people briefed on the talks. Scott Pruitt, the E.P.A. administrator, announced […]
4/5/2018
EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, is under increased White House scrutiny over his housing and travel arrangements as some of his own senior staff are expressing growing frustration with the public criticism of their boss, according to four people, including an E.P.A. official, who have spoken with […]
4/5/2018
EPA/LEGAL/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “An Environmental Protection Agency lawyer said he wasn’t provided the full facts when he ruled there was no ethics violation in Administrator Scott Pruitt’s lease of a bargain-priced Capitol Hill condo with ties to a fossil fuels lobbyist. In the meantime, White House officials sounded increasingly doubtful Thursday [4-5-18] about […]
4/5/2018
EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump said on Thursday [4-5-18] he has confidence in Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, even as the White House investigates whether a condo rental by Pruitt was ethical… Pruitt is facing a White House probe for renting a room in a high-end Washington neighborhood for $50 […]
4/3/2018
EPA/OBAMA/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “It should have been Scott Pruitt’s finest moment. Mr. Pruitt, the chief of the Environmental Protection Agency, has sought to make his name as the Trump administration’s most effective eraser of regulations on American industry. On Tuesday [4-3-18], he formally announced his most sweeping regulatory rollback to date: a plan to weaken […]
4/3/2018
EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump and his chief of staff may be telling Scott Pruitt they have his back, but other White House officials are making it clear that the EPA leader’s future in the administration is still very much in doubt. It was a familiar mixed message for anyone following the daily […]
3/6/2018
CONFLICT OF INTERESTS/ENERGY/EPA/ETHICS/SCOTT PRUITT: “U.S. House Democrats want answers from Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt about political appointees in his agency who got special permission to moonlight for outside clients, which they said may compromise their impartiality. Top Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and its oversight subcommittee said they sent questions […]
3/2/2018
EPA/RELIGION/SCOTT PRUITT: “Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt dismissed evolution as an unproven theory, lamented that ‘minority religions’ were pushing Christianity out of ‘the public square’ and advocated amending the Constitution to ban abortion, prohibit same-sex marriage and protect the Pledge of Allegiance and the Ten Commandments, according to a newly unearthed series of Oklahoma […]
2/26/2018
EPA/LEGAL/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Environmental Protection Agency has experienced a huge surge in open records lawsuits since President Donald Trump took office, an analysis of data reviewed by POLITICO shows — a trend that comes amid mounting criticism of EPA’s secrecy about Administrator Scott Pruitt’s travels, meetings and policy decisions. The legal attacks also […]
2/21/2018
EPA/ETHICS/SCOTT PRUITT: “The chairman of the House Oversight Committee — in a prominent instance of Republican scrutiny of the Environmental Protection Agency under Scott Pruitt — demanded on Wednesday [2-21-18] that the E.P.A. chief turn over documents related to his first-class travel at taxpayer expense. Representative Trey Gowdy, Republican of South Carolina, called on Mr. […]
2/16/2018
EPA/INFRASTRUCTURE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s infrastructure plan would trigger one of the most significant regulation rollbacks in decades, benefiting not just roads and bridges, but businesses ranging from coal mines to homebuilders to factories… The proposed revisions to some of the nation’s bedrock environmental regulations are drawing heavy criticism from congressional Democrats — including […]
2/15/2018
EPA/SCOTT PRUITT: “EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s security team decided last year he should fly first class to avoid confrontations with angry individuals on planes and in airports, an agency official said Thursday [2-15-18] as EPA sought to explain the chief’s penchant for pricey travel. ‘He was approached in the airport numerous times, to the point […]
2/13/2018
EPA/SCOTT PRUITT: “Scott Pruitt’s flights in first class or via military jets are for security purposes, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator told The New Hampshire Union Leader on Tuesday [2-13-18]. Pruitt said he flew first class from Washington to Boston for his New Hampshire trip Tuesday… The Washington Post analyzed records and reported Monday that […]
2/8/2018
CLIMATE CHANGE/EPA/SCOTT PRUITT: “Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt suggested Tuesday [2-6-18] that climate change could benefit humans, despite scientific evidence to the contrary. In an interview with KSNV in Las Vegas, Pruitt conceded that climate change is a reality and humans have contributed to it ‘to a certain degree.’ However, the EPA administrator cast […]
2/4/2018
EPA/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “One of President Donald Trump’s top environmental nominees is withdrawing after a year of criticism for being skeptical about climate change and for calling global warming a ‘kind of paganism.’ Kathleen Hartnett White, Mr. Trump’s choice to head the White House Council on Environmental Quality, asked to withdraw this weekend. She cited […]
1/30/2018
EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said Tuesday [1-30-18] that he has no recollection of stinging remarks he made back in 2016 when he argued that Donald Trump would use executive power ‘in a way that is truly unconstitutional’ and would be ‘more abusive’ to the Constitution than President Barack Obama. […]
1/25/2018
CLIMATE CHANGE/EPA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration is withdrawing a decades-old air policy aimed at reining in some of the largest sources of hazardous pollutants like mercury and lead. The Environmental Protection Agency said late Thursday [1-25-18] it is getting rid of requirements that it forever keep sites classified as ‘major sources’ of hazardous air […]
1/18/2018
EPA: “A massive coal ash spill near Knoxville, Tenn., in 2008 forever changed life for Janie Clark’s family and left her husband with crippling health problems. So Clark was astounded late last year when she heard what the Environmental Protection Agency had done. In September, at the behest of power companies, the agency shelved a […]
1/17/2018
CLIMATE CHANGE/EPA/SCOTT PRUITT: “Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt plans to use his second year on the job to accelerate efforts to remake the agency, saying he wants to speed its permitting processes and transform a culture he says is bureaucratic. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Pruitt outlined the changes he […]
1/12/2018
BUDGET/EPA/SCOTT PRUITT: “The Environmental Protection Agency inspector general will look into agency spending in connection with EPA enforcement agents being used on Administrator Scott Pruitt’s security detail, according to a letter sent to Rep. Peter DeFazio, the top Democrat on the House Transportation Committee. The letter from Inspector General Arthur A. Elkins Jr. says that […]
12/27/2017
EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A federal appeals court on Wednesday [12-27-17] ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to revise its nearly 17-year-old standard for dangerous levels of lead in paint and dust within one year, a rare legal move that amounts to a sharp rebuff of President Trump and Scott Pruitt, the E.P.A. administrator. The decision […]
12/22/2017
EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “More than 700 people have left the Environmental Protection Agency since President Trump took office, a wave of departures that puts the administration nearly a quarter of the way toward its goal of shrinking the agency to levels last seen during the Reagan administration… The departures reflect poor morale and a […]
12/19/2017
EPA/LEGAL/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Environmental Protection Agency will indefinitely postpone bans on certain uses of three toxic chemicals found in consumer products, according to an update of the Trump administration’s regulatory plans. Critics said the reversal demonstrated the agency’s increasing reluctance to use enforcement powers granted to it last year by Congress under the […]
12/17/2017
EPA/SCOTT PRUITT: “One Environmental Protection Agency employee spoke up at a private lunch held near the agency headquarters, saying she feared the nation might be headed toward an ‘environmental catastrophe.’ Another staff member, from Seattle, sent a letter to Scott Pruitt, the E.P.A. administrator, raising similar concerns about the direction of the agency. A third, […]
12/14/2017
EPA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s pick to oversee chemical safety at the Environmental Protection Agency has withdrawn his name from consideration. Michael Dourson, a toxicologist tapped to head the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, has been one of the agency’s most controversial nominees because of his work as a consultant to […]
12/8/2017
CLIMATE CHANGE/ENERGY/ENERGY[ALT]/EPA: “References to climate change and the Environmental Protection Agency’s use of renewable energy have been removed from several of its web pages, according to an analysis by the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative. The group regularly monitors tens of thousands of federal environmental agency web pages to document what has been changed or […]
12/7/2017
ENERGY/ENERGY [ALT]/EPA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas will lead a delegation of lawmakers in a meeting with President Donald Trump on Thursday to argue for changes to the nation’s biofuels policy to protect oil refining jobs. The meeting comes after the Environmental Protection Agency last month announced a slight increase in the […]
11/28/2017
CLIMATE CHANGE/EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In less than a year since taking the helm of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt has repealed the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan and Waters of the United States rule, encouraged President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement and removed scientists dependent on EPA funding from serving […]
10/31/2017
EPA/SCOTT PRUITT: “Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, stripped a half-dozen scientists and academics of advisory positions Tuesday [10-31-7] and issued new rules barring anyone who receives E.P.A. grant money from serving on panels that counsel the agency on scientific decisions. The move will effectively bar a large number of academic researchers, […]
10/30/2017
EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Lawyers are digging in for longer and more expensive fights with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The new posture follows an order by EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt that environmental groups say will complicate settlements when plaintiff lawyers sue the agency for habitually failing to issue regulations on schedule. The directive, released […]
10/24/2017
CLIMATE CHANGE/EPA: “The Environmental Protection Agency has canceled speaking appearances by three of its scientists set to speak at a Rhode Island conference Monday. The New York Times first reported that the agency scientists, who were expected to address climate change during their talks to present a 500-page report, were removed from the program at […]
10/22/2017
EPA: “The Environmental Protection Agency has canceled the speaking appearance of three agency scientists who were scheduled to discuss climate change at a conference on Monday in Rhode Island, according to the agency and several people involved. John Konkus, an E.P.A. spokesman and a former Trump campaign operative in Florida, confirmed that agency scientists would […]
10/22/2017
ENERGY/EPA/NUCLEAR ENERGY: “A Trump administration proposal aimed at shoring up coal-fired and nuclear power plants across the nation has generated opposition from an array of energy and consumer interests, including some who are often at odds on energy policy. Oil and gas companies, wind and solar power producers, some public utilities, electricity consumers and environmentalists—rarely […]
10/20/2017
ENERGY/EPA/SCOTT PRUITT: “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has backed off a series of proposed changes to the nation’s biofuels policy after a massive backlash from corn-state lawmakers worried the moves would undercut ethanol demand, according to a letter from the agency to lawmakers seen by Reuters. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in the letter dated […]
10/19/2017
EPA/HOUSE OF REPS: “A group of 22 members of the U.S. House of Representatives asked the Environmental Protection Agency in a letter on Thursday [10-19-17] not to lower some requirements for mixing biofuels into the country’s fuel supply, but also not to let ethanol exports qualify for renewable fuel credits, according to a copy of […]
10/16/2017
EPA/SCOTT PRUITT: “The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a directive to his agency on Monday [10-16-17] seeking to end the practice of settling lawsuits with environmental groups behind closed doors, saying the groups have had too much influence on regulation. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who sued the agency he now runs more […]
10/10/2017
EPA/SCOTT PRUITT: “When Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, signed a blueprint Tuesday [10-10-17] to eliminate a major Obama-era climate change regulation, the text said the agency would at some point consider a new rule to ratchet down greenhouse gas emissions. But those adept at reading between the lines of dense federal […]
10/10/2017
CLIMATE CHANGE/ENERGY/EPA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Some of the biggest U.S. power companies said they are pushing ahead with investments in renewable and gas-fired electricity and are including climate change as a part of their corporate strategy, regardless of the Trump administration’s plans to roll back Obama-era environmental rules. President Donald Trump has pledged to boost the […]
10/9/2017
CLIMATE CHANGE/EPA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration is formally withdrawing federal limits on carbon emissions at power plants, triggering the next stage of what is likely to be a yearslong fight over the government’s centerpiece regulation for slowing climate change. The move pushes forward on a central pledge of President Donald Trump: a rollback of […]
10/9/2017
CLIMATE CHANGE/EPA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration announced Monday [10-9-17] that it would take formal steps to repeal President Barack Obama’s signature policy to curb greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, setting up a bitter fight over the future of America’s efforts to tackle global warming. At an event in eastern Kentucky, Scott Pruitt, the […]
10/6/2017
CLIMATE CHANGE/EPA/INTERIOR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The rapid-fire push by the Trump administration to wipe out significant chunks of the Obama environmental legacy is running into a not-so-minor complication: Judges keep ruling that the Trump team is violating federal law. The latest such ruling came late Wednesday [10-4-17], when a federal magistrate judge in Northern California vacated […]
10/5/2017
EPA/LOBBYING/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump on Thursday nominated Andrew R. Wheeler, a coal lobbyist with links to outspoken deniers of established science on climate change, to help lead the Environmental Protection Agency. In announcing Mr. Wheeler, a former aide to Senator James M. Inhofe, to be deputy administrator of the agency, the White House tapped […]
10/4/2017
CLIMATE CHANGE/EPA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration will repeal the Clean Power Plan, the centerpiece of President Obama’s effort to fight climate change, and will ask the public to recommend ways it could be replaced, according to an internal E.P.A. document. The draft proposal represents the administration’s first substantive step toward rolling back the plan, […]
9/27/2017
BUDGET/EPA/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/SCOTT PRUITT: “Scott Pruitt, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator who has aggressively pushed to dismantle regulations and downsize the organization, is threatening to reach outside his agency and undermine the Justice Department’s work enforcing antipollution laws, documents and interviews show. Under Mr. Pruitt, the E.P.A. has quietly said it may cut off a major […]
9/27/2017
EPA/ETHICS/SCOTT PRUITT: “Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has taken at least four noncommercial and military flights since mid-February, costing taxpayers more than $58,000 to fly him to various parts of the country, according to records provided to a congressional oversight committee and obtained by The Washington Post… The EPA provided documents that outlined how […]
9/26/2017
EPA/SCOTT PRUITT: “The Environmental Protection Agency has signed a contract for nearly $25,000 to build a soundproof communications booth for the office of the administrator, Scott Pruitt. The contract, with Acoustical Solutions in Richmond, Va., was first reported by The Washington Post. It calls for the construction of a $24,570 ‘privacy booth’ for Mr. Pruitt’s […]
9/18/2017
EPA/HILLARY CLINTON/LABOR/STATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Hillary Clinton on Monday [9-18-17] urged federal employees who disagree with the Trump administration to stay in their jobs if they can, condemning what she called the ‘disregard, even contempt, among many in this administration about what federal workers know and what they’ve done, and the advice they can give.’ The […]
9/14/2017
EPA/OBAMA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Federal regulators will reconsider Obama -era rules governing waste from coal-fired power plants, accepting a request from utility companies that were faced with possibly closing dozens of coal-ash dumps nationwide. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the decision Thursday [9-14-17], putting into question rules from 2015 that one trade group estimated would […]
9/5/2017
CRISIS/EPA/TEXAS: “The city of Houston, the Environmental Protection Agency and an environmental advocacy group are investigating a potentially hazardous plume of a carcinogenic substance in one neighborhood after a nearby oil refiner reported its operations suffered hurricane-related damage. The city and the Environmental Defense Fund said extra air monitors they dispatched to Houston’s Manchester region […]
9/6/2017
EPA/LEGAL: “The Trump administration and major U.S. states appear to be headed for a showdown over landmark rules aimed at doubling the fuel efficiency of vehicles sold in the United States. At an Environmental Protection Agency public hearing on Wednesday [9-6-17] on the fuel rules in Washington, California air resources board official Annette Hebert warned […]
9/5/2017
EPA/JOBS: “Nearly 400 workers have left the Environmental Protection Agency in recent days, the agency said Tuesday [9-5-17], a wave of departures that soon could take the agency’s staffing to its lowest point in almost 30 years. The departures come primarily from buyouts offered as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to fulfill a campaign […]
9/4/2017
CRISIS/EPA/HHS/TEXAS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Water is subsiding in flooded neighborhoods, the mayor is insisting Houston ‘is open for business,’ and shelters are emptying out, but Texans returning to flood-damaged homes face plenty of obstacles: the threat of toxic pollutants in the air and drinking water, and even hungry, dislocated animals seeking shelter. On Monday [9-4-17], authorities […]
8/31/2017
CRISIS/EPA/OBAMA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Explosions and fires at a Houston-area chemical plant triggered an evacuation Thursday [8-31-17] in a region still in chaos from Hurricane Harvey — and generated new criticism of President Donald Trump’s efforts to repeal the industry’s safety rules. Thursday morning’s blasts at the plant came just a day after a federal court […]
8/31/2017
DEMS/EPA/SCOTT PRUITT: “Democratic state officials blasted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday [8-31-17] for telling governors in what they describe as a ‘legally incorrect’ letter in March that they do not need to comply with a major climate change regulation. Fourteen Democratic attorneys general and officials from six cities and counties said the guidance […]
8/29/2017
CRISIS/ENERGY/EPA/TEXAS: “Hobbled oil refineries and damaged fuel facilities along the Gulf Coast of Texas from Tropical storm Harvey have released more than two million pounds of dangerous chemicals into the air this week, adding new health threats to Houston’s already considerable woes. The big spike in releases, which include carcinogenic benzene and nitrogen oxide, will […]
8/28/2017
EPA/ETHICS/SCOTT PRUITT: “The frequent travels of the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, to Oklahoma will be investigated following congressional requests, the agency’s Office of Inspector General said on Monday [8-28-17]. Pruitt’s many travels to his home state have fueled speculation that he intends to run for the U.S. Senate from Oklahoma… […]
8/18/2017
EPA/SCOTT PRUITT: “In the weeks before the Environmental Protection Agency decided to reject its own scientists’ advice to ban a potentially harmful pesticide, Scott Pruitt, the agency’s head, promised farming industry executives who wanted to keep using the pesticide that it is ‘a new day, and a new future,’ and that he was listening to […]
8/15/2017
CLIMATE CHANGE/EPA/TRUMP EXEC ORDERS: ” ‘Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environmental Review and Permitting Process for Infrastructure’ The order aims to increase the efficiency of the Federal infrastructure permitting process and revokes an Obama-era Executive Order that created stricter environmental review standards for federal projects in flood-prone areas. It establishes ‘One Federal Decision’ for […]
8/14/2017
EPA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order as soon as Tuesday [8-15-17] that would sharply compress the time federal agencies spend weighing environmental reviews of highways, bridges and other infrastructure projects. The order, according to a senior administration official, will require federal agencies to cooperate from the earliest stages of […]
8/10/2017
EPA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The amount of money the Environmental Protection Agency is penalizing polluters they’ve sued for breaching federal regulations has plummeted by 60% under President Donald Trump, a report released Thursday [8-10-17] has found. Between January and July, fines resulting from settlements have been significantly lighter on polluters’ pocketbooks on average compared to previous […]
8/3/2017
CLIMATE CHANGE/EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration said late Wednesday [8-2-17] that it would not delay an Obama-era regulation on smog-forming pollutants from smokestacks and tailpipes, a move that environmental groups hailed as a victory. The Environmental Protection Agency decision came a day after 16 state attorneys general, all Democrats, filed a lawsuit challenging […]
7/25/2017
BUDGET/EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s administration is moving ahead with a plan to accelerate the rehabilitation of Superfund sites, polluted locations designated by the government for long-term cleanup projects. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt on Tuesday [7-25-17] signed off on recommendations from a task force that will accelerate cleanup efforts to reduce […]
7/24/2017
EPA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, traveled to his home state, Oklahoma, 10 times over three months this year, largely at taxpayer expense, according to a report released Monday [7-24-17]. The findings from the Environmental Integrity Project, a nonprofit group founded by former E.P.A. officials, are drawn from Mr. […]
7/18/2017
EPA/ETHICS/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “A Democratic member of the U.S. Senate committee that conducted confirmation hearings for Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said in a letter Tuesday [7-18-17] that Oklahoma’s former attorney general presented ‘inconsistent and contradictory statements’ to the panel. Pruitt’s ‘misleading answers, evasiveness, and stonewalling’ had stymied the committee’s ability to provide oversight […]
7/11/2017
CLIMATE CHANGE/EPA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is in the early stages of launching a debate about climate change that could air on television – challenging scientists to prove the widespread view that global warming is a serious threat, the head of the agency said. The move comes as the administration of President […]
7/3/2017
EPA/LEGAL: “Dealing a legal blow to the Trump administration, a federal appeals court ruled on Monday [7-2-17] that the Environmental Protection Agency cannot suspend an Obama-era rule to restrict methane emissions from new oil and gas wells. The 2-to-1 decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is a […]
7/1/2017
EPA/OBAMA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “In the four months since he took office as the Environmental Protection Agency’s administrator, Scott Pruitt has moved to undo, delay or otherwise block more than 30 environmental rules, a regulatory rollback larger in scope than any other over so short a time in the agency’s 47-year history, according to experts in […]
6/27/2017
CLIMATE CONTROL/EPA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s administration is moving ahead with plans to dismantle another piece of the Obama administration’s environmental legacy, the rule that sought to protect clean drinking water by expanding Washington’s power to regulate major rivers and lakes as well as smaller streams and wetlands. The Environmental Protection Agency, Department of […]
6/26/2017
CABINET/CLIMATE CHANGE/EPA/LEGAL: “The Environmental Protection Agency’s chief of staff pressured the top scientist on the agency’s scientific review board to alter her congressional testimony and play down the dismissal of expert advisers, his emails show. Deborah Swackhamer, an environmental chemist who leads the E.P.A.’s Board of Scientific Counselors, was to testify on May 23 before […]
6/21/2017
EPA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “U.S. Democratic lawmakers asked Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt on Wednesday [6-21-17] to disclose procedures to prevent billionaire Carl Icahn from influencing U.S. biofuels policy for personal gain. The letter is the latest in a string of missives from Democrats concerned about Icahn’s dual role as a special adviser to President […]
6/19/2017
EPA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration is ending a program which subsidizes gym memberships for Environmental Protection Agency employees. ‘We have ended taxpayer-funded fitness centers at EPA; a program that was costing American taxpayers $900,000 per year,’ EPA spokesperson Jahan Wilcox told CNN in a statement. ‘Disinvestment in using federal funds for EPA fitness centers […]
6/12/2017
EPA/FOREIGN POLICY/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “The Trump administration’s top environment official left a meeting with international counterparts early, boarding a plane home to tell President Donald Trump the US position was ‘received well.’ ‘I actually arrived back this morning at 1 o’clock from Italy, the G7 focused on the environment,’ Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt […]
6/9/2017
EPA/LEGAL: “More than a dozen attorneys general wrote to the head of the Environmental Protection Agency vowing a legal fight to block regulators from easing vehicle-emissions standards, the latest broadside in a battle over the Trump administration’s move to reopen a review of the regulations. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and 12 other attorneys […]
6/6/2017
EPA/JOBS/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “The Environmental Protection Agency head said that the ‘coal sector’ added 7,000 jobs in May and ‘almost 50,000 jobs’ since the fourth quarter of last year. But the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports an increase of just 400 coal mining jobs in May and 1,300 since December. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt made […]
6/3/2017
CLIMATE CHANGE/EPA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “Despite announcing plans to pull out of the Paris climate accord, President Donald Trump’s language and that of his EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt, seem at odds with the actions he proposes taking. ‘We will be environmentally friendly,’ the President reassured. The next day, Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency administrator stood […]
6/1/2017
CLIMATE CHANGE/EPA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt on Thursday [6-1-17] would not say whether President Donald Trump still considers climate change a ‘hoax.’ When flatly asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper, ‘Does the President believe climate change is a hoax?’ the EPA administrator responded: ‘This is not about whether climate change […]
5/19/2017
BUDGET/EPA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump’s fiscal 2018 budget proposal would cut the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Science and Technology nearly in half, while paring by 40 percent funding for E.P.A. employees who oversee and put in place environmental regulations, according to a White House document that was shared with The New York Times. And […]
5/18/2017
EPA/POLITICS: “A Senate committee Thursday [5-18-17] approved a measure that would set a single national standard for ballast water discharges from maritime vessels, pre-empting states from enacting stricter standards and, critics say, exposing the Great Lakes to greater danger from invasive species. Thursday’s voice vote by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee represented a […]
5/15/2017
EPA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “Some of the most compelling evidence linking a widely used pesticide to developmental problems in children stems from what scientists call a ‘natural’ experiment. Though in this case, there was nothing natural about it. Chlorpyrifos (pronounced klor-PYE-ruh-fahs) had been used to control bugs in homes and fields for decades when researchers at […]
5/7/2017
CABINET/EPA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “The Environmental Protection Agency has dismissed at least five members of a major scientific review board, the latest signal of what critics call a campaign by the Trump administration to shrink the agency’s regulatory reach by reducing the role of academic research. A spokesman for the E.P.A. administrator, Scott Pruitt, said he […]
4/20/2017
CONFLICT OF INTEREST/EPA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “Dow Chemical is pushing a Trump administration that’s open to scrapping regulations to ignore the findings of federal scientists who point to a family of widely used pesticides as harmful to about 1,800 critically threatened or endangered species. Lawyers representing Dow, whose CEO is a close adviser to President Donald […]
04/13/2017
CLIMATE CHANGE/EPA/LEGAL/LOBBYING/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Fossil fuel lobbyists and environmentalists are set for a legal battle over whether the Trump administration will defend regulations on chemical plant safety. The Union for Concerned Scientists, Sierra Club and Earthjustice plan to jointly file a motion Wednesday [4-12-17] to intervene in a lawsuit filed by fossil fuel groups in […]
04/03/2017
CABINET/EPA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “Any expectation that Scott Pruitt, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, would be able to cruise through an appearance on ‘Fox News Sunday’ over the weekend was dashed within about 10 seconds of the interview. …Wallace began grilling Pruitt about an executive order President Trump signed last week to dismantle […]
3/28/2017
CABINET/CLIMATE CHANGE/EPA/OBAMA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “Scott Pruitt’s first weeks leading the Environmental Protection Agency have been marked by infighting among competing factions, three sources tell CNN, including a group that believes Pruitt may not go far enough to reshape the agency and pare back regulations. Some conservatives both inside and outside the agency are […]
3/29/2017
CABINET/EPA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, moved late on Wednesday [3-29-17] to reject the scientific conclusion of the agency’s own chemical safety experts who under the Obama administration recommended that one of the nation’s most widely used insecticides be permanently banned at farms nationwide because of the […]
3/19/2017
CABINET/DEFENSE/EPA/TRUMP PEOPLE/JAMES MATTIS/SCOTT PRUITT: “The political appointee charged with keeping watch over Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt and his aides has offered unsolicited advice so often that after just four weeks on the job, Pruitt has shut him out of many staff meetings, according to two senior administration officials. At the Pentagon, they’re privately […]
3/15/2017
ECONOMY/EPA/OBAMA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump is expected to announce a new review of federal auto fuel economy and emissions rules Wednesday [3-15-17] at an event in Michigan. A senior White House official said the administration plans to review standards approved by the Environmental Protection Agency just ahead of Trump’s inauguration, saying the regulations may not […]
3/14/2017
BUDGET/EPA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Cuts at the Environmental Protection Agency could be more significant than originally thought, meaning deeper cuts than the up to 25% of the agency’s budget that’s already been reported, according to a source close to the EPA. Discussions are ongoing regarding these cuts, which are expected to include grants to states aimed […]
3/09/2017
CABINET/CLIMATE CHANGE/EPA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “President Trump’s head of the Environmental Protection Agency says he does not believe that carbon dioxide is a major cause of global warming. ‘I would not agree that [CO2] is a primary contributor to the global warming that we see,’ Scott Pruitt said Thursday in an interview with CNBC’s Joe Kernen. […]
3/08/2017
BUDGET/EPA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “President Donald Trump pushed his White House team on Wednesday [3-8-17] to craft a plan for $1 trillion in infrastructure spending that would pressure states to streamline local permitting, favor renovation of existing roads and highways over new construction and prioritize projects that can quickly begin construction. Mr. Trump said he would […]
3/4/2017
CABINET/EPA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “What he said: In his written testimony to Congress, Pruitt said he never used a private email address for business while he was Oklahoma’s attorney general. What really happened: A spokesman for the Oklahoma attorney general’s office told Oklahoma City’s Fox 25 that Pruitt used his personal email during his tenure in […]