EPA3 trmp

post trump electionCAPT txt 619see pruitt, [dingdong] almost daily rollback on regs/protections --> WHEELERSEE EPA 4 djt 619see dereg nation to trackomg swamp things, some bail

<div>see transition

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=rolled back 83 regs just epa? 619<div>=</div><div>There has been a flurry of recent Republican efforts to stall action on climate policy, including a pair of bills just introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives. Bill H.R. 861, introduced by Representative Matt Gaetz, proposes “to terminate the EPA.” This bill may not even get a vote, but as The New York Times reported earlier this week, Pruitt “has a blueprint to repeal climate change rules, cut staffing levels, close regional offices and permanently weaken the agency’s regulatory authority.”Meanwhile, Bill H.R. 673, introduced by Representative Blaine Luetkmeyer, proposes to “prohibit United States contributions to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Green Climate Fund.” It’s also no secret that many Republicans want to halt funding for the UN FCCC, the international treaty system of 195 nations that produced the Paris Agreement. As the Republican party platform stated in the run-up to the presidential election: “We reject the agendas of both the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement.”</div><div></div><div><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2019/06/a-distorted-reading-of-the-science-the-epa-wants-minimal-limits-on-poison-in-drinking-water/">https://www.alternet.org/2019/06/a-distorted-reading-of-the-science-the-epa-wants-minimal-limits-on-poison-in-drinking-water/</a></div><div>
</div><div><div>no lnx</div><div>
</div><div>'A distorted reading of the science’: The EPA wants minimal limits on poison in drinking water</div><div>
</div><div>written by Sarah Okeson / DC Report June 26, 2019</div><div>
</div><div>The Trump EPA calculated recommended limits of a dangerous chemical sometimes found in drinking water that can harm babies’ brain development that were more than 9 times higher than those imposed by a few states by fudging a key number in the calculation.</div><div>
</div><div>The Trump EPA recommended a limit for perchlorate, which can harm infant brain development, of 56 micrograms per liter, far above the limit of 6 that California imposed and 2 that Massachusetts set, more than a decade ago.</div><div>
</div><div>“I guess they think it’s just fine to have children have IQ loss,” said Betsy Southerland, a retired EPA official who oversaw science and technology issues in the EPA Office of Water.</div><div>
</div><div>Perchlorate, which a GAO study found in the water, soil or sediment of 45 states, is particularly dangerous to babies because it can harm infant brain development if their mothers are exposed to it in food or water while pregnant. Babies can also ingest perchlorate in their mothers’ breast milk or in formula.</div><div>
</div><div>Scientists account for uncertainty in calculating such limits with what is known as the “uncertainty factor” to protect the most vulnerable such as infants. Our nation’s public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention used a factor of 10 for perchlorate. The Trump EPA cut that by 2/3s to 3.</div><div>
</div><div>“I don’t think it’s grounded in the science,” said Tom Neltner, the chemicals policy director for the Environmental Defense Fund. “I think it’s a distorted reading of the science.”</div><div> </div><div>EPA spokesman Ken Labbe did not have a response for DCReport.org about how the limits were calculated.</div><div>
</div><div>Massachusetts virtually eliminated perchlorate from its public drinking water supply with its limit. Testing between 2001 and 2003 found perchlorate levels of 4 micrograms per liter or higher in water systems nationwide serving more than 16.6 million people. Bleach, which water systems use to disinfect water, can degrade into perchlorate. The chemical is also in rocket fuel.</div><div>
</div><div>The American Water Works Association, which has urged that perchlorate not be regulated, paid for a study that found faults with a more rigorous model that the Obama administration would have used to set limits for perchlorate.  The Trump EPA cited that study in recommending the laxer limits.</div><div>
</div><div>Neltner said the Trump EPA cherry-picked which studies to use in setting the recommended limit. The Environmental Defense Fund had recommended a limit of 4 micrograms per liter.</div><div>
</div><div>“You really get one chance to build a brain,” Neltner said.</div><div>
</div><div>The Trump EPA could also impose limits of 18 micrograms or 90 micrograms per liter or decide against regulating perchlorate. The federal advisory limit is 15 micrograms. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler will have the final say.</div><div>
</div><div>The proposed regulation is the first new standard the EPA is putting forward for an unregulated contaminant in drinking water in more than 23 years.</div><div>
</div><div>Cleaning up perchlorate contamination can cost millions. The EPA reached a $1.1 billion settlement in 2014 to clean up a former chemical manufacturing site in Henderson, Nev. The chemical contaminated Lake Mead.   </div></div><div></div>dereg nation<h2 style="font-family: " sf="SF" compact="Compact" display="Display" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" helvetica="Helvetica" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" apple="Apple" color="color" emoji="Emoji" symbol="Symbol" margin="margin" em="em" px="px" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size">bad: pollution trumps protection at the EPA</h2><ul style="margin: 1em 0px;"><li style="margin: 7.5px 0px 7.5px 15px;">The Environmental Protection Agency is rushing through an update of its 166-page guidelines for assessing the potential of environmental contaminants (think pesticides, industrial emissions, etc.) to cause cancer and other illnesses, <a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060441741" style="">reports E&E News.</a></li><li style="margin: 7.5px 0px 7.5px 15px;">Finalizing such a complex review “in a matter of months” may be part of former coal lobbyist, now-EPA chief Andrew Wheeler’s ongoing push to weaken the scientific foundations that the agency uses for regulating pollution.</li><li style="margin: 7.5px 0px 7.5px 15px;">These guidelines were reportedly among the matters Wheeler brought to the first 2019 meeting of EPA’s Science Advisory Board, held last week.</li><li style="margin: 7.5px 0px 7.5px 15px;">(It’s supposed to meet six to eight times a year.)</li><li style="margin: 7.5px 0px 7.5px 15px;">While Wheeler told the board that the agency would “do better” in utilizing their expertise, <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/05062019/epa-wheeler-science-advisory-board-meeting-limiting-scientific-studies-trump-methane-rule" style="">reports InsideClimate News, </a>some members responded by noting that under Trump, the agency has failed to consult them at all on major rollbacks harmful to the climate and public health, such as the federal rule limiting methane leaks from oil and gas operations.</li><li style="margin: 7.5px 0px 7.5px 15px;">Some also criticized EPA’s so-called “transparency in regulatory science” proposal, which would bar decades of crucial pollution-and-health research from being used in pollution rule-making.</li><li style="margin: 7.5px 0px 7.5px 15px;">“But several of the board members who were appointed by Wheeler and by his predecessor, former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, praised the agency for its effort,” and Wheeler told the board that he intends to finalize the policy this year.</li></ul><blockquote style="border-left: 4px solid rgb(139, 196, 74); padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; margin: 1em 0px;"><h3 style="font-family: " sf="SF" compact="Compact" display="Display" apple-system="apple-system" blinkmacsystemfont="BlinkMacSystemFont" segoe="Segoe" ui="UI" roboto="Roboto" helvetica="Helvetica" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" apple="Apple" color="Color" emoji="Emoji" symbol="Symbol" margin="margin" em="em" px="px" font-size="font-size">also bad at EPA</h3>States have the right under the Clean Water Act to block federal permitting for projects that may harm air or water quality. But the agency last week issued a non-binding “guidance” to states warning them off such moves, <a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060510579" style="">reports E&E News,</a>apparently in response to recent rejections of gas pipelines and coal terminals by New York and Washington, respectively.The leading industry association for oil refineries has sued EPA to stop it from lifting an Obama-era summertime ban on selling gasoline that is blended to contain 15 percent ethanol (called E15). Trump lifted the ban to help corn farmers wilting under his trade war with China, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-ethanol-lawsuit/u-s-refiner-group-sues-trump-epa-over-high-ethanol-gasoline-idUSKCN1TB2HP" style="">as Reuters reports</a>. Burning high-ethanol E15 in the hottest months can increase smog, while creating the blends increases refiners’ costs.<a href="https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1123472_automakers-lay-out-mpg-concerns-for-trump-talk-to-california-pleaseupdate" style="">According to Green Car Reports</a>, 17 automakers have asked EPA and the Department of Transportation to negotiate with California on the administration’s proposed rollback of Obama-era fuel efficiency standards, and its vow to rescind California’s decades-long right to set its own standards.<ul style="margin: 1em 0px;"><li style="margin: 7.5px 0px 7.5px 15px;">These moves, as the automakers and many other observers besides have noted, will divide the U.S. auto market and bring on years of of litigation, creating a great deal of instability for the auto industry.</li><li style="margin: 7.5px 0px 7.5px 15px;"><a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/06/06/730485234/carmakers-to-white-house-work-with-california-on-rules-for-greenhouse-gases" style="">Responding to a request for comment from NPR</a>, a White House spokesperson said, in so many words, that the administration is committed to both the rollback and eliminating California’s auto emissions power.</li></ul></blockquote>=<div class="header-list-style" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h2 class="entry-title grid-title" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; letter-spacing: 1px;"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2019/06/epa-wants-to-let-frackers-dump-chemical-laden-water-into-rivers-and-streams/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer; letter-spacing: 0px;">EPA wants to let frackers dump chemical-laden water into rivers and streams</a></h2><div class="grid-post-box-meta" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 12px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">by <a class="url fn n" href="https://www.alternet.org/author/sarah-okeson/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">Sarah Okeson</a> June 12, 2019</div></div><div class="item-content entry-content" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 18px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The EPA identified 692 different ingredients used in fracking that can end up in produced water, including acids, gels and sand. The water can also be radioactive.</div>vs5/19<h1 class="widgetheadline h1" style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a class="widgetheadline-text custom-post-headline" href="https://www.ecowatch.com/ireland-ban-fracking-2450255362.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; overflow-wrap: break-word;">'We've Made History': Ireland Joins France, Germany and Bulgaria in Banning Fracking</a></h1>=<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2019/06/huffpost-just-published-a-bombshell-story-about-the-epa/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2019/06/huffpost-just-published-a-bombshell-story-about-the-epa/</a><div class="content-list-component yr-content-list-text text" data-rapid-cpos="1" data-rapid-subsec="paragraph" data-rapid-parsed="subsec" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">A top <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/impact/topic/epa" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0" data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="1" data-v9y="1" wp-content="wp-content" themes="themes" motherjones="motherjones" css="css" img="img" orange-border.png="orange-border.png" background-repeat="background-repeat" repeat-x="repeat-x" text-shadow="text-shadow" rgb="rgb" px="px" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; background-position: 0px 90%; background-image: url(">Environmental Protection Agency</a> official gave a presentation last year at a gathering of some of the most zealous deniers of climate science, highlighting the influence a small, fringe movement hawking crank theories now wields in Washington.  </div><div class="content-list-component yr-content-list-text text" data-rapid-cpos="2" data-rapid-subsec="paragraph" data-rapid-parsed="subsec" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;">Emails HuffPost reviewed reveal Bill Wehrum, the EPA’s assistant administrator for air and radiation, gave a presentation in early February 2018 at an event organized by the Cooler Heads Coalition, an umbrella group of tax-exempt charities and right-wing nonprofits that includes some of the most ardent proponents of climate change denial.<div class="content-list-component yr-content-list-text text" data-rapid-cpos="3" data-rapid-subsec="paragraph" data-rapid-parsed="subsec" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Three other EPA officials―associate administrator Tate Bennett, senior counsel David Harlow and then-spokeswoman Liz Bowman―attended the confab with Wehrum, the emails show.</div><div class="content-list-component yr-content-list-text text" data-rapid-cpos="4" data-rapid-subsec="paragraph" data-rapid-parsed="subsec" style="box-sizing: inherit;">In an email dated Feb. 6, 2018, Myron Ebell, who has led the Cooler Heads Coalition for more than two decades, offered gratitude for the EPA officials’ attendance at the previous day’s event, and invited the group to the next meeting a month later.   </div><div class="content-list-component yr-content-list-text text" data-rapid-cpos="5" data-rapid-subsec="paragraph" data-rapid-parsed="subsec" style="box-sizing: inherit;">“Thanks Bill, David, Liz, and Tate, for coming to Cooler Heads and for your presentation and taking questions, Bill. It was most useful,” Ebell, who led the Trump administration’s EPA transition team, wrote. “We look forward to seeing any or all of you at future meetings.”</div><div class="content-list-component yr-content-list-text text" data-rapid-cpos="6" data-rapid-subsec="paragraph" data-rapid-parsed="subsec" style="box-sizing: inherit;">The EPA declined to comment on the nature of Wehrum’s presentation and whether any officials attended other events with the Cooler Heads Coalition.</div><div class="content-list-component yr-content-list-text text" data-rapid-cpos="7" data-rapid-subsec="paragraph" data-rapid-parsed="subsec" style="box-sizing: inherit;">“EPA takes time to meet with stakeholders on a variety of regulatory issues, this is no different,” said EPA spokesman Michael Abboud....</div></div><div class="widgetbrief" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">When Trump's Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa" target="self" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1.5;">EPA</a>) announced its replacement for the Obama-era <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/clean-power-plan" target="self" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1.5;">Clean Power Plan</a> in August 2018, its <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-epa-dirty-power-plan-2597804270.html" target="self" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1.5;">own estimates</a> said the reduced regulations could lead to 1,400 early deaths a year from <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/air-pollution" target="self" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1.5;">air pollution</a> by 2030.Now, the EPA wants to change the way it calculates the risks posed by particulate matter pollution, using a model that would lower the death toll from the new plan, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/20/climate/epa-air-pollution-deaths.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1.5;">The New York Times reported Monday</a>. Five current or former EPA officials familiar with the plan told The Times that the new method would assume there is no significant health gain by lowering air pollution levels below the legal limit. However, many public health experts say that there is no safe level of particulate matter exposure, which has long been linked to heart and lung disease."Using fake math to hide the death toll from dirty air at the behest of the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal" target="self" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1.5;">coal</a> industry is sadly consistent with the Trump administration's complete disregard for public health," <a href="https://www.ewg.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1.5;">Environmental Working Group</a>(EWG) Senior Science Advisor for Children's Environmental Health Dr. Olga Naidenko <a href="https://www.ewg.org/energy/22653/trump-epa-s-fake-math-clean-air-doesn-t-save-lives-so-burn-more-coal" target="blank" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1.5;">said in response</a>to the plan. "This sleight of hand means that more adults may die early and more children may become victims of asthma."</div><div class="js-appear-on-expand" style="transition: all 350ms ease 0s; height: auto; overflow: hidden; opacity: 1; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class=" rebellt-item is--desktop col1" id="rebelltitem1" data-id="1" data-href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trumps-epa-changing-its-math-2637700338.html?rebelltpage=1#rebelltitem1">New York University environmental law expert Richard L. Revesz called the proposed change a "monumental departure" from how the agency has calculated air pollution risk under past administrations from both parties."Particulate matter is extremely harmful and it leads to a large number of premature deaths," Revesz said.The new method will be used in the EPA's final version of the Clean Power Plan replacement, the Affordable Clean Energy Rule, due to be released in June. The new rule would improve the efficiency of coal plants slightly while also allowing older plants to remain in operation longer, leading both to more <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change" target="self" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1.5;">climate-change</a> causing emissions and more particulate matter pollution.When asked if the new method would appear in the final plan, former chemical and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="self" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1.5;">fossil fuel</a> lobbyist and current EPA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation William L. Wehrum said the final draft would include multiple approaches and that the agency had not officially changed its methodology.</div><div class=" rebellt-item is--desktop col1" id="rebelltitem2" data-id="2" data-href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trumps-epa-changing-its-math-2637700338.html?rebelltpage=2#rebelltitem2">However, Wehrum also called the focus on the 1,400 number "unfortunate" and said the agency was considering a number of alternative calculations that would lead to lower death tolls. He said the lower figure would be included to show that different assumptions could lead to different results, but said that any new method would be peer-reviewed before being used as the EPA's leading means of assessing air pollution risk.EPA spokesman James Hewitt echoed that message in a statement to <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/20/politics/epa-air-pollution-deaths-estimates/index.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1.5;">CNN</a>."No change to this scientific method will be made unless and until the new approach has been peer reviewed," he said.The EPA is considering the new method as part of its regular review of air quality standards, which it aims to complete by 2020, CNN reported.In recent years, studies have shown a growing number of health risks associated with particulate matter exposure, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/air-pollution-dementia-2602268931.html" target="self" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1.5;">including dementia</a>. Colorado School of Public Health Dean Dr. Jonathan M. Samet told The New York Times that most new studies showed risks at levels of exposure below the EPA's legal limit of 12 micrograms per cubic meter on average per year."It's not a hard stop where we can say 'below that, air is safe.' That would not be supported by the scientific evidence," Samet said. "It would be very nice for public health if things worked that way, but they don't seem to."Revesz worried the new method would be used to roll back other environmental regulations as well."It could be an enormously significant impact," he told The New York Times.</div>
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In a report that elicited calls for congressional action, The New York Times revealed Wednesday that "senior officials at the Environmental Protection Agency disregarded the advice of their own scientists and lawyers in April when the agency issued a rule that restricted but did not ban asbestos."
Asbestos is a group of fibrous, heat-resistant minerals used in manufactured goods, particularly building materials. According to the World Health Organization, "All types of asbestos cause lung cancer, mesothelioma, cancer of the larynx and ovary, and asbestosis (fibrosis of the lungs)."
EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a statement last month that the agency's new rule "gives us unprecedented authorities to protect public health" and block certain products from the market. However, environmental and public health advocates raised concerns at the time about loopholes that remain, with one critic calling the regulation "toothless."
Criticism of the rule resurfaced Wednesday when the Times reported on a pair of internal EPA memos from last August, in which more than a dozen agency experts wrote:
Rather than allow for (even with restrictions) any new uses for asbestos, EPA should seek to ban all new uses of asbestos because the extreme harm from this chemical substance outweighs any benefit — and because there are adequate alternatives to asbestos.Melanie Benesh, legislative attorney at the Environmental Working Group (EWG), was among those who demanded action from federal lawmakers following the "bombshell" report.
"The sheer number of lives cut short and families destroyed from asbestos exposure demand nothing less than an outright ban," Benesh said in a statement. "I can't think of an easier vote for members of Congress to cast than for a bill that bans a substance responsible for the deaths of so many."
The reporting came as a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing Wednesday morning to consider legislation that would amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) "to prohibit the manufacture, processing, and distribution in commerce of asbestos and asbestos-containing mixtures and articles."
"If Administrator Wheeler and the Trump administration won't act," said Benesh, "then Congress must by passing this critical piece of legislation that finally bans asbestos."
Sharing a link to the Times article on Twitter, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), the committee's chairman, said, "This is exactly why we need to ban asbestos and why my committee is holding a hearing today on legislation that would fully ban this toxic material."

Rep. Frank Pallone This is exactly why we need to ban asbestos and why my Committee is holding a hearing today on legislation that would fully ban this toxic material. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/08/climate/epa-asbestos-rule-scientists.html …icn 419<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px 97.6875px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.52; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">President Donald Trump is seeking to boost domestic fossil fuels production over the objections of Democrats and environmentalists concerned about pollution and climate change. On Wednesday he issued a pair of executive orders targeting the power of states to delay energy projects.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px 97.6875px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.52; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">“We started working on it in advance, so we hope to have something out soon,” EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in an interview. He was unable to provide a precise timeline.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px 97.6875px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.52; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Based on Trump’s orders, Wheeler’s EPA has been tasked with clarifying a section of the U.S. Clean Water Act that has allowed states like New York and Washington to delay projects in recent years.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px 97.6875px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.52; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">New York has used the section to delay pipelines that would bring natural gas to New England, for example, and Washington state has stopped coal export terminals that would open the Asian market for struggling coal companies in Wyoming and other landlocked western states.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px 97.6875px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.52; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“They are trying to make international environmental policy,” Wheeler said of Washington state, whose governor, Democrat Jay Inslee, is running for president on a climate change-focused platform. “They’re trying to dictate to the world how much coal is used.”<div class="RelatedCoverage_related-coverage-module module" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 60px 0px 60px 97.6875px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h4 class="RelatedCoverage_related-coverage-title" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 30px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; 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</a></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="RelatedCoverage_related-headline" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 20px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.3; vertical-align: baseline; max-width: 500px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Text: Transcript of Reuters interview with EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler</div></div></li></ul></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px 97.6875px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.52; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Wheeler said New York, which amid strong public pressure denied a clean water act permit for construction of a natural gas pipeline to New England, is forcing that region “to use Russian-produced natural gas.”<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px 97.6875px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.52; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“We are importing Russian natural gas which is not produced in an environmentally conscious manner. If the states that are blocking the pipelines were truly concerned about the environment, they would look to where the natural gas would be coming from... I think it’s very short-sighted,” he said.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px 97.6875px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.52; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Wheeler said the EPA would not prevent a state from vetoing a project, but would clarify the parameters they should be able to consider, and the length of time they have to do so.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px 97.6875px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.52; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">He also said that California is playing politics in its fight with the EPA to preserve its more stringent vehicle emission standards as the national standard.<h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px 97.6875px; padding: 30px 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.3; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">CLIMATE: NOT A PRIORITY</h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px 97.6875px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.52; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Wheeler said he believes climate change is a problem, but that it had been overblown by former President Barack Obama’s administration - at the expense of other bigger issues like water quality.<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="DPSlot_container StandardArticleBody_dp-slot-inline StandardArticleBody_inline-canvas" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 45px 0px 45px 97.6875px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: relative; clear: both;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px 97.6875px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.52; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">“Yes, climate is an issue and we are working to address it, but I think water is a bigger issue,” he said.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px 97.6875px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.52; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Wheeler dismissed the findings of a report released earlier this week by EPA scientists in the journal Nature Climate Change that detailed the scale and urgency of climate change.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px 97.6875px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.52; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">He said while he encouraged EPA scientists to carry out and publish research, he stressed the recent paper “did not reflect EPA policy.”<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px 97.6875px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.52; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Environmental groups say the EPA’s replacement of an Obama-era rule limiting carbon emissions from power plants would likely lead to increased emissions by allowing older, more polluting coal plants to operate longer.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px 97.6875px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.52; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Asked whether the replacement - the Affordable Clean Energy rule, which gives states responsibility for regulating emissions - is stringent enough, Wheeler said it adheres to the parameters of federal law.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px 97.6875px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.52; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“I think what is effective regulation is one that follows the law and one that will be held up in court,” he said.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px 97.6875px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.52; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Several Democrats challenging Trump in the 2020 election have made climate change a top-tier issue, embracing aggressive policy platforms like the Green New Deal calling for an end of fossil fuels use.<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="DPSlot_container StandardArticleBody_dp-slot-inline" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 45px 0px 45px 97.6875px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: relative;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px 97.6875px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.52; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Asked whether he was concerned that the EPA may be out of synch with polls showing an overwhelming number of young people believe climate change should be a priority issue, Wheeler was dismissive.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px 97.6875px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.52; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“I do fear that because so many people only talked about climate change. You’re right, there could very well be a new generation coming up saying that’s the only environmental issue - and it’s not,” he said.<a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/26-environmental-rules-being-rolled-back-in-the-trump-era">https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/26-environmental-rules-being-rolled-back-in-the-trump-era</a><header class="article-header" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: grid; grid-template-columns: 1fr 24px 1fr 24px 1fr 24px 1fr 24px 1fr 24px 1fr 24px 1fr 24px 1fr 24px 1fr 24px 1fr 24px 1fr 24px 1fr; grid-area: 3 / 1 / auto / span 23; margin: 12px 0px 18px; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);"><h1 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 6px; line-height: 2.75rem; grid-area: 2 / 1 / auto / span 19; letter-spacing: 0px;">26 Environmental Rules Being Rolled Back in the Trump Era</h1><div class="posted-date" style="box-sizing: inherit; grid-area: 3 / 1 / auto / span 11; line-height: 1.25rem; padding: 9px 0px;">Posted July 12, 2018, 4:05 AM</div></header><div class="wrapper-article" style="box-sizing: inherit; grid-area: 4 / 1 / auto / span 15; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);"><div class="wrapper-article-body" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="article-body" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 36px;"><div style="box-sizing: inherit;">President Donald Trump’s deregulatory agenda has pushed at least 26 environmental regulations issued during the Obama administration out of the queue.Some have been revoked completely, while others are in the process of being replaced by less stringent rules under the Trump administration.Follow this list of Environmental Protection Agency regulations compiled by Bloomberg Environment staff to stay up-to-date on the regulations that Trump introduces, rescinds, or is in the process of overturning. Overturned<ul style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Requirement for oil and gas companies to report methane emissions leaks | <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/more-time-fewer-fines-for-oil-companies-that-fix-emissions-leaks-1" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Story</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Rule that limits toxic emissions from industrial facilities | <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/epa-drops-toxic-pollutant-policy-it-called-burden-to-business-corrected-2" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Story</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Rule that prohibits hydrofluorocarbons as replacements for ozone-depleting compounds | <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/epa-wont-enforce-obama-era-coolant-limits-seeks-rewrite" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Story</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Proposed rule to reduce air pollutants from sewage treatment plants</li></ul>In the Process of Being Overturned<ul style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">The Clean Power Plan regulating carbon emissions from power plants. A replacement plan has been drafted| <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/clean-power-plan-only-first-target-for-foes-of-climate-rules" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Story</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Standards for limiting carbon dioxide emissions from new, modified, and reconstructed power plants | <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/epa-could-revive-bush-era-air-pollution-aggregation-policy-1" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Story</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Emissions rules for power plant startups, shutdowns, and malfunctions | <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/malfunction-emissions-case-delayed-to-accommodate-epa-review" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Story</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Rules to allow methane leaks to go unrepaired during unscheduled or emergency shutdowns at oil and gas facilities and guidelines that reduce emissions from existing sources | <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/epalifts-methane-leak-repair-requirements-for-oil-and-gas-wells" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Story</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Rules aimed at cutting landfill methane emissions | <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/california-other-states-sue-over-delayed-landfill-emissions-rule" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Story</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Air pollution permitting reviews are eased | <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/air-pollution-permit-memo-will-speed-expansion-industry-says" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Story</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Update to a rule that would reduce air pollution in national parks and wilderness areas | <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/epa-to-reopen-obama-era-visibility-improvement-rule" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Story</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Proposed amendments to rules on how refineries monitor pollution in surrounding communities | <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/refiners-could-save-millions-under-epa-air-pollution-proposal" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Story</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Changes to fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks made between 2020 and 2025 | <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/california-challenges-trumps-epa-over-auto-emissions-rollback" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Story</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Emissions standards for trailers and glider kits | <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/epa-parks-portions-of-greenhouse-gas-rule-for-trucks" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Story</a></li></ul><div class="embedded-image" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 24px;">
</div>In the Process of Being Overturned<ul style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Suspended Waters of the U.S., also known as WOTUS, clarifying which waters are covered by the Clean Water Act | <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/epa-starts-water-rule-repeal-fulfills-trump-campaign-pledge" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Story</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Delayed rule regulating toxic discharges from power plants into public waterways by two years | <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/power-plants-get-two-year-reprieve-for-parts-of-wastewater-rule" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Story</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Proposed rule rolling back groundwater protections for certain uranium mines</li></ul><div class="embedded-image" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 24px;">
</div>Overturned<ul style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Proposed ban on chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate pesticide | <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/epa-wont-ban-controversial-dow-pesticide" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Story</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Narrowed scope of a federal law requiring safety assessments for potentially toxic chemicals | <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/epa-sides-with-chemical-companies-on-drinking-water-pollution" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Story</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Removed copper filter cake from the “hazardous waste” list.</li></ul>In the Process of Being Overturned<ul style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Two programs that limit children’s exposure to lead paint | <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/slashing-epa-budget-would-harm-kids-pediatric-specialists-say" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Story</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Rule aimed at improving safety at facilities that use hazardous chemicals | <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/chemical-plant-rule-could-be-kicked-back-by-nearly-two-years" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Story</a></li></ul><div class="embedded-image" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 24px;">
</div>Overturned<ul style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Proposed rule directing mines to prove they can pay to clean up future pollution | <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/hardrock-miners-avoid-millions-in-cleanup-assurance-costs" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Story</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Federal rules regulating coal ash waste from power plants. States were granted oversight of the waste | <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/epa-proposal-would-give-states-utilities-coal-ash-authority" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Story</a></li></ul>In the Process of Being Overturned<ul style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Limiting the studies used by the EPA for rulemaking to only those that make data publicly available | <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/pruitts-science-advisers-left-in-the-dark-on-transparency-proposal-2" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Story</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 12px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" base64="base64" phn2zyb2zxjzaw9upsixljeiihhtbg5zpsjodhrwoi8vd3d3lnczlm9yzy8ymdawl3n2zyigd2lkdgg9ijzwecigagvpz2h0psi2chgiihzpzxdcb3g9ijagmcazmiazmiigcm9szt0iaw1niibjbgfzcz0iawnvbibjagvja2jvec1lbxb0esigyxjpys1oawrkzw49inrydwuipgogidx0axrszt5py29ulwj1bgxldc1saxn0pc90axrszt4kica8cgf0acbmawxspsijmmeyyzmwiibkpsjnmzigmtzjmca4ljgzny03lje2myaxni0xniaxnnmtmtytny4xnjmtmtytmtzjmc04ljgznya3lje2my0xniaxni0xnnmxnia3lje2myaxniaxnnoipjwvcgf0ad4kpc9zdmc="PHN2ZyB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjZweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2cHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMiAzMiIgcm9sZT0iaW1nIiBjbGFzcz0iaWNvbiBjaGVja2JveC1lbXB0eSIgYXJpYS1oaWRkZW49InRydWUiPgogIDx0aXRsZT5pY29uLWJ1bGxldC1saXN0PC90aXRsZT4KICA8cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMmEyYzMwIiBkPSJNMzIgMTZjMCA4LjgzNy03LjE2MyAxNi0xNiAxNnMtMTYtNy4xNjMtMTYtMTZjMC04LjgzNyA3LjE2My0xNiAxNi0xNnMxNiA3LjE2MyAxNiAxNnoiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc" cg="=" xmlns:data="data">Changing the way cost-benefit analyses are conducted under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, among other environmental regulations | <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/epa-to-alter-cost-calculations-as-industry-criticizes-inflated-benefits-1" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Story</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div>EPA Adopts Fringe Science Claim That Small Doses of Pollution Are Healthy 2/19 see Chemicals.omfg
Sam NickersonThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">EPA</a>) in April 2018 <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/radiation-exposure-limits-epa-2609738084.html" target="self" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">proposed relaxing standards</a> related to how it assesses the effects of exposure to low levels of toxic <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/chemicals" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">chemicals</a> on public health.Now, correspondence <a href="https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-secret-science-20190219-story.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">obtained by the LA Times</a> revealed just how deeply involved industry lobbyists and a controversial, industry-funded toxicologist were in drafting the federal agency's proposal to scrap its current, protective approach to regulating toxin exposure.The proposed change came just two weeks after a top EPA official contacted toxicologist Ed Calabrese, whose claim that low doses of carcinogens and radiation are healthy stressors akin to physical exercise that activate the body's repair mechanisms has been <a href="https://apnews.com/6a573b6b020e453c90ecd5e84aa23f57" target="blank" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">panned by more mainstream researchers</a>."I wanted to check to see if you might have some time in the next couple of days for a quick call to discuss a couple of items … " EPA deputy assistant administrator Clint Woods wrote to Calabrese.The EPA's proposed regulation, signed by then-Administrator Scott Pruitt and published in <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/04/30/2018-09078/strengthening-transparency-in-regulatory-science" target="blank" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">the U.S. Government's Federal Register</a>, copied Calabrese's recommendations to Woods almost verbatim.Calabrese, who was also quoted in the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-administrator-pruitt-proposes-rule-strengthen-science-used-epa-regulations" target="blank" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">EPA's press release</a> for the proposal, celebrated the announcement in an email to former coal and tobacco lobbyist Steve Milloy, who served on President Donald Trump's EPA transition team."This is a major big time victory," Calabrese wrote. Milloy, who is also a Fox News commentator, replied that it was "YUGE."The EPA's proposal is a departure from its long-time "linear no-threshold" approach to regulating the study of toxins: once a substance is found to be harmful at one level, the danger applies at all levels. In other words, there can be no safe level of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/grand-canyon-radiation-exposure-2629386611.html" target="self" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">radiation exposure</a>.Calabrese argues this approach is overly cautious and a financial detriment to industry. The new rule would require that regulators look at "various threshold models across the exposure range" for pollutants.Low doses of otherwise toxic chemicals can be beneficial to human health in specific clinical situations, the LA Times noted, but experiments have produced mixed results and experts say it would be a risk to apply the findings to regulation for the general public.
"There is no way to control the dose a person gets from an industrial or agricultural chemical," David Jacobs, a professor of public health at the University of Minnesota, told the newspaper. "It's not being doled out in pills and monitored by a physician who can lower it if the patient isn't responding well."The EPA has not announced a date for when it will make a decision on the rule proposal.Health experts believe that if the EPA does adopt the rule, it could lead to wholesale changes to the agency's standards for regulating toxic waste, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">pesticides</a>, and air and water quality."Industry has been pushing for this for a long time," George Washington University professor of environmental and occupational health David Michaels told the LA Times. "Not just the chemical industry, but the radiation and tobacco industries too."Calabrese has long been connected to these industries and has received funding from tobacco firm R.J. Reynolds, Dow Chemical, Exxon Mobil and others, the LA Times reported.<a href="https://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/sites/default/files/attachments/calabrese_testimony_pdf.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">Calabrese's role in the EPA's proposal</a> illustrates how the Trump administration has pursued environmental policy recommendations from industry lobbyists based on research running counter to mainstream science.According to the LA Times, Calabrese first emailed Milloy about whether it would be possible to get the EPA to abandon the linear no-threshold model in September 2017, not even nine months after Trump was sworn into office.<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-pollution-heath-2629720153.html" style="%22opacity:1%3Bfill:%2315a5ea%3B%22" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" height="%2213%22" width="%2213%22" version="%221.1%22" cg="Cg" transform="%22translate%28-36.467808%2C-258.39005%29%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" d="%22m40.55%2C263.9c0-0.6213%2C0.6213-0.6213%2C0.6213-0.6213%2C1.864%2C0.6213%2C3.107%2C1.864%2C3.728%2C3.728%2C0%2C0%2C0%2C0.6213-0.6213%2C0.6213-1.243-1.864-1.864-2.485-3.728-3.728z%22/%3E" c="C" g="g" e="E" rgb="rgb" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:cc="%22http://creativecommons.org/ns%23%22" xmlns:data="data" xmlns:dc="%22http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/%22%3E" xmlns:rdf="%22http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns%23%22">EPA Adopts Fringe Science Claim That Small Doses of Pollution Are Healthy</a> 2/19 see <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://rachelcarson-wiki.lt.ucsc.edu/mediawiki/index.php?title=Chemicals" style="%22opacity:1%3Bfill:%2315a5ea%3B%22" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" height="%2213%22" width="%2213%22" version="%221.1%22" cg="Cg" transform="%22translate%28-36.467808%2C-258.39005%29%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" d="%22m40.55%2C263.9c0-0.6213%2C0.6213-0.6213%2C0.6213-0.6213%2C1.864%2C0.6213%2C3.107%2C1.864%2C3.728%2C3.728%2C0%2C0%2C0%2C0.6213-0.6213%2C0.6213-1.243-1.864-1.864-2.485-3.728-3.728z%22/%3E" c="C" g="g" e="E" rgb="rgb" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:cc="%22http://creativecommons.org/ns%23%22" xmlns:data="data" xmlns:dc="%22http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/%22%3E" xmlns:rdf="%22http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns%23%22">Chemicals</a>.<div>=</div><div>OMG ew 219</div><div>
</div><div> U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported last week that in 2018 it <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/02/14/2019-02354/pesticide-emergency-exemptions-agency-decisions-and-state-and-federal-agency-crisis-declarations" target="blank" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">issued</a> so-called "emergency" <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/05/31/2018-11751/pesticide-emergency-exemptions-agency-decisions-and-state-and-federal-agency-crisis-declarations" target="blank" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">approvals</a> to spray sulfoxaflor—an insecticide the agency considers "very highly toxic" to bees—on more than 16 million acres of crops known to attract bees.</div><div></div><div><h1 class="widgetheadline h1" style="margin: 10px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a class="widgetheadline-text custom-post-headline" href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-expansion-for-bee-toxic-pesticide-2611914615.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; line-height: 31px;">EPA Considers 300,000-Acre Expansion for Bee-Toxic Pesticide</a></h1><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url" data-elid="2611914615" data-authors="Center for Biological Diversity" data-headline="EPA Considers 300,000-Acre Expansion for Bee-Toxic Pesticide" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body-description"><div class="widgetbrief">The Center for Biological Diversity Thursday <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/pesticides_reduction/pdfs/FlupyComments_Tobacco2018.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">urged</a> the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to deny Bayer CropScience's request to allow the highly bee-toxic pesticide flupyradifurone to be sprayed on tobacco in states like Kentucky and North Carolina.</div><div class="js-appear-on-expand" style="transition: all 350ms ease 0s; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; opacity: 0;"><div class="widgetshow-more with-primary-color js-keep-reading js-page-view-and-reload-embeds" style="cursor: pointer; border-radius: 15px; float: left; padding: 7px; font-weight: 600; background-color: rgb(240, 240, 240);"></div></div></div></div><div>
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</div><div><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/bee-killing-pesticides-in-national-wildlife-refuges-2593236939.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/bee-killing-pesticides-in-national-wildlife-refuges-2593236939.html</a></div><div>
</div><div>trump Admin Reverses Ban on 'Bee-Killing' Pesticides in National Wildlife Refuges</div></div>1018icnEPA to Unveil Plans to Weaken Rule Limiting Toxic Mercury Pollution - The Guardianhttps://YYY.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/17/epa-to-unveil-plans-to-weaken-rule-limiting-toxic-mercury-pollutionno lnxUS Environmental Protection Agency next month will unveil plans to start weakening the economic justification for a rule limiting toxic mercury pollution from coal plants.
The EPA isn’t rescinding the standard as of yet but has finished deciding to reconsider the underlying analysis for the 2011 rule, according to the government’s newly published agenda.

Trump races against clock to roll back major Obama-era environment rules Read moreDonald Trump’s administration is revoking major environmental protections enacted by the Barack Obama administration, arguing Obama rules overestimated health benefits and undercounted costs.
Conservatives say Obama’s EPA shouldn’t have counted health improvements from the mercury rule that would have come from eliminating other kinds of pollution from coal plants, including soot and nitrogen oxide linked to respiratory illnesses and early deaths.
Power companies have already spent the money to comply with the mercury standard, but the EPA wants to rework the cost-benefit analysis behind the regulation anyway. Air law experts say the move could set the agency up to roll back other pollution protections that depend on the mercury rule math. It could also throw settled other regulations into question, setting off a frenzy of lawsuits against the government and businesses, they say.
Obama’s EPA estimated the rule would result in $37bn to $90bn in annual health benefits but that only a small portion of that would be from reducing mercury levels. The agency expected that installing mercury controls would cost industry $9.6bn per year, so the benefits would outweigh the costs. Excluding those secondary benefits would imply the rule cost more than it was worth.
The supreme court in 2015 ruled the EPA broke the law in deciding to regulate mercury without first considering the costs. The EPA in 2016 responded to that with a new analysis. The agency now wants to reassess.
The EPA is still working on its required follow-up review of the risks from mercury and the technologies available to limit it and will issue a draft along with the proposal to re-evaluate the cost-benefit analysis in November.<div>=</div><div>poison papers history</div><div>
</div><div><a href="https://kpfa.org/episode/against-the-grain-october-10-2018/">https://kpfa.org/episode/against-the-grain-october-10-2018/</a></div><div>
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</div><div><header style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(230, 230, 230);"><time class="updated" datetime="2018-10-10T19:00:00-07:00" style="box-sizing: border-box;">10.10.18 - 12:00PM</time><h2 class="entry-title v-top-0 h4" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 12.5px;">The EPA and the Chemical Industry: A Cozy Alliance</h2><a href="https://kpfa.org/program/against-the-grain/" class="program-title url fn n" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">AGAINST THE GRAIN</a></header><div class="entry-summary" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(230, 230, 230);">The Environmental Protection Agency is tasked with safeguarding the public from toxic exposure.  But Jonathan Latham, executive director of the Bioscience Research Project, says that The Poison Papers — an enormous trove of documents — indicate that the EPA and the chemical industry often work hand in hand to mislead us into thinking that toxic chemicals …</div></div><div></div><div><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/poison-papers-epa-2466211797.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/poison-papers-epa-2466211797.html</a></div><div><div class="headline-container" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h1 class="headline h1" style="margin: 10px; padding: 0px; position: relative; line-height: 31px;">Poison Papers Reveal EPA Collusion With Chemical Industry</h1></div><div id="utm_campaign" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url" data-elid="2466211797" data-authors="Center for Media and Democracy" data-headline="Poison Papers Reveal EPA Collusion With Chemical Industry" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body-description">By Rebekah WilceThe world of independent chemical testing has a shiny veneer. The public is reassured that <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/chemicals" style="text-decoration-line: none;">chemicals</a> they're exposed to on a daily basis are certified by technicians in spotless white lab coats who carefully conduct scientific studies, including on animals in neat rows of cages.But a federal grand jury investigation that ended with convictions in the early 1980s discovered that Industrial Bio-Test Laboratories (IBT), the largest such lab in the U.S., conducted trials with mice that regularly drowned in their feeding troughs. The dead animals would decompose so quickly that "their bodies <a href="http://planetwaves.net/contents/faking_it.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">oozed</a> through wire cage bottoms and lay in purple puddles on the dropping trays." IBT even invented an acronym "TBD/TDA" for its raw safety data, later discovered to mean "<a href="https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">too badly decomposed</a>."That was just one of a host of problems uncovered at IBT which conducted an estimated 35 to 40 percent of all the toxicology tests performed in the U.S. including for U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulated products and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulated <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides" style="text-decoration-line: none;">pesticides</a> and chemicals. Scientists at the FDA were the first to spot the fraud and misconduct and blew the whistle on IBT in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Bio-Test_Laboratories" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Senate hearings</a> in the late 1970's. Soon after, the EPA was forced to deal with the issue and estimated behind the scenes that some 80 percent of the data provided to them for chemical registration from IBT was nonexistent, fraudulent or invalid.The IBT scandal presented the EPA with a potentially immense crisis. Knowing that almost every IBT test it had looked at was seriously flawed and presumptively fraudulent, it could order retests and withdraw its approval from every IBT-tested chemical. This course of action would have been fully warranted, scientifically. But it would have had drastic effects on the chemical industry, on public confidence and on the newly-formed EPA itself.What the EPA did instead is revealed in a <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3417915-IBT-Howard-Johnson-Transcript.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">transcript</a> of a meeting that took place at the Howard Johnson Inn in Arlington, Virginia on Oct. 3, 1978. This secret meeting was between senior figures at EPA, Canada's Health Protection Branch, and executives of the chemical industry and was intended to solve the IBT "problem."This transcript is part of more than 20,000 documents, weighing more than three tons, just released by the <a href="https://bioscienceresource.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Bioscience Resource Project</a> and the <a href="http://www.exposedbycmd.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Center for Media and Democracy</a>, on the "<a href="https://www.poisonpapers.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Poison Papers</a>" website. Most of the Poison Papers were collected by author and activist <a href="https://www.poisonpapers.org/about-us/carol-van-strum/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Carol Van Strum</a>, who used documents obtained through public interest lawsuits and open records requests to investigate chemical pollution and digitized by journalist <a href="https://www.poisonpapers.org/about-us/peter-von-stackelberg/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Peter von Stackelberg</a>. Van Strum's remarkable story was detailed this week in <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/07/26/chemical-industry-herbicide-poison-papers/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">The Intercept</a>.</div></div></div><div>
</div><div>...Conversation About Collusion</div>The <a href="https://www.poisonpapers.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Poison Papers</a> represent a vast trove of rediscovered chemical industry and regulatory agency documents and correspondence stretching back to the 1920s. Collectively they shed light on what was known about chemical toxicity, when and by whom, in the often-incriminating words of the participants themselves.The Howard Johnson's transcript is a prime example of the materials in the trove. It allows us to "listen in" on a conversation that took place decades ago, but still has implication for us today.The transcript "exemplifies as well as any other single document among the Papers the history of everyday regulatory failures and agency complicity that is the unknown story of the EPA and its enduring collusion with the chemical industry, and whose result is a systemic failure to protect the American public from chemical hazards," said Dr. Jonathan Latham, director of the <a href="https://bioscienceresource.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Bioscience Resource Project.</a>"Not One" IBT Study Free of ErrorsThe Howard Johnson's meeting was called to discuss the IBT scandal and plan a way forward. No consumer groups, environmental groups or members of the public were present that day in Arlington under HoJo's cheerful orange roof when the topic of how to deal with the dead animals, the fraudulent and the corrupt data was discussed.Near the outset of the meeting, the EPA's Fred Arnold, acting branch chief of Regulatory Analysis & Lab Audits, assured the chemical company representatives present that no chemicals would be removed from the market, even though the studies supposedly showing their safety had been proven fraudulent:"We determined that [i]t was neither in EPA's interest or the public interest or the registrants' interest [to replace all IBT data] because a large number of studies, which were performed at IBT, were performed satisfactorily," Arnold said. (p. 6).Yet Arnold's contention that some of the studies were "satisfactory" was contradicted multiple times in the same meeting. It was later stated, for example, that not one IBT study was free of errors (p. 16). Dr. Arthur Pallotta, consultant to the Special Pesticide Review Division in the EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs, stated that "there were few [IBT] studies that did not have discrepancies, errors and omissions" (p. 27). Elsewhere in the transcript, EPA accepted that more than 80 percent of the test results from IBT were invalid (p. 123).But Arnold's assertion that it wasn't in anyone's interest to demand new studies had striking ramifications. It was the grounds for not removing any chemicals from the market, for reassuring the public, and for kicking the IBT mess down the road. By 1983, EPA had determined that <a href="http://www.webcitation.org/69H25Lrgw?url=http://planetwaves.net/contents/ibt_guity.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">more than 90 percent</a> of IBT's studies submitted to them had serious, invalidating problems.A "Salvage Operation": Ignoring Scientific ControlsEarly in the meeting, EPA made a list of IBT errors that it planned to ignore to make the task of "validating" IBT's studies manageable.It planned to ignore whenever animals were missing from (or added to) studies. No statistic existed—nor does it now—to compensate for such measurement irregularities, but this difficulty was glossed over by the EPA.Just as bad, many IBT studies appeared to be shorter in time than protocols called for. As David Clegg of Canada's Health Protection Branch explained to the meeting:"Now, we have come across the 90-day study where the study started on, let's say, the 1st of June. The invoice for shipment of the test material from the firm was the 9th of June, and the diet preparation sheets are for the 12th of June."In other words, by the time the diet was prepared, according to the raw data, the study has been underway for 12 days for a 90-day study."This does not necessarily invalidate the study, of course. You can still get some information from it, but the whole base line, which you are working from, has to be altered to deal with an 88-day [sic] study or whatever length it is and conclusions have to be drawn on this sort of basis." (pp. 34-35).
EPA also noted that IBT had major problems with its controls. It had run a system known as "common controls." These controls were often in different rooms or carried out at different times, presumably with rats from different batches. EPA proposed cobbling such experiments together and thus making use of these controls. Clegg's tone was apologetic:"I can't say that I am very happy about this on scientific grounds, but we are trying to run this as a salvage operation and, if we can come up with something which gives us a reasonable base line for controls which may be applicable to a number of studies, then, when controls are not available, we'll compare them against those controls," he said (p. 41).EPA Adopts Unsigned StudiesEPA's Arnold also admitted at the meeting what appeared to be EPA's own historical fraud. In revisiting original data sent to them by IBT, manufacturers might find that, in the past, EPA had itself examined the tissue samples and determined there to be "no significant finding" when in fact "the truth of the matter is the organ was never examined" (Arnold, p. 102).By the time the FDA and EPA had taken a strong interest in the testing lab, IBT had begun a "policy not to sign" its own reports, according to the transcript, indicating that staff were unwilling to stand behind the findings.As Fred Arnold told the attendees, "A number of scientists, who may have been involved in the early states of a test, are no longer there and nobody can state, categorically, that everything reflected in the report, in fact, is borne out by the raw data" (pp. 63-64).Arnold admitted that EPA had in the past sometimes accepted unsigned studies. So he stated that its remedy to the new signature problem would be to adopt such unsigned studies in order not "to create a double standard now" (p. 64), effectively adopting IBT's unprecedented practices as its own.It was later uncovered in court proceedings that IBT also forged signatures.The Howard Johnson Take-HomeThree IBT officials went to prison, closing a chapter on a massive scientific fraud, but the book was never closed."As the Howard Johnson transcript reveals, a majority of the IBT studies were never intended to be redone, and still underlie the U.S. chemical regulatory system," said Latham.Author Carol Van Strum commented on the significance of the transcript for Center for Media and Democracy:"The 1978 Howard Johnson transcript records a crucial meeting of EPA, Canadian, and pesticide industry officials to discuss EPA's response to massive fraud in the safety tests for pesticide registrations. At the meeting, Fred T. Arnold, chief of EPA Regulatory Analysis and Lab Audits, assured industry that EPA's discovery of fraudulent, invalid, or nonexistent safety tests would 'not interfere with the ability to control pests and market pesticides.' This document was the linchpin of my book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Bitter-Fog-Herbicides-Human-Rights/dp/1505444411/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?encoding=UTF8&qid=1501001060&sr=1-1" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">A Bitter Fog: Herbicides and Human Rights</a>, documenting the government's acceptance of phony industry studies while dismissing reports of human illness, death, involuntary abortions, birth defects, and other effects of pesticide exposure."The Poison Papers website and document trove is a project of the Bioscience Resource Project of Ithaca, New York, and the Center for Media and Democracy of Madison, Wisconsin. You can explore the Poison Papers documents at <a href="https://www.poisonpapers.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">PoisonPapers.org</a>. You can read the illuminating <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3417915-IBT-Howard-Johnson-Transcript.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Howard Johnson's manuscript here</a>.<div>
</div><div></div><div> </div><div><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/donald-trump-accused-of-waging-a-war-on-children-through-epa-regulatory-rollbacks-293fe0edc2e9/">https://thinkprogress.org/donald-trump-accused-of-waging-a-war-on-children-through-epa-regulatory-rollbacks-293fe0edc2e9/</a></div><div>
</div><div>Child Health Day, celebrated on Monday, was meant to highlight efforts taken by the nation to protect children’s health. As it turned out, <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/presidential-proclamation-child-health-day-2018/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">Child Health Day</a>, which kicked off <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/childrens-health-month-epa-offers-nearly-30-million-support-cleaner-water-and-air" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">Children’s Health Month</a>, served as a moment for the nation to come to terms with how the Trump administration has prioritized the removal of industry regulations over health protections for children.Since President Donald Trump took office in January 2017, his Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken numerous actions that do not bode well for the future health of American children.And in the past week alone, the administration has introduce plans to rollback back key pollution rules, removed the head of the EPA’s <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-epas-sneaky-new-move-in-its-war-on-childrens-health-74fc9f55ce84/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">children’s health office</a>, and was shown to have scrubbed any mention of the impact of climate change on children from a draft document.On Monday it was revealed that the Trump administration is <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-rollback-mercury-rule-trump-obama-health-coal-e66b43ec1501/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">moving forward</a> with a proposal to rollback limits on lead, mercury, and other dangerous air pollution from the nation’s coal-fired power plants, putting children at risk from known brain poisons and toxic pollutants.The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, finalized in 2011, were <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/media/2018/181001" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">projected to prevent</a>up to 11,000 premature deaths, 4,700 heart attacks, and 130,000 asthma attacks yearly, while delivering annual health benefits totaling up to $90 billion.“What the Trump EPA is pursuing — the fraudulent denial of real-world benefits from clean air and climate safeguards — is the unholy grail of the polluting industry and its lobbyists,” John Walke, clean air director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said Monday in a <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/media/2018/181001" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">statement</a>.Then on Tuesday, E&E News <a href="https://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2018/10/02/stories/1060100339" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">reported</a> that the Trump administration removed language about how climate change affects children’s health from a <a href="https://www.eenews.net/assets/2018/10/02/document_pm_02.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">draft</a> EPA proposal on heat-trapping chemicals.An earlier draft of an EPA proposal on hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) contained language about how children are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. That language was removed during a review by the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), according to E&E News.<div class="related-contentwrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-epas-sneaky-new-move-in-its-war-on-childrens-health-74fc9f55ce84/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><div class="related-contentbody" style="box-sizing: inherit; width: 513px;"><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-epas-sneaky-new-move-in-its-war-on-childrens-health-74fc9f55ce84/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-epas-sneaky-new-move-in-its-war-on-childrens-health-74fc9f55ce84/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-epas-sneaky-new-move-in-its-war-on-childrens-health-74fc9f55ce84/" style="box-sizing: inherit; 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text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-epas-sneaky-new-move-in-its-war-on-childrens-health-74fc9f55ce84/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-epas-sneaky-new-move-in-its-war-on-childrens-health-74fc9f55ce84/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-epas-sneaky-new-move-in-its-war-on-childrens-health-74fc9f55ce84/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-epas-sneaky-new-move-in-its-war-on-childrens-health-74fc9f55ce84/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;">Trump’s EPA makes ‘sneaky’ move to hamstring its children’s health office</a></h3></div></div>“Every day we see more evidence that this administration is actively working against the health and safety of the most vulnerable Americans — our children,” Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, said Wednesday in a <a href="https://www.ewg.org/release/white-house-strikes-discussion-impacts-climate-change-children-s-health-draft-epa-rule#.W7TwS3tKgdU" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">statement</a>. “Tragically, it’s not an exaggeration to say that the Trump administration is waging a war on children.”HFCs are used in refrigeration and air-conditioning appliances and are a significant contributor to the depletion of the ozone layer. Their atmospheric concentrations and contribution to greenhouse gas emissions <a href="http://time.com/4673826/greenhouse-gas-emissions-epa-hfcs/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">are known</a> to be rapidly increasing.Scientists are concerned about the rise in HFC use because they are thousands of times more potent on a pound-per-pound basis than carbon dioxide. The Obama administration, as part of its climate action plan, <a href="https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060043743/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">issued</a> a rule aimed at reducing the amount of HFCs released from appliances that use them as coolants.The news of the administration deleting language from the chemical rule came just days after the head of EPA’s Office of Children’s Health Protection was <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-epas-sneaky-new-move-in-its-war-on-childrens-health-74fc9f55ce84/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">placed on administrative leave</a> with no explanation, fueling speculation that the office itself may be eliminated.In a <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/nidhisubbaraman/ruth-etzel-epa-childrens-health-office" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">letter</a> written by Ruth Etzel, the head of the office, she said: “I appear to be the ‘fall guy’ for their plan to ‘disappear’ the office of children’s health.”Meanwhile, the EPA is also fighting a federal court ruling ordering the agency to ban of the pesticide chlorpyrifos, which can cause brain damage and development disabilities in children at even low doses. 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word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><h3 class="related-contenttitle" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 2rem; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;">Trump’s EPA to close research center that protects public health</a></h3></div></div>The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/09/us/politics/chlorpyrifos-pesticide-ban-epa-court.html" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">ordered</a> the EPA in early August to bar the widely used chlorpyrifos within 60 days. The court decided the EPA had been ignoring its own science that allegedly showed chlorpyrifos is a danger to children.The EPA, however, <a href="https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/crops/article/2018/09/25/doj-attorneys-make-case-ninth-unable-2" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">filed a petition</a> with the court last month asking for a hearing on the decision before all the judges on the Ninth Circuit. If the court order stands, chlorpyrifos would be officially banned as of next Tuesday.The White House’s OIRA has removed references to climate change from other EPA proposals, including its proposed Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, E&E News <a href="https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060095807/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">reported</a>. The ACE rule would <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/clean-air-climate-advocates-denounce-trumps-proposed-repeal-of-clean-power-plan-1fb7d98ad332/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">replace</a> the Clean Power Plan, the Obama administration’s signature climate rule that would cut greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.The new plan could result in up to 1,400 more premature deaths and up to 120,000 more asthma attacks every year, according to the EPA’s own analysis.But, in celebration of Children’s Health Day on Monday, acting EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler held an event at the EPA courtyard. He did not address any of the changes at the agency that could harm the health of children.Instead, Wheeler touted the EPA’s efforts on behalf on children, despite the long list of clean air and clean water rules the Trump administration has sought to undo. “Children’s health is a top priority at EPA, and we have made tremendous progress improving air and water quality and helping kids and families lead healthier lives,” he <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/childrens-health-month-epa-offers-nearly-30-million-support-cleaner-water-and-air" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">said</a> at the event. ""The fact that Wheeler reportedly finalized a plan to repeal protections against mercury pollution just one day before he stood in front of a school bus celebrating Children’s Health Day is an insult to American families,” Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign Director Mary Anne Hitt said in a <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2018/10/wheeler-celebrates-children-s-health-day-gutting-standards-protect-children-s" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">statement</a> on Monday. “While Wheeler’s former employers reap the profits from rollback after rollback, our kids will be paying with their health.”Prior to joining the Trump EPA, Wheeler served as a top lobbyist for Murray Energy, a major U.S. coal company.In other attacks on children’s health, the Trump EPA <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">announced</a> to staff last week that it will move forward with plans to reorganize multiple offices housed under its Office of Research and Development (ORD). The National Center for Environmental Research, an EPA office that works to test the effects of chemical exposure on adults and children, will be shuttered as part of the reorganization.Under the reorganization, David Dunlap, a former Koch Industries chemical engineer, will <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/koch-epa-industry-david-dunlap-chemical-water-1f08cfa2fb01/" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">head</a> the ORD as a deputy chief, a role that will not need Senate confirmation. Prior to his eight years with Koch, Dunlap <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dunlap-david-78981834/" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">worked</a> for the Chlorine Institute overseeing health and environmental safety.</div><div>=</div>yikes<h1 class="widgetheadline h1" style="margin: 10px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a class="widgetheadline-text custom-post-headline" href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-watchdog-elkins-leaving-2606194469.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; line-height: 31px;">Top EPA Watchdog Since 2010 Announces Departure</a></h1><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url expanded" data-elid="2606194469" data-authors="Olivia Rosane" data-headline="Top EPA Watchdog Since 2010 Announces Departure" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body-description"><div class="widgetbrief">The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">EPA</a>) internal watchdog organization announced plans to leave for a job outside the federal government Tuesday, <a href="http://www.startribune.com/epa-s-top-watchdog-quits-amid-probes-of-agency-s-leadership/493624581/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The Associated Press reported</a>.Arthur A. Elkins Jr., who has held the position of Inspector General since he was appointed by former president Barack Obama in 2010, will spend his last day at the agency Oct. 12, <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/407247-epa-inspector-general-to-resign" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The Hill reported</a>.</div><div class="js-appear-on-expand" style="transition: all 350ms ease 0s; height: auto; overflow: hidden; opacity: 1;">"It has been my great honor and privilege to serve the American people in this role for more than eight years," Elkins said in a statement reported by The Hill.His departure comes in a particularly busy time for the Office of Inspector General (OIG), as it continues to investigate the actions of former EPA-head <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/scott-pruitt" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Scott Pruitt</a>, who resigned amid several scandals in July.In one <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-watchdog-scott-pruitt-security-2601964564.html" target="self" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">report released</a> Sept. 4, Elkins found that Pruitt had failed to justify the need for his 24-hour security detail."Failure to properly justify the level of protective services provided to the Administrator has allowed costs to increase from $1.6 million to $3.5 million in just 11 months," the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/office-inspector-general/report-epa-asserts-statutory-law-enforcement-authority-protect-its" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">report found</a>.OIG spokesperson Jeffrey Lagda told The Associated Press that Elkins' departure was not a response to any aspect of the Pruitt investigation.He further affirmed Elkins' decision "will definitely not impact any of the ongoing OIG reviews related to allegations regarding former EPA Administrator Pruitt and his staff," Lagda told The Associated Press in an email.The OIG is conducting four more audits related to Pruitt, three of which are due to be released this fall, Lagda told <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-epa-inspectorgeneral/environmental-agencys-top-watchdog-retiring-after-pruitt-probes-idUKKCN1LY2WH" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Reuters</a>.Other high-profile cases Elkins investigated included that of ex-EPA adviser John C. Beale, who cheated the federal government out of $900,000 by pretending to be a CIA agent, the EPA's handling of the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/flint" target="self" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Flint</a>, Michigan water crisis and the Colorado Gold King Mine spill, which was the EPA's fault, according to The Hill.Acting Administrator <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/andrew-wheeler" target="self" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Andrew Wheeler</a>, a former coal lobbyist, praised Elkins, saying in a statement that he fulfilled his duties "honorably and professionally," The Associated Press reported.Elkins will be replaced temporarily by deputy Charles Sheehan, who has served at the OIG since 2012.Before being appointed to head the OIG, Elkins filled legal roles in various federal agencies including the EPA, National Science Foundation, Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency and Department of Defense, Reuters reported.The OIG is an independently funded office in charge of overseeing the actions of the EPA, according to The Associated Press.Its head is appointed by the president pending Senate confirmation, Reuters said.Elkins' departure means President <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="self" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Donald Trump</a> will be able to appoint his successor, The Hill said.</div></div></div>ew 918<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://ecowatch.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=214ab5fbb3f6015d74ffab4ec&id=e96b2d7087&e=c2e8fdabfa" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">EPA Exodus: Nearly 1,600 Workers Have Left Since Trump Took Office, Analysis Shows</a><div></div><div>
</div><div>def fund:</div><div>
</div><div>The federal government <a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://csldf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=a9f4040057&e=15e3916d62" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">has now tried to restrict science 155 times</a> — about once every four days — since the 2016 U.S. presidential election, according to the <a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://csldf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=348fa59164&e=15e3916d62" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Silencing Science Tracker</a> we maintain with the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. “It’s a pretty constant drumbeat,” <a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://csldf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=2b287439b0&e=15e3916d62" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Lauren Kurtz, our executive director, told Earther.</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://csldf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=ea88dfd896&e=15e3916d62" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">More than three-quarters of the Tracker entries involve attempts to silence climate science</a>, with the highest number of attacks occurring at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). One of the most troubling is <a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://csldf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=26bdc458bf&e=15e3916d62">the "science transparency" rule</a> proposed by the EPA, which would prohibit the agency from taking many scientific studies into consideration when making policy decisions. The EPA received nearly half a million comments on this proposal; among them <a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://csldf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=35fee0a879&e=15e3916d62" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">are comments we submitted explaining our opposition</a> to the rule. While climate scientists often face harassment, for women in climate science there is frequently another layer of hostility. Lauren Kurtz recently spoke with E&E News about <a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://csldf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=06c0925fdd&e=15e3916d62" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">how</a><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://csldf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=06c0925fdd&e=15e3916d62" style=""> women in this field are attacked based on their gender</a>.</div><div></div><div>=</div><div>E&E</div><div>
</div><div><a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060095133" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;" /><h1 class="headline" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.2;"><a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060095133" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;"></a><a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060095133" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;"></a><a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060095133" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;" /><a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060095133" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;" /><a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060095133" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;" /><a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060095133" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;" /><a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060095133" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;" /><a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060095133" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;" /><a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060095133" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;" /><a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060095133" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;" /><a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060095133" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;" /><a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060095133" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;" /><a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060095133" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;" /><a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060095133" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;" /><a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060095133" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;" /><a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060095133" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;">Trump reshaped U.S. climate policy in one month: August 2018</a></h1><section class="excerpt" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; margin: 15px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: border-box; max-width: none;">August was supposed to be a quiet month for climate politics, a time when Congress went on recess; President Trump played golf in Bedminster, N.J.; and Americans took a break from politics before this November's midterm elections. Instead, it may go down as a historic turning point in U.S. climate efforts.</section></div><div></div><h1 class="widgetheadline h1" style="margin: 10px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a class="widgetheadline-text custom-post-headline" href="https://www.ecowatch.com/walmart-toxic-paint-strippers-2597548363.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; line-height: 31px;">Walmart Joins Ranks of Retailers Pulling Toxic Paint Strippers From Shelves – When Will EPA Follow Suit?</a></h1><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url" data-elid="2597548363" data-authors="Environmental Defense Fund" data-headline="Walmart Joins Ranks of Retailers Pulling Toxic Paint Strippers From Shelves – When Will EPA Follow Suit?" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body-description"><div class="widgetbrief">By Sarah VogelMonday, <a href="https://news.walmart.com/2018/08/20/walmart-phasing-out-paint-removal-products-with-methylene-chloride-and-nmp" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Walmart announced</a> that it will stop selling paint strippers containing methylene chloride or N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) in stores by February 2019—making it the first general merchandise retailer to take such action. Walmart's announcement follows the strong leadership demonstrated by <a href="https://newsroom.lowes.com/inside-lowes/lowes-commitment-methylene-chloride-nmp/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Lowes</a>, <a href="https://corporate.homedepot.com/methylene-chloride" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Home Depot</a> and <a href="https://saferchemicals.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/s-w_statement_6_15_18.pdf?x15132" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Sherwin Williams</a>, all of which have committed not to sell methylene chloride- and NMP-based paint stripping products by the end of the year. Importantly, Walmart's action goes beyond its U.S. stores, including those in Mexico, Canada and Central America, as well as their online store....</div></div></div><div>=</div><div><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-vehicle-emissions-rollback-safety-2596499668.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-vehicle-emissions-rollback-safety-2596499668.html</a></div><div>
</div><div>staff ~</div><div>
</div><div>EPA Staffers Strongly Disagreed Vehicle Emissions Rollback Would Be Safer</div><div id="utm_campaign" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url" data-elid="2596499668" data-authors="Olivia Rosane" data-headline="EPA Staffers Strongly Disagreed Vehicle Emissions Rollback Would Be Safer" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body-description"><a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="self" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Trump</a>'s U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa" target="self" style="text-decoration-line: none;">EPA</a>) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have justified their <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-fuel-efficiency-proposal-2592345279.html" target="self" style="text-decoration-line: none;">proposed rollback</a> of Obama-era vehicle fuel-efficiency standards in part by arguing that higher standards make new cars more expensive, and that freezing standards at 2020 levels would save up to 12,700 lives overall, and up to 1,000 lives per year in the beginning, because people would be more able to purchase newer, safer cars.But <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0283-0453" target="blank" style="text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;">documents</a> made public Tuesday as part of the regulatory process for the new proposal show that several EPA staffers had serious doubts about that conclusion, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-emissions/epa-staff-disputed-claim-fuel-efficiency-plan-would-save-lives-idUSKBN1KZ2CS" target="blank" style="text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;">Reuters reported</a>.In one memo dated June 18, staffers argued that reducing fuel efficiency standards would actually increase the number of car accident deaths by 17 a year from 2036 through 2045 since there would be more cars on the road. NHTSA had argued that the relaxed standards would save 150 lives per year during the same timeframe.The EPA also thought the proposal would cost the country $83 billion overall, instead of saving it $49 billion as NHTSA estimated."The EPA material seriously casts the whole proposal in a very negative light with respect to its technical adequacy," former EPA director of assessment and standards and current <a href="https://www.edf.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Environmental Defense Fund</a>consultant Chet France told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/08/15/trump-administration-said-weaker-fuel-standards-would-save-lives-epa-experts-disagree/?utm_term=.7a4b1c13f825" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">The Washington Post</a>.EPA expert William Charmley had especially harsh words for the proposal."EPA's technical issues have not been addressed, and the analysis performed … does not represent what EPA considers to be the best, or the most up-to-date, information available to EPA," he wrote in one critique less than two months before the final proposal was published, according to The Washington Post.At one point, he even requested that the EPA name and logo be removed from a document assessing the pluses and minuses of the proposal, called a Preliminary Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA).The final RIA was published with both agencies' names attached and the final proposal used the NHTSA's logic about accident deaths. But the published proposal was not much different from the version EPA staffers had criticized."We know at most they made minor changes, because they're still quoting the thousand fatalities per year," former EPA employee Jeff Alson, who retired in April, told The Washington Post.Two federal officials told The Washington Post that senior political appointees at the EPA had approved the release of the critical documents, suggesting they shared doubts about the draft proposal's logic. The newly published documents could influence the proposal's final draft.Others have said the newly revealed documents could bolster the case of states like California, who are prepared to sue to restore standards that would raise fuel efficiency to around 54 miles per gallon by 2026 instead of capping it around 37 miles per gallon."The EPA documents challenging the Administration's alleged safety rationale for rolling back fuel economy and tailpipe emissions standards are devastating from a legal perspective," former Clinton and Obama Interior Department Deputy Secretary David Hayes told The Washington Post. "If in fact there was internal warfare, that just provides further grist for litigators."</div></div><div>
</div><div></div><div></div><div><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oil-refinery-jesse-marquez-explosion-2593339618.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/oil-refinery-jesse-marquez-explosion-2593339618.html</a></div><div>
</div><div><div class="headline-container" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h1 class="headline h1" style="margin: 10px; padding: 0px; position: relative; line-height: 31px;">Regulatory ‘Burden’? A Mere $2,000 Would Have Saved This Man’s Neighborhood</h1></div><div id="utm_campaign" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url" data-elid="2593339618" data-authors="Earthjustice" data-headline="Regulatory ‘Burden’? A Mere $2,000 Would Have Saved This Man’s Neighborhood" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px;"><div class="body-description" style="">By Meghana KuppaThe exasperation was apparent in Jesse Marquez's voice recently as he testified at a public hearing in Washington DC, about a <a href="https://secure.earthjustice.org/site/SPageNavigator/P2A_CDR_EPA?p2asource=blog&utm_source=web&utm_medium=feature&utm_campaign=ChemicalDisaster_Rule" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposal to roll back a safety rule</a> that would make the chemical industry more accountable for public health.Marquez was 17 years old when he and his family witnessed a massive explosion right in front of their house in the LA community of Wilmington. The explosion occurred at the Fletcher Oil and Refining Co., located across the street in the city of Carson, California, where Marquez and his family were living at the time. Four oil tanks exploded, and one tank roof top flew 700 feet into the air, landing in the middle of the street intersection. All seven members of his family suffered from burns ranging from 1st degree to 3rd degree."The fire burned for a day and a half, and after two days, the police said it was okay to go back. We were so terrified, none of us wanted to go back to the house," said Marquez.The refinery was eventually shut down by governmental regulatory agencies due to numerous continuing violations.Déjà vu gripped Marquez in the spring of 2015, when he heard about an explosion at <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/exxon" style="text-decoration-line: none;">ExxonMobil</a>'s oil refinery in neighboring Torrance. The explosion occurred just a few miles down the road from the explosion he had lived through 46 years earlier. The blast narrowly missed a tank of highly toxic hydrofluoric acid, which if released, would have lethally gassed thousands of people.Shaken by news of this new explosion and many others over the years, Marquez began researching steps the oil refinery could have taken to avert it. His research disclosed that if the refinery had spent just $2,000 on a gas leak detector, ExxonMobil could have found the gas leak that triggered its explosion and the explosion at the Fletcher Oil refinery in Carson could have also been prevented.For years, Marquez has been advocating for stronger safety protections both in California and nationally. Recently, after the Trump EPA <a href="http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/epa-delays-effective-date-of-rmp-rule-62533/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">postponed a new final rule</a> that would require ExxonMobil and other companies to take basic steps to prevent future chemical releases, Marquez and other members of communities affected by chemical disasters traveled to Washington to testify before EPA. (Editor's note: The EPA is accepting written comments from the public only until Aug. 23. <a href="https://secure.earthjustice.org/site/SPageNavigator/P2A_CDR_EPA?p2asource=blog&utm_source=web&utm_medium=feature&utm_campaign=ChemicalDisaster_Rule" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Send in your comment today.</a>)At the hearing in June, Marquez and other community members urged the EPA not to roll back the 2017 Risk Management Program amendments (also known as the <a href="https://earthjustice.org/cdrreport" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Chemical Disaster Rule</a>), which would force chemical companies to evaluate and strengthen their safety practices and reduce harm from any disasters they fail to prevent.Some of the protections the EPA wants to rescind or weaken would require chemical industries to do the following:<ol class="ee-ol" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px;"><li>Find safer alternatives to hazardous chemical processes and evaluate investing in worker training and safety before a disaster happens
</li><li>Conduct independent third-party audits every three years.
</li><li>Include root-cause analyses in all incident investigations.
</li><li>Investigate near misses, including cases like fires, explosions, accidental releases of listed chemicals, and overall strengthen important investigation requirements to ensure they happen and that there is a public meeting so communities receive a report soon after an incident occurs.
</li><li>Coordinate and share information with first-responders and engage in notification and response exercises and preparation before an emergency is in progress; and implement stronger community access to information, and many other such precautionary measures.</li></ol>Even while Marquez and others are fighting the rollback, the Chemical Disaster Rule remains suspended under the current administration. After receiving <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-03/documents/rpm_coalition-cover_letter_and_petition_for_reconsideration_and_stay_508_3-13-17.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">petitions</a> by oil, chemical and other companies, the agency has twice delayed the effective date of these life-saving protections, most recently until February 2019. Scientists, community groups, environmental and health groups represented by Earthjustice are suing to get the amendments back on track.There have been <a href="https://earthjustice.org/features/toxic-catastrophes-texas-national-chemical-disaster-rule" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">at least 48 disasters, and counting, since the original effective date</a> of the amendments. Communities and first responders across the country remain in danger as the EPA reconsiders the rule—and as hurricane season has begun, many facilities along the Gulf Coast are experiencing elevated risk, making action to implement these amendments even more urgent.At the June EPA hearing in DC, Marquez—whose experiences in surviving a refinery explosion helped motivate him to found the Coalition For A Safe Environment, an environmental justice advocacy organization—testified about how industries keep fenceline communities in the dark when it comes to industry hazards. He spoke of incidents where patients were treated for typical asthma attacks, when they did not know they were actually suffering from exposure to a toxic chemical. The Risk Management Program amendments would require refineries and chemical manufacturers to make safety information more accessible to fence-line communities and hospitals."There is no acceptable trade secret when it comes to the lives of residents in bordering communities," Marquez said.Marquez's advocacy work on the Risk Management Program amendments has opened his eyes to the ways politics and industry money can influence environmental regulation, he said. That's why he believes that organizations like the Coalition and Earthjustice play an important role in keeping the regulators honest."I've learned that they [the EPA] cannot be trusted; it requires the public to always be on guard," he said. "It's important to belong to community-based organizations who have other [bigger] networks…that way, we can assure that we are always being protected, the truth of how catastrophic incidents impact residents is known and the availability of low cost off-the-shelf safety products."To read Marquez's full testimony or listen to audio from him and other community advocates from around the U.S. who made the journey to Washington DC, to urge the EPA not to weaken chemical disaster protections, click <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EPA-HQ-OEM-2015-0725-0985" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">here</a>.<div class="around-the-web" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="around-the-webheadline" style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase;">RELATED ARTICLES AROUND THE WEB</div><ul class="around-the-weblist" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; list-style: none;"><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-refinery-pollution-20171201-story.html" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Southern California oil refineries ordered to monitor, publicize ... ›</a></li><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="http://www.energy.ca.gov/almanac/petroleum_data/refineries.html" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">California's Oil Refineries ›</a></li><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/heat-waves-and-how-to-cope-with-them-2585096841.html" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Wildfires, Record Highs Scorch California ›</a></li><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oil-spill-indonesia-2555846407.html" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Deadly Oil Spill Leaves Indonesian Bay 'Like a Gas Station' ›</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div><div></div> <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/chlorpyrifos-epa-ban-2594491287.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/chlorpyrifos-epa-ban-2594491287.html</a>
Court Rebukes EPA, Orders Ban on Pesticide That Harms Kids’ Brains<div id="utm_campaign" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url" data-elid="2594491287" data-authors="Environmental Working Group" data-headline="Court Rebukes EPA, Orders Ban on Pesticide That Harms Kids’ Brains" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body-description">In <a href="http://src.bna.com/A2j" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">a scathing opinion</a>, a federal court on Thursday ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa" style="text-decoration-line: none;">EPA</a>) to ban <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/chlorpyrifos" style="text-decoration-line: none;">chlorpyrifos</a>, a toxic <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides" style="text-decoration-line: none;">pesticide</a> linked to brain damage in children.The ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals nullified the <a href="https://www.ewg.org/release/epa-chief-scraps-scheduled-ban-pesticide-harms-kids-brains#.W2xq5C-ZNBw" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">decision</a> last year by then-EPA Administrator <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/scott-pruitt" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Scott Pruitt</a> to cancel the agency's proposal to ban chlorpyrifos—an insecticide that in small doses can harm children's brains and nervous systems—from use on <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/food/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">food</a> crops.Pruitt's reversal of the proposed ban came a few weeks after he met with the CEO of Dow Chemical Company, the world's largest manufacturer of chlorpyrifos, <a href="https://www.apnews.com/2350d7be5e24469ab445089bf663cdcb" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">according to</a> The Associated Press.In the Ninth Circuit's opinion, released Thursday morning, District Judge Jed Rakoff blasted the EPA's actions, stating that there "remains no justification for the EPA's 'continued failure to respond to the pressing health concerns presented by chlorpyrifos,' which has now placed the agency in direct contravention" of federal laws regulating food and pesticides."Today's court decision is a huge victory for public health, especially that of children," said Melanie Benesh, legislative attorney for the <a href="https://www.ewg.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Environmental Working Group</a>. "By requiring the EPA to finally ban chlorpyrifos, the Ninth Circuit is ensuring that the agency puts children's health, strong science and the letter of the law above corporate interests."The Ninth Circuit decision orders the EPA to revoke all tolerances and cancel all registrations for chlorpyrifos within 60 days....</div></div><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-a-minor-change-to-how-epa-makes-rules-could-radically-reduce-environmental-protection-98042">https://theconversation.com/why-a-minor-change-to-how-epa-makes-rules-could-radically-reduce-environmental-protection-98042</a><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; left: -12px; position: relative;">Why a minor change to how EPA makes rules could radically reduce environmental protection<p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Since the <a href="https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/12291.html" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">Reagan administration</a>, federal agencies have been required to produce cost-benefit analyses of their major regulations. These assessments are designed to ensure that regulators are pursuing actions that make society better off.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[Executive Order 12291--Federal regulationSource: The provisions of Executive Order 12291 of Feb. 17, 1981, appear at 46 FR 13193, 3 CFR, 1981 Comp., p. 127, unless otherwise noted.By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, and in order to reduce the burdens of existing and future regulations, increase agency accountability for regulatory actions, provide for presidential oversight of the regulatory process, minimize duplication and conflict of regulations, and insure well-reasoned regulations, it is hereby ordered as follows:]In my experience working on the White House economic team in the Clinton and Obama administrations, I found cost-benefit analysis provides a solid foundation for understanding the impacts of regulatory proposals. It also generates thoughtful discussion of ways to design rules to maximize net benefits to the public.On June 7, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt proposed changing the agency’s approach to this process in ways that sound sensible, but in fact are a radical departure from how government agencies have operated for decades.As the agency frames it, the goal is to provide “<a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-administrator-pruitt-proposes-cost-benefit-analysis-reform" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">clarity and real-world accuracy with respect to the impact of the Agency’s decisions on the economy and the regulated community</a>.” But I see Pruitt’s proposals as an opaque effort to undermine cost-benefit analysis of environmental rules, and thus to justify rolling back regulations.<figure class="align-center zoomable" style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: relative;"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223376/original/file-20180615-85840-19v7y6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip" style="outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; display: block; max-width: 100%;">https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-administrator-pruitt-proposes-cost-benefit-analysis-reform</a><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223376/original/file-20180615-85840-19v7y6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip" style="outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; display: block; max-width: 100%;">
</a><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223376/original/file-20180615-85840-19v7y6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip" style="outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; display: block; max-width: 100%;">[ Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to announce that the Agency is soliciting public input on whether and how to change the way it considers costs and benefits in making regulatory decisions.</a><p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: background-color 0.25s linear 0s, border-color 0.25s linear 0s, box-shadow 0.25s linear 0s, color 0.25s linear 0s, opacity 0.25s linear 0s, text-shadow 0.25s linear 0s, transform 0.25s linear 0s; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 1.5em; word-wrap: break-word;" source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" roboto="Roboto" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: background-color 0.25s linear, border-color 0.25s linear, box-shadow 0.25s linear, color 0.25s linear, opacity 0.25s linear, text-shadow 0.25s linear, transform 0.25s linear; font-weight: 700;">"Many have complained that the previous administration inflated the benefits and underestimated the costs of its regulations through questionable cost-benefit analysis," said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.<span style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: background-color 0.25s linear, border-color 0.25s linear, box-shadow 0.25s linear, color 0.25s linear, opacity 0.25s linear, text-shadow 0.25s linear, transform 0.25s linear; font-weight: 700;"> "This action is the next step toward providing clarity and real-world accuracy with respect to the impact of the Agency's decisions on the economy and the regulated community."<p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: background-color 0.25s linear 0s, border-color 0.25s linear 0s, box-shadow 0.25s linear 0s, color 0.25s linear 0s, opacity 0.25s linear 0s, text-shadow 0.25s linear 0s, transform 0.25s linear 0s; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 1.5em; word-wrap: break-word;" source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" roboto="Roboto" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px">Multiple EPA-related statutes refer to the calculation of costs and benefits, but implementation has been inconsistent. As a result, EPA has created a risk of uncertainty and confusion for states, local communities, and industry. EPA is now considering ways to codify common-sense, best practices for cost-benefit analysis in rulemaking.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: background-color 0.25s linear 0s, border-color 0.25s linear 0s, box-shadow 0.25s linear 0s, color 0.25s linear 0s, opacity 0.25s linear 0s, text-shadow 0.25s linear 0s, transform 0.25s linear 0s; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 1.5em; word-wrap: break-word;" source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" roboto="Roboto" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px">Through the ANPRM, EPA will seek comments and input for the Agency to consider in developing any subsequent proposed rule. EPA will take comments on the ANPRM for 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: background-color 0.25s linear 0s, border-color 0.25s linear 0s, box-shadow 0.25s linear 0s, color 0.25s linear 0s, opacity 0.25s linear 0s, text-shadow 0.25s linear 0s, transform 0.25s linear 0s; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 1.5em; word-wrap: break-word;" source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" roboto="Roboto" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: background-color 0.25s linear, border-color 0.25s linear, box-shadow 0.25s linear, color 0.25s linear, opacity 0.25s linear, text-shadow 0.25s linear, transform 0.25s linear; font-weight: 700;">Background:<p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: background-color 0.25s linear 0s, border-color 0.25s linear 0s, box-shadow 0.25s linear 0s, color 0.25s linear 0s, opacity 0.25s linear 0s, text-shadow 0.25s linear 0s, transform 0.25s linear 0s; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 1.5em; word-wrap: break-word;" source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" roboto="Roboto" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px">Under the leadership of President Trump, EPA has taken steps to improve EPA’s cost-benefit calculations. Consistent with the President’s Executive Order 13783, EPA updated the social cost of carbon to reflect prior and best practices. While the Obama EPA estimated the social cost of carbon to be an average of $36 per ton of carbon dioxide emitted, this EPA calculated an average of $5 per ton.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: background-color 0.25s linear 0s, border-color 0.25s linear 0s, box-shadow 0.25s linear 0s, color 0.25s linear 0s, opacity 0.25s linear 0s, text-shadow 0.25s linear 0s, transform 0.25s linear 0s; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 1.5em; word-wrap: break-word;" source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" roboto="Roboto" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px">EPA has also proposed a different approach to analyzing co-benefits – benefits from reduced emissions of a pollutant that is not the actual target pollutant of a regulation. Particulate matter was the co-benefit most cited by the Obama EPA. In fact, particulate matter co-benefits accounted for more than 80% of the purported benefits of all of Obama’s air rules. The Clean Power Plan (CPP), a rule aimed at carbon dioxide reductions, derived most of its benefits from a reduction in particulate matter. When EPA issued its proposed repeal of CPP, it provided a transparent account of the impact of the rule on the “targeted pollutant” – carbon dioxide. <p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: background-color 0.25s linear 0s, border-color 0.25s linear 0s, box-shadow 0.25s linear 0s, color 0.25s linear 0s, opacity 0.25s linear 0s, text-shadow 0.25s linear 0s, transform 0.25s linear 0s; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 1.5em; word-wrap: break-word;" source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" roboto="Roboto" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px">Earlier this morning, the <a href="https://usenvironmentalprotectionagency.cmail20.com/t/d-l-bykhlyk-alydlulij-r/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: background-color 0.25s linear 0s, border-color 0.25s linear 0s, box-shadow 0.25s linear 0s, color 0.25s linear 0s, opacity 0.25s linear 0s, text-shadow 0.25s linear 0s, transform 0.25s linear 0s; outline-offset: 2px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;">Wall Street Journal</a> published an editorial on Administrator Pruitt's efforts to "stop the EPA's numerical shenanigans" and reform cost-benefit analysis at the Agency<p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: background-color 0.25s linear, border-color 0.25s linear, box-shadow 0.25s linear, color 0.25s linear, opacity 0.25s linear, text-shadow 0.25s linear, transform 0.25s linear; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 1.5em; word-wrap: break-word;"><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/cost-benefit-reform-at-the-epa-1528326402">https://www.wsj.com/articles/cost-benefit-reform-at-the-epa-1528326402</a>  no name<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223376/original/file-20180615-85840-19v7y6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip" style="outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; display: block; max-width: 100%;">
</a><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223376/original/file-20180615-85840-19v7y6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip" style="outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; display: block; max-width: 100%;">]
</a><div class="enlarge_hint" style="white-space: pre-wrap; text-decoration-line: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: url(" assets="assets" icons="icons" x16search-white-67f83a253e8e71281277c5cf51a362ac.png="x16search-white-67f83a253e8e71281277c5cf51a362ac.png" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" rgba="rgba" transition="transition" opacity="opacity" s="s" ease-in="ease-in" position="position" absolute="absolute" top="top" px="px" right="right" border-bottom-left-radius="border-bottom-left-radius" border-top-right-radius="border-top-right-radius" width="width" height="height" text-indent="text-indent" em="em" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223376/original/file-20180615-85840-19v7y6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip" style="outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; display: block; max-width: 100%;" /></div><figcaption style="margin: 0px; padding: 6px 0px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent; line-height: 18px; cursor: default;"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223376/original/file-20180615-85840-19v7y6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip" style="outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; display: block; max-width: 100%;">Protesters with Environment America park fuel-efficient vehicles outside the Environmental Protection Agency, as Administrator Scott Pruitt holds a news conference on his decision to scrap Obama administration fuel standards, April 3, 2018. </a><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/EPA-Fuel-Standards/0ba773b86c5948e088319560a1c1f91e/4/0" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word; display: inline; max-width: 100%;">AP Photo/Andrew Harnik</a></figcaption></figure><h2 style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">The importance of co-benefits</h2>Have you ever done something for more than one reason? An action that you justified because it “kills two birds with one stone”? When a regulation leads to improvements that it was not designed to produce, government agencies call the unexpected payoffs “co-benefits.”For example, the Clean Air Act’s <a href="https://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/acid-rain-program" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">Acid Rain Program</a> was designed to reduce sulfur dioxide pollution from electric power plants, a key ingredient in acid rain. Some utilities complied by installing devices called <a href="https://www.duke-energy.com/our-company/environment/air-quality/sulfur-dioxide-scrubbers" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">scrubbers</a> to capture sulfur dioxide emissions from plant exhaust.The scrubbers also reduced fine particulate matter, which is linked with a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-other-reason-to-shift-away-from-coal-air-pollution-that-kills-thousands-every-year-78874" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">wide range of health effects</a> that can cause premature deaths and illnesses. This represented a huge co-benefit – one that economists have estimated to be worth <a href="https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.27.1.103" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">US$50 billion to $100 billion </a>yearly.Historically, federal agencies have given co-benefits full weight in regulatory impact analysis because they help to show how Americans would be better off under the policy for multiple reasons. Pruitt wants to change this policy.<figure class="align-right zoomable" style="margin: 0px 0px 18px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: relative; float: right; clear: right; width: 237px;"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223378/original/file-20180615-85863-on962t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word; display: block; max-width: 100%;"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223378/original/file-20180615-85863-on962t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: none; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent; display: block; max-width: 100%;" /></a><div class="enlarge_hint" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: url(" assets="assets" icons="icons" x16search-white-67f83a253e8e71281277c5cf51a362ac.png="x16search-white-67f83a253e8e71281277c5cf51a362ac.png" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" rgba="rgba" transition="transition" opacity="opacity" s="s" ease-in="ease-in" position="position" absolute="absolute" top="top" px="px" right="right" border-bottom-left-radius="border-bottom-left-radius" border-top-right-radius="border-top-right-radius" width="width" height="height" text-indent="text-indent" em="em" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223378/original/file-20180615-85863-on962t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word; display: block; max-width: 100%;" /></div><figcaption style="margin: 0px; padding: 6px 0px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent; line-height: 18px; cursor: default;"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223378/original/file-20180615-85863-on962t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word; display: block; max-width: 100%;">According to an EPA analysis, amendments to the Clean Air Act in 1990 that tightened emissions standards will produce benefits through 2020 that exceed their costs by a factor of more than 30 to one. </a><a class="source" href="https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/benefits-and-costs-clean-air-act-1990-2020-second-prospective-study" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word; display: inline; max-width: 100%;">USEPA</a></figcaption></figure><h2 style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Eliminating co-benefits from rule-making</h2>Pruitt’s proposal solicits public comment on <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-06/documents/cost_and_benefit_consideration_anprm_pre-pub.pdf" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">how to weigh co-benefits from pollution reductions</a>. While this request may appear neutral, it reflects an interest in trying to minimize or eliminate consideration of co-benefits.Why would EPA’s administrator seek to reduce estimated benefits of regulations? As I see it, the agency faces a regulatory conundrum. President Trump issued an <a href="https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-02-03/pdf/2017-02451.pdf" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">executive order</a> in 2017, focused on the costs of regulations that required agencies to eliminate two rules for every new rule they issue. Since regulations have <a href="http://theconversation.com/what-trump-misses-about-regulations-they-produce-benefits-as-well-as-costs-72470" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">benefits as well as costs</a>, if an existing rule delivers more benefits than costs, then striking it would impose net harm on the public.For example, Pruitt is seeking to roll back three Obama administration air pollution initiatives: the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/stationary-sources-air-pollution/electric-utility-generating-units-repealing-clean-power-plan-0" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">Clean Power Plan</a>, which limits greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, and combined carbon emission and fuel economy standards for <a href="https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-04-13/pdf/2018-07364.pdf" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">light-duty vehicles</a> and <a href="https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/proposed-rule-repeal-emission-requirements-glider" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">heavy-duty vehicles</a>. Halting these rules would save money for some electric utilities and vehicle manufacturers, but would also greatly increase air pollution.Specifically, one <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.7351" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">recent analysis</a> estimates that eliminating these rules would increase premature deaths from inhaling fine particulate matter by more than 80,000 over a decade. In today’s dollars, and using the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/environmental-economics/mortality-risk-valuation#whatvalue" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">current value EPA employs to monetize mortality risk reduction</a>, public health costs from reversing these three rules amount to nearly $75 billion per year – far more than any potential benefits to industry. [vid] Harvard University professor Douglas Dockery explains the impacts of air pollution on health and the public benefits of pollution controls.Even for an administration with a <a href="https://theconversation.com/trump-administrations-zeal-to-peel-back-regulations-is-leading-us-to-another-era-of-robber-barons-84961" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">strong deregulatory tilt</a>, such a step would raise political red flags. It also would run afoul of another <a href="https://www.archives.gov/files/federal-register/executive-orders/pdf/12866.pdf" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">executive order</a> that has governed regulatory review in Democratic and Republican administrations since 1993, and requires agencies to issue rules if their benefits justify the costs. The Obama administration concluded that each of these air pollution regulations passed that test.But what if the EPA can find a way to ignore major categories of benefits, such as zeroing out estimated co-benefits from reducing premature deaths? Then regulatory rollback could appear to pass a cost-benefit test on paper, even if it makes the American people worse off in the real world.Pruitt has already taken other steps in this direction. Notably, the EPA has reduced its estimate of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/curbing-climate-change-has-a-dollar-value-heres-how-and-why-we-measure-it-70882" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">damages from climate change</a> from <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-12/documents/sc_co2_tsd_august_2016.pdf" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">$42 per ton of carbon pollution at the end of the Obama administration</a> to as low as <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-10/documents/ria_proposed-cpp-repeal_2017-10_0.pdf" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">$1 per ton now</a>. This makes the social benefit of actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as the Clean Power Plan, look much smaller than they actually are.<figure class="align-center zoomable" style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: relative;"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223383/original/file-20180615-85822-1q7em7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word; display: block; max-width: 100%;">
</a><div class="enlarge_hint" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: url(" assets="assets" icons="icons" x16search-white-67f83a253e8e71281277c5cf51a362ac.png="x16search-white-67f83a253e8e71281277c5cf51a362ac.png" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" rgba="rgba" transition="transition" opacity="opacity" s="s" ease-in="ease-in" position="position" absolute="absolute" top="top" px="px" right="right" border-bottom-left-radius="border-bottom-left-radius" border-top-right-radius="border-top-right-radius" width="width" height="height" text-indent="text-indent" em="em" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223383/original/file-20180615-85822-1q7em7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word; display: block; max-width: 100%;" /></div><figcaption style="margin: 0px; padding: 6px 0px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent; line-height: 18px; cursor: default;"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223383/original/file-20180615-85822-1q7em7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word; display: block; max-width: 100%;">EPA Administrator William Reilly, left, watches as President George H.W. Bush signs the Clean Air Act Amendments, November 15, 1990. </a><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_HW_Bush_William_Reilly_1990b.jpg" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word; display: inline; max-width: 100%;">USEPA archive/Carol T. Powers</a></figcaption></figure><h2 style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Gaming the numbers</h2>The late Nobel laureate <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economic-sciences/laureates/1992/becker-facts.html" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">Gary Becker</a>, who often called for <a href="http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/2011/09/market-failure-compared-to-government-failure-becker.html" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">limited government intervention in the economy</a>, once wrote that “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/468107" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">cost-benefit analysis may also be useful for undermining misleading claims of self-interested political pressure groups.</a>.” By this he meant that rigorous, transparent assessment of a regulation’s social benefits and costs makes it politically hard for special interests such as the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/02/us/scott-pruitt-coal-joseph-craft.html" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">coal industry</a> to <a href="https://theconversation.com/epa-staff-say-the-trump-administration-is-changing-their-mission-from-protecting-human-health-and-the-environment-to-protecting-industry-96256" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">hijack the rule-making process</a>.Some conservative critics argue that under the Obama administration, the EPA gamed cost-benefit analysis to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/cost-benefit-reform-at-the-epa-1528326402" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">justify overregulation</a> by introducing what they describe as speculative “social costs” and “social benefits.” But this approach is not new or imprecise. When regulators do cost-benefit analysis, they are calculating the net change in “social welfare” that a regulation is expected to produce. This term comes from the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/circulars/A4/a-4.pdf" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">White House guidance</a>to agencies for conducting such analysis. Economists define social welfare as social benefits minus social costs.The EPA used this process during the Reagan administration to show that the public would benefit from reducing lead in gasoline. Under President George H.W. Bush, the EPA’s cost-benefit analysis supported phasing out chlorofluorocarbons that were destroying the <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-earths-ozone-layer-still-at-risk-5-questions-answered-91470" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">ozone layer</a>. Cost-benefit analysis has also supported hundreds of other EPA regulations over more than 30 years.Indeed, transparent analysis of the social benefits and costs of regulations helps to hold regulators accountable. But if agencies put their thumbs on the scale by excluding major public health benefits, they will weaken the legitimacy of regulatory policy and make the American people worse off.<a href="https://www.alternet.org/scott-pruitts-corruption-bad-his-planetary-sabotage-worse">https://www.alternet.org/scott-pruitts-corruption-bad-his-planetary-sabotage-worse</a> so corrupt that he <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/06/01/epas-pruitt-spent-1560-on-12-customized-fountain-pens-from-washington-jewelry-store/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">spent $1,560 on 12 customized fountain pens</a>? Or that he spent another <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/04/16/scott-pruitts-43000-soundproof-phone-booth-violated-spending-laws-federal-watchdog-finds" style="text-decoration-line: none;">$43,000 on a soundproof phone booth in violation of government spending laws</a>?Pruitt’s big spending on the taxpayer dime has earned him well-deserved scrutiny and outrage. But what’s really outrageous is what he’s doing with the EPA.While Pruitt was getting headlines for having taxpayer-funded aides do his private business, his EPA just <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/07/us/politics/epa-toxic-chemicals.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fclimate" style="text-decoration-line: none;">gutted an Obama-era law to protect Americans from toxic chemicals</a>.  For four decades, the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 did little to require that all new chemicals (or untested old ones) were properly vetted for safety before allowed onto the market. <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/06/updated-united-states-adopts-major-chemical-safety-overhaul" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Even the chemical industry said it was flawed</a>.In 2016, the Republican-led Congress <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/06/updated-united-states-adopts-major-chemical-safety-overhaul" style="text-decoration-line: none;">passed an update</a> that would help keep Americans safer from toxic chemicals.Under Pruitt, the new law won’t apply to any chemicals in the air, ground, or water. So what does it apply to? Only direct contact.While spending over $1,500 on pens is a disgusting misuse of government resources, the ultimate harm it does to the American public pales in comparison to allowing toxic chemicals into consumer products and our environment.Gutting protections against toxic chemicals is just one way in which Pruitt has assaulted the environment while in office. He’s also <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/epa-chief-pruitt-refuses-to-link-co2-and-global-warming/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">a climate denier</a> and a good friend to the fossil fuel industry....ref<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/07/us/politics/epa-toxic-chemicals.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/07/us/politics/epa-toxic-chemicals.html</a>?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fclimatehttps://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/07/us/politics/epa-toxic-chemicals.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fclimate[The American Chemistry Council said in a statement last week that the E.P.A.’s approach met “the requirements of the law,” adding that it wanted the risk assessments to be “protective and practical.”]
<div class="css-18sbwfn StoryBodyCompanionColumn" style="margin: 0px auto 1rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit;" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" display="display" flex="flex" height="height" px="px" width="width" color="color" rgb="rgb" background-color="background-color"><div class="css-1h6whtw" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px calc((100% - 630px) / 2); padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; width: 630px; max-width: 630px;"><p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">Trump administration, after <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4496312-How-the-EPA-Revised-the-Way-It-Will-Evaluate.html#document/p24/a427924" title="American Chemistry Council testimony advocating changes now made" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">heavy lobbying</a> by the chemical industry, is scaling back the way the federal government determines health and safety risks associated with the most dangerous chemicals on the market, <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4496312-How-the-EPA-Revised-the-Way-It-Will-Evaluate.html" title="Side by Side: How Risk Assessment Process at EPA Has Changed" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">documents from the Environmental Protection Agency</a> show.<p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width"><a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/frank-r-lautenberg-chemical-safety-21st-century-act" title="The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Under a law passed by Congress</a> during the final year of the Obama administration, the E.P.A. was required for the first time to evaluate hundreds of potentially toxic chemicals and determine if they should face new restrictions, or even be removed from the market. The chemicals include many in everyday use, such as <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-09/documents/tetrachloroethylene.pdf" title="Perchloroethylene" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">dry-cleaning solvents</a>, <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-03/documents/ffrro_factsheet_contaminant_14-dioxane_january2014_final.pdf" title="" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">paint strippers</a> and substances used in health and beauty products like shampoos and cosmetics.<p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">But as it moves forward reviewing the first batch of <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/21/us/epa-toxic-chemicals.html" title="The E.P.A.’s Top 10 Toxic Threats, and Industry’s Pushback" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">10 chemicals</a>, the E.P.A. has in most cases decided to exclude from its calculations any potential exposure caused by the substances’ presence in the air, the ground or water, according to <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4495888-Problem-Forumulations.html" title="Problem Formulation Documents for 10 Priority Toxic Chemicals" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">more than 1,500 pages</a> of documents released last week by the agency.<p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">Instead, the agency will focus on possible harm caused by direct contact with a chemical in the workplace or elsewhere. The approach means that the improper disposal of chemicals — leading to the contamination of drinking water, for instance — will often not be a factor in deciding whether to restrict or ban them.<p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">
<p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">The approach is a big victory for the chemical industry, which has repeatedly pressed the E.P.A. to narrow the scope of its risk evaluations. Nancy B. Beck, the Trump administration’s appointee to <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/21/us/trump-epa-chemicals-regulations.html" title="NYT: Why Has the E.P.A. Shifted on Toxic Chemicals? An Industry Insider Helps Call the Shots" target="blank" style="font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.05rem; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: center; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline;">help oversee the E.P.A.’s toxic chemical unit</a>, previously worked as an executive at the American Chemistry Council, one of the industry’s main lobbying groups.</div></div><div class="css-18sbwfn StoryBodyCompanionColumn" style="margin: 0px auto 1rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit;" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" display="display" flex="flex" height="height" px="px" width="width" color="color" rgb="rgb" background-color="background-color"><div class="css-1h6whtw" style="font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px calc((100% - 630px) / 2); padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline; width: 630px; max-width: 630px;"><p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">A spokesman for the E.P.A. said that the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and other laws already provided the agency with the authority to regulate chemicals found in the air, rivers and drinking water, so there was no need to revisit them under the 2016 law, which updated the <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-toxic-substances-control-act" title="TSCA" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Toxic Substances Control Act</a> of 1976.<div class="InlineMessage-inline--2ysnq" style="margin: 25px auto; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.1875rem; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: border-box; width: calc(100% - 40px); max-width: 630px; text-align: center;"><div class="css-10klw3m vi_inline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; height: 0px;"><p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">The agency can “better protect human health and the environment by focusing on those pathways that are likely to represent the greatest areas of concern to E.P.A.,” said the spokesman, Jahan Wilcox.<figure class="css-10a26jz e1a8i6eb0" aria-label="media" role="group" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemid="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2018/06/07/us/07regs-toxics3/07regs-toxics3-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&auto=webp" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" style="margin: 43px auto; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: flex; width: 630px; max-width: 630px;"><div class="css-zgakxe e1vv25i80" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; width: 300px; max-width: 300px;"><span class="css-1ly73wi e1afaoz0" style="margin: -1px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: absolute; width: 1px; height: 1px; clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); overflow: hidden;">Image
</div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class="css-1r9jda8 e3zkro30" style="margin: auto 0px 15px 15px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" display="display" flex="flex" color="color" rgb="rgb" flex-direction="flex-direction" column="column" width="width" px="px"><span class="css-fko7t5 e1olku6u0" style="margin: auto 7px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1rem; vertical-align: baseline;">Nancy B. Beck, who oversees the E.P.A.’s toxic chemical unit, previously worked at one of the industry’s main lobbying groups.<span itemprop="copyrightHolder" class="css-vg01wm e18m0s9i0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1rem; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline-block; letter-spacing: 0.01em;"><span class="css-1ly73wi e1afaoz0" style="margin: -1px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: absolute; width: 1px; height: 1px; clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); overflow: hidden;">Credit<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">U.S. Senate Committee Channel</figcaption></figure><p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">But three former agency officials, including a former supervisor of the toxic chemical program, said that the E.P.A.’s approach would result in a flawed analysis of the threat presented by chemicals.<p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">“It is ridiculous,” said <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/aboutepa/wendy-cleland-hamnett-principal-deputy-assistant-administrator-office-chemical-safety-and.html" title="" target="blank" style="font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline;">Wendy Cleland-Hamnett</a>, who retired last year after nearly four decades at the E.P.A., where she ran the toxic chemical unit during her last year. “You can’t determine if there is an unreasonable risk without doing a comprehensive risk evaluation.”</div></div><div class="css-18sbwfn StoryBodyCompanionColumn" style="margin: 0px auto 1rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: flex; height: 864px; width: 1200px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="css-1h6whtw" style="font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px calc((100% - 630px) / 2); padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline; width: 630px; max-width: 630px;"><p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">Senator Tom Udall, Democrat of New Mexico, and Representative Frank Pallone Jr., Democrat of New Jersey, who played leading roles in passing the 2016 law, said the E.P.A. was ignoring its directive for a comprehensive analysis of risks.<p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">“Congress worked hard in bipartisan fashion to reform our nation’s broken chemical safety laws, but Pruitt’s E.P.A. is failing to put the new law to use as intended,” Mr. Udall said in a statement referring to Scott Pruitt, the E.P.A. administrator.<p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">A spokesman for Senator John Barrasso, Republican of Wyoming, who is chairman of the Senate committee that oversees the agency, declined to comment.<p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">Cumulatively, the approach being taken for the 10 chemicals means the E.P.A.’s risk analysis will not take into account an estimated <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="http://blogs.edf.org/health/files/2018/06/First-Ten-Emissions-TRI.pdf" title="" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">68 million pounds a year</a> of emissions, according to an analysis by the Environmental Defense Fund, based on agency data.<p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">Dr. Beck declined requests for comment. She had <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4496312-How-the-EPA-Revised-the-Way-It-Will-Evaluate.html#document/p33/a427929" title="" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">pushed the E.P.A. during the Obama administration</a> to narrow the scope of the risk evaluations, in a fashion similar to the approach under her watch.<p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">Also helping oversee the risk evaluation effort is Erik Baptist, a former senior lawyer at <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4387727-Erik-Baptist-Financial-Disclosure.html" title="" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">the American Petroleum Institute</a>, another big player in the chemical industry.</div></div><div class="css-18sbwfn StoryBodyCompanionColumn" style="margin: 0px auto 1rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit;" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" display="display" flex="flex" height="height" px="px" width="width" color="color" rgb="rgb" background-color="background-color"><div class="css-1h6whtw" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px calc((100% - 630px) / 2); padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; width: 630px; max-width: 630px;"><p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">Under the approach, the E.P.A. will examine what harm can be caused, for example, to anyone directly exposed to <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/risk-evaluation-perchloroethylene" title="" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">perchloroethylene</a> — a dry-cleaning solvent and metal degreaser designated by the E.P.A. as a <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-09/documents/tetrachloroethylene.pdf" title="" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">likely carcinogen</a> — during manufacturing or when using it in dry cleaning, carpet cleaning or handling certain ink-removal products.<p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">But <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4496312-How-the-EPA-Revised-the-Way-It-Will-Evaluate.html#document/p4/a428062" title="" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">the agency will not focus</a> on exposures that occur from traces of the <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/contaminant.php?contamcode=2987#.Wxkdgu4vwkI" title="" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">chemical found in drinking water</a> in 44 states as a result of improper disposal over decades, the E.P.A. documents say. The <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4496312-How-the-EPA-Revised-the-Way-It-Will-Evaluate.html#document/p3/a428061" title="" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">decision conflicts with a risk assessment plan</a> detailed by the agency a year ago, which included drinking water. And the change came after the American Chemistry Council <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4496312-How-the-EPA-Revised-the-Way-It-Will-Evaluate.html#document/p27/a427925" title="EPA has discretion..." target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">argued in February last year</a> that “the E.P.A. has discretion to select the conditions of use that it will consider.”<p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">The agency will also not consider the hazards of perchloroethylene discharged into streams or lakes, landfills or the air from dry-cleaning stores or manufacturing or processing plants, the documents say.<p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">The documents contain similar conclusions about nine of the 10 chemicals under review. One of these is <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/risk-evaluation-14-dioxane" title="EPA Risk Evaluation for 1,4-Dioxane" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">1,4-dioxane</a>, which can be found in small amounts in antifreeze, deodorants, shampoos and cosmetics and is considered “likely to be carcinogenic to humans.” Another is trichloroethylene, which is used to make a refrigerant chemical and remove grease from metal parts and is <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/phs/phs.asp?id=171&tid=30" title="" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">associated with</a> cancers of the liver, kidneys and blood.<p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">Other changes identified in the E.P.A. documents narrow the definitions of certain chemicals, including asbestos. Some asbestos-like fibers will not be included in the risk assessments, one agency staff member said, nor will the 8.8 million pounds a year of asbestos deposited in hazardous landfills or the 13.1 million pounds discarded in routine dump sites.</div><aside class="css-14jsv4e" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px auto; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: flex; width: 160px; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;">
</aside></div><div class="css-18sbwfn StoryBodyCompanionColumn" style="margin: 0px auto 1rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit;" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" display="display" flex="flex" height="height" px="px" width="width" color="color" rgb="rgb" background-color="background-color"><div class="css-1h6whtw" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px calc((100% - 630px) / 2); padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; width: 630px; max-width: 630px;"><p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">The most likely outcome of the changes will be that the agency finds lower levels of risks associated with many chemicals, and as a result, imposes fewer new restrictions or prohibitions, several current and former agency officials said.<p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">“They don’t want to open Pandora’s box by looking comprehensively at the risk, as they may prove to be significant and then they have to deal with it,” said <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.lw.com/people/RobertMSussman" title="" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Robert M. Sussman</a>, a former chemical industry lawyer and E.P.A. official who now works as a consultant to <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://saferchemicals.org/" title="" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families</a>, an advocacy group.<p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">Despite the changes, the E.P.A. is <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-action-methylene-chloride" title="" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">still expected</a> to ban the use of <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/risk-evaluation-methylene-chloride-0" title="EPA Risk Evaluation for Methylene Chloride" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">methylene chloride</a> as a paint stripper soon — an action first proposed at the end of the Obama administration. The chemical, one of the 10 under review, is a popular ingredient used in dozens of products sold at home improvement stores nationwide, and has been blamed in dozens of deaths.<p class="css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6rem;" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" width="width" px="px" max-width="max-width">A collection of more than a dozen groups — representing environmental, public-health and labor organizations — are <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.edf.org/sites/default/files/Petitioners_Opening_Brief.pdf" title="" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">suing the E.P.A.</a> to challenge earlier changes in the toxic chemical evaluation program. The case is before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco.</div></div>=<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/13062018/trump-epa-air-pollution-data-clean-water-regulations-public-health-environmental-laws-harvard-study">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/13062018/trump-epa-air-pollution-data-clean-water-regulations-public-health-environmental-laws-harvard-study</a>Using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's own numbers, two Harvard scientists have calculated that 80,000 more lives will be lost per decade if President Donald Trump's administration fulfills its plans to roll back clean air and water protections.<div class="content" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded" style="box-sizing: inherit;">The researchers, terming their tally "an extremely conservative estimate," also estimated that the repeal of regulations will lead to respiratory problems for more than 1 million people. Their <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2684596?appid=scweb&appid=scweb&alert=article" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">essay</a> was published Tuesday in the authoritative Journal of the American Medical Association."We felt it was important to take a comprehensive view," said Francesca Dominici, a biostatistician and co-director of the Data Science Initiative at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "Some people, when looking at one specific repealing of a rule, might not think it's important. We wanted to put some numbers on the whole systematic repeal of rule after rule."She  and David Cutler, an economist at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, drew their calculation from the health risk assessments that the EPA conducted during the Obama administration when determining the impact of rules it proposed. Last week, the Trump administration <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/07062018/pruitt-epa-cost-benefit-analysis-environment-regulation-health-climate-change-proposed-rulemaking" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">signaled it plans to overhaul</a> the way that those cost-benefit studies are conducted. The agency is <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EPA-HQ-OA-2018-0107-0001" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">taking comments </a>for the next 30 days on its plan, which has the potential to reduce the weight given to human health and climate benefits.Dominici and Cutler decried creating greater risks to the public's health for the benefit of "a relatively few well-connected companies.""The effects of the Trump administration's policies seem clear, even through the haze they will create," they wrote.<h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333;">Pruitt's EPA Challenging the Assessments</h3>The EPA dismissed the article because it was not peer-reviewed but appeared instead in the JAMA Forum, where researchers offer perspectives. "This is not a scientific article, it's a political article," the EPA said in response to InsideClimate News' request for comment.But Dominici noted that she and Cutler pulled the numbers directly from the EPA risk assessments that had been developed for each of the rules they analyzed. "The EPA numbers themselves all rely on peer-reviewed science," Dominici said.The EPA numbers, in fact, are being challenged and in some cases scaled back by the Trump administration as it seeks to revoke or replace Obama-era rules. But these moves face numerous legal challenges, and the agency will have to show that it has not acted arbitrarily or capriciously to pass muster in the courts.It's hard to argue against the ample evidence that if air quality standards are relaxed, the health of those who breathe the air will suffer. The same goes for standards for water, pesticides, toxic waste and so on. Runaway climate change, too, would present a wide range of public health risks.<h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333;">One Rollback, Majority of Respiratory Illnesses</h3>The largest and most immediate health consequences are likely to come through erosion of air quality, Cutler and Domenici wrote. They included in their calculation the repeal of President Barack Obama's signature climate change initiative, the Clean Power Plan, as well as the rollback of vehicle <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/02042018/climate-change-car-fuel-efficiency-cafe-standards-epa-pruitt-auto-pollution-gas-mileage-california-global-warming" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">fuel economy standards</a> and Trump's tariffs on solar power components from abroad.About 90 percent of the increase in respiratory ailments can be attributed to one deregulatory move—the effort to <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/23052018/scott-pruitt-epa-climate-change-clean-power-plan-scientific-review-board-trump-administration" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">re-open a loophole </a>that allowed trucks that don't comply with pollution rules to remain on the road, the authors found.Public health scientists have been raising increasing alarms as EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has advanced Trump's deregulatory agenda. They have <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/scientists-quit-epa-advisory-board-protest-us_us_5915e12fe4b0fe039b3459b6" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">protested </a>Pruitt's move to bar government-funded scientists from sitting on the agency's Science Advisory Board, and nearly 1,000 scientists signed a <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/news/press-release/scientists-oppose-new-pruitt-restrictions#.WyFPHlOUv-Y" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">letter</a> opposing Pruitt's plan to place restrictions on the EPA's use of science.<h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333;">Pruitt's 'Secret Science' Plan Targets Health Data</h3>In their JAMA essay, Dominici and Cutler singled out the move to curb agency use of science as one of the most potentially consequential, because Pruitt is <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/22032018/epa-air-pollution-soot-rules-scott-pruitt-secret-science-policy-health-regulations" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">targeting epidemiological studies of human subjects</a>. Although Pruitt calls this a move for greater "transparency," Dominici said it would in fact bar EPA consideration of precisely the kinds of studies that formed the basis of the calculations that she and Cutler did."They are attacking the science because the science is what is putting the number of deaths where they are," she said. "It's a tactic to discredit the science, so that health impact analysis will not be able to be done any more."The EPA, which received more than 150,000 public comments in 30 days on its proposal to restrict agency science, has extended the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EPA-HQ-OA-2018-0259-0620" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">comment period</a>on that proposal through August.  The agency also has set a July 17 hearing in Washington, D.C., on the plan.</div></div></div></div><div class="tagged-with" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-transform: uppercase; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><label style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; line-height: 1.2;">PUBLISHED UNDER:</label><div class="field field-name-field-topics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-item even" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topics/regulation" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">REGULATION</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-item even" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/health" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">HEALTH</a></div> <div class="field-item odd" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/scott-pruitt" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">SCOTT PRUITT</a></div> <div class="field-item even" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/donald-trump" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">DONALD TRUMP</a></div></div></div></div>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/epa-staff-say-the-trump-administration-is-changing-their-mission-from-protecting-human-health-and-the-environment-to-protecting-industry-96256">https://theconversation.com/epa-staff-say-the-trump-administration-is-changing-their-mission-from-protecting-human-health-and-the-environment-to-protecting-industry-96256</a>reg capture Environmental Protection Agency made news recently for <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/epa-criticized-blocking-reporters-chemicals-summit/story?id=55362966" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">excluding reporters</a> from a “summit” meeting on chemical contamination in drinking water. Episodes like this are symptoms of a larger problem: an ongoing, broad-scale takeover of the agency by industries it regulates.We are social scientists with interests in <a href="https://web.northeastern.edu/philbrown/" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">environmental health</a>, <a href="https://sociology.ucsc.edu/faculty/singleton.php?&singleton=true&cruz_id=lidillon" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">environmental justice</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Km-wos8AAAAJ&hl=en" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">inequality and democracy</a>. We recently published a <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304360" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">study</a>, conducted under the auspices of the <a href="https://envirodatagov.org/" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">Environmental Data and Governance Initiative</a> and based on interviews with 45 current and retired EPA employees, which concludes that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and the Trump administration have steered the agency to the verge of what scholars call “regulatory capture.”By this we mean that they are aggressively reorganizing the EPA to promote interests of regulated industries, at the expense of its official mission to “<a href="https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/our-mission-and-what-we-do" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">protect human health and the environment</a>.”<div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{" tweetid="tweetId" style="margin: 0px; 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overflow: hidden !important; width: 1px !important; height: 1px !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px) !important;">Scott Pruitt Explains Why He Sued EPA So Many Times: ‘They Deserved It’: <a href="https://t.co/fu5b0nU6Jg" rel="nofollow noopener" dir="ltr" data-expanded-url="http://dailycaller.com/2017/05/11/scott-pruitt-explains-why-he-sued-epa-so-many-times-they-deserved-it/" class="link customisable" target="blank" title="http://dailycaller.com/2017/05/11/scott-pruitt-explains-why-he-sued-epa-so-many-times-they-deserved-it/" data-scribe="element:url" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px;"><span class="u-hiddenVisually" style="position: absolute !important; overflow: hidden !important; width: 1px !important; height: 1px !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px) !important;">http://dailycaller.com/2017/05/11/sco<span class="u-hiddenVisually" style="position: absolute !important; overflow: hidden !important; width: 1px !important; height: 1px !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px) !important;">tt-pruitt-explains-why-he-sued-epa-so-many-times-they-deserved-it/ …</a><div class="Tweet-metadata dateline" style="flex-shrink: 0; margin-left: auto; margin-top: 3.2px;"><a class="u-linkBlend u-url customisable-highlight long-permalink" data-datetime="2017-05-11T19:05:23+0000" data-scribe="element:full_timestamp" href="https://twitter.com/EPAScottPruitt/status/862745467679121408" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration: inherit; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit;">12:05 PM - May 11, 2017</a></div><div class="Tweet-card" style="margin-top: 10.4px;"><div class="PrerenderedCard is-loaded is-constrainedByMaxWidth" data-card-name="summary" data-css="https://ton.twimg.com/tfw/css/syndication_bundle_v1_b6ca60da9b93228ca492958b7d1b0b6a37402f5e.css" data-scribe="component:card" style="height: auto; width: 458px; 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overflow: hidden; max-height: 1.3em; white-space: nowrap; text-overflow: ellipsis;">Scott Pruitt Explains Why He Sued EPA So Many Times: ‘They Deserved It’</h2><p class="tcu-resetMargin u-block TwitterCardsGrid-col--spacerTop tcu-textEllipse--multiline" dir="ltr" style="margin: 0.32333em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; list-style: none; border: none; overflow: hidden; max-height: 3.9em;">'Exceeded their constitutional authority'<span class="u-block TwitterCardsGrid-col--spacerTop SummaryCard-destination" dir="ltr" style="margin-top: 0.32333em; text-transform: lowercase; max-height: 1.3em; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; display: block !important;">dailycaller.com</div></div></div></div></div></div><ul class="Tweet-actions Tweet-action--newsActions" data-scribe="component:actions" role="menu" aria-label="Tweet actions" style="margin: 8.4px 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; list-style: none; border: none; display: flex; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden;"><li class="Tweet-action Tweet-action--newsAction" style="display: inline-block;"><a class="Tweet-action--heart TweetAction TweetAction--heartEdge" title="Like" href="https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=862745467679121408" data-scribe="component:actions" style="background-color: transparent; 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background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">How close is too close?</h2>The notion of “regulatory capture” has a <a href="https://www.tobinproject.org/sites/tobinproject.org/files/assets/Novak%20Revisionist%20History%20of%20Regulatory%20Capture%20(1.13).pdf" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">long record</a> in U.S. social science research. It helps explain the 2008 financial crisis and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In both cases, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/business/economy/04fed.html" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">lax federal oversight</a> and the government’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/trumps-offshore-oil-drilling-plans-ignore-the-lessons-of-bp-deepwater-horizon-89570" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">over-reliance on key industries</a> were widely viewed as contributing to the disasters.How can you tell whether an agency has been captured? According to Harvard’s David Moss and Daniel Carpenter, it occurs when an agency’s actions are “directed away from the public interest and toward the interest of the regulated industry” by “intent and action of industries and their <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=TV3BAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR10&dq=carpenter+moss+regulatory+capture&ots=WEmWNylgry&sig=ltzHmMNpDvgG4r49vP6Eyfsr28I#v=onepage&q=carpenter%20moss%20regulatory%20capture&f=false" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">allies</a>.” In other words, the farmer doesn’t just tolerate foxes lurking around the hen house – he recruits them to guard it.<h2 style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Serving industry</h2>From the start of his tenure at EPA, Pruitt has championed interests of regulated industries such as petrochemicals and coal mining, while <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/scott-pruitt-epa-speech-graded-annotated-scholars-560822" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">rarely discussing the value of environmental and health protections</a>. “Regulators exist,” he asserts, “to give <a href="http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2017/02/21/EPA-Chief-s-Magical-Thinking-Push-Energy-Production-and-Protect-Planet" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">certainty to those that they regulate</a>,” and should be committed to “<a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-launches-back-basics-agenda-pennsylvania-coal-mine" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">enhanc(ing) economic growth</a>.”In our view, Pruitt’s efforts to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/01/us/politics/trump-epa-chief-pruitt-regulations-climate-change.html" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">undo, delay or otherwise block</a> at least 30 existing rules reorient EPA rule-making “away from the public interest and toward the interest of the regulated industry.” Our interviewees overwhelmingly agreed that these rollbacks undermine their own “<a href="https://100days.envirodatagov.org/epa-under-siege/#id.j9t4gd7drrit" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">pretty strong sense of mission</a> … protecting the health of the environment,” as one current EPA staffer told us.<figure class="align-center zoomable" style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: relative;"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221401/original/file-20180601-142086-1smwn8q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word; display: block; max-width: 100%;"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221401/original/file-20180601-142086-1smwn8q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: none; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent; display: block; max-width: 100%; width: 754px;" /></a><div class="enlarge_hint" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: url(" assets="assets" icons="icons" x16search-white-67f83a253e8e71281277c5cf51a362ac.png="x16search-white-67f83a253e8e71281277c5cf51a362ac.png" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" rgba="rgba" transition="transition" opacity="opacity" s="s" ease-in="ease-in" position="position" absolute="absolute" top="top" px="px" right="right" border-bottom-left-radius="border-bottom-left-radius" border-top-right-radius="border-top-right-radius" width="width" height="height" text-indent="text-indent" em="em" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221401/original/file-20180601-142086-1smwn8q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word; display: block; max-width: 100%;" /></div><figcaption style="margin: 0px; padding: 6px 0px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent; line-height: 18px; cursor: default;"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221401/original/file-20180601-142086-1smwn8q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word; display: block; max-width: 100%;">Historical trends in EPA’s budget show a spike during the Carter administration, followed by sharp cuts under President Reagan and an infusion of economic stimulus money in 2009. President Trump has proposed sharp cuts. </a><a class="source" href="https://100days.envirodatagov.org/epa-under-siege/" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word; display: inline; max-width: 100%;">EDGI</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word; display: inline; max-width: 100%;">CC BY-ND</a></figcaption></figure>Many of these targeted rules have well-documented public benefits, which Pruitt’s proposals – assuming they withstand legal challenges – would erode. For example, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/scott-pruitt-pushes-back-on-finding-that-would-restrict-pesticides-use-to-protect-fish/2018/02/02/274db0a6-0798-11e8-94e8-e8b8600ade23_story.html?utm_term=.a3764ec4dff4" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">rejecting a proposed ban on the insecticide chlorpyrifos</a> would leave farm workers and children at risk of developmental delays and autism spectrum disorders. Revoking the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-pull-of-energy-markets-and-legal-challenges-will-blunt-plans-to-roll-back-epa-carbon-rules-85561" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">Clean Power Plan</a> for coal-fired power plants, and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-epa-autos/epa-to-relax-fuel-efficiency-standards-for-autos-idUSKCN1H91OD" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">weakening proposed fuel efficiency standards</a>, would sacrifice <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-08/documents/endangermentfinding_health.pdf" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">health benefits</a> associated with cutting greenhouse gas emissions.A key question is whether regulated industries had an active hand in these initiatives. Here, again, the answer is yes.<h2 style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Nuzzling up to industry</h2>Pruitt’s EPA is staffed with senior officials who have close industry ties. For example, Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler is a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/12/politics/andrew-wheeler-environmental-protection-agency-scott-pruitt-congress/index.html" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">former coal industry lobbyist</a>. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/21/us/trump-epa-chemicals-regulations.html?mtrref=undefined&gwh=25DC9804FE9401223F1CF7AD42F0F77F&gwt=pay" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">Nancy Beck</a>, deputy assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, was formerly an executive at the American Chemistry Council. And Senior Deputy General Counsel <a href="https://www.bna.com/petroleum-institute-lawyer-n73014461210/" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">Erik Baptist</a> was previously senior counsel at the American Petroleum Institute.Documents <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2018/05/pruitt-exposed-sierra-club-secures-24000-pages-epa-emails-call-logs-and" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">obtained through the Freedom of Information Act</a> show Pruitt has met with representatives of regulated industries <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-epa-pruitt-industry/embattled-epa-chiefs-calendar-shows-industry-had-his-ear-idUSKCN1HD2G0" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">25 times more often</a> than with environmental advocates. His staff <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/07/climate/epa-pruitt-emails-secrecy.html" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">carefully shields him</a> from encounters with groups that they consider “unfriendly.”<figure class="align-center zoomable" style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: relative;"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221403/original/file-20180601-142102-tuhohe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word; display: block; max-width: 100%;"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221403/original/file-20180601-142102-tuhohe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: none; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent; display: block; max-width: 100%; width: 754px;" /></a><div class="enlarge_hint" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: url(" assets="assets" icons="icons" x16search-white-67f83a253e8e71281277c5cf51a362ac.png="x16search-white-67f83a253e8e71281277c5cf51a362ac.png" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" rgba="rgba" transition="transition" opacity="opacity" s="s" ease-in="ease-in" position="position" absolute="absolute" top="top" px="px" right="right" border-bottom-left-radius="border-bottom-left-radius" border-top-right-radius="border-top-right-radius" width="width" height="height" text-indent="text-indent" em="em" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221403/original/file-20180601-142102-tuhohe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word; display: block; max-width: 100%;" /></div><figcaption style="margin: 0px; padding: 6px 0px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent; line-height: 18px; cursor: default;"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221403/original/file-20180601-142102-tuhohe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word; display: block; max-width: 100%;">After an early reduction under the Reagan administration, EPA’s staffing increased, then plateaued. The Trump administration has proposed sharp cuts.</a><a class="source" href="https://100days.envirodatagov.org/epa-under-siege/" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word; display: inline; max-width: 100%;">EDGI</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word; display: inline; max-width: 100%;">CC BY-ND</a></figcaption></figure>The former head of EPA’s Office of Policy, Samantha Dravis, who left the agency in April 2018, had 90 <a href="https://theintercept.com/2018/05/16/scott-pruitt-epa-industry-lobbyists/" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">scheduled meetings</a> with energy, manufacturing and other industrial interests between March 2017 and January 2018. During the same period she met with one public interest organization.Circumstantial evidence suggests that corporate lobbying is directly influencing major policy decisions. For example, just before rejecting the chlorpyrifos ban, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-epa-pesticide-dow-20170627-story.html" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">Pruitt met</a> with the CEO of Dow Chemical, which manufactures the pesticide.Overturning Obama’s Clean Power Plan and withdrawing from the Paris climate accord were recommended by coal magnate Robert Murray in his “<a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/a-coal-executives-action-plan-for-trump-is-made-public/" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">Action Plan for the Administration</a>.” Emails released under the Freedom of Information Act show detailed correspondence between Pruitt and industry lobbyists about EPA talking points. They also document Pruitt’s <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/emails-reveal-epa-approach-to-climate-policy-under-pruitts-leadership/" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">many visits with corporate officials</a> as he formulated his attack on the Clean Power Plan.<h2 style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Muting other voices</h2>Pruitt and his staff also have sought to sideline potentially countervailing interests and influences, starting with EPA career staff. In one of our interviews, an EPA employee described a meeting between Pruitt, the home-building industry and agency career staff. Pruitt showed up late, led the industry representatives into another room for a group photo, then trooped back into the meeting room to scold his own EPA employees for not listening to them.Threatened by proposed <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/02/12/trump-budget-seeks-23-percent-cut-at-epa-would-eliminate-dozens-of-programs/?utm_term=.d6a1cd582950" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">budget cuts</a>, <a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060067223" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">buyouts</a> and <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-employees-rally-against-scott-pruitt-9e237b10b7d2/" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">retribution</a> against <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/12/climate/epa-scott-pruitt-pasquale-perrotta.html" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">disloyal staff and leakers</a>, career EPA employees have been made “<a href="https://100days.envirodatagov.org/epa-under-siege/#id.uskou7t41o67" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">afraid … so nobody pushes back, nobody says anything</a>,” according to one of our sources.As a result, enforcement has fallen dramatically. During Trump’s first 6 months in office, the EPA <a href="https://www.environmentalintegrity.org/reports/environmental-enforcement-under-trump/" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">collected 60 percent less money in civil penalties</a> from polluters than it had under Presidents Obama or George W. Bush in the same period. The agency has also <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/epa-enforcement-actions-hit-10-year-low-2017-n846151" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">opened fewer civil and criminal cases</a>.Early in his tenure Pruitt replaced many members of EPA’s <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/11/epa-unveils-new-industry-friendlier-science-advisory-boards" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">Science Advisory Board and Board of Scientific Counselors</a> in a move intended to give representatives from industry and state governments more influence. He also established a new policy that prevents EPA-funded scientists from serving on these boards, <a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060082657" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">but allows industry-funded scientists to serve</a>.And on April 24, 2018, Pruitt issued a new <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-epas-secret-science-proposal-alarms-public-health-experts-96000" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">rule</a> that limits what kind of scientific research the agency can rely on in writing environmental regulation. This step was <a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060081997" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">advocated</a> by the National Association of Manufacturers and the American Petroleum Institute.<figure class="align-center zoomable" style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: relative;">
<figcaption style="margin: 0px; padding: 6px 0px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent; line-height: 18px; cursor: default;">EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt speaks to a group of coal miners in Sycamore, Pa., April 13, 2017. <a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Pruitt-EPA-Coal-Mine/4cbf23e184f642318e72b3beea81c0d6/17/0" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word; display: inline; max-width: 100%;">AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar</a></figcaption></figure><h2 style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">What can be done?</h2>This is not the first time that a strongly anti-regulatory administration has tried to redirect EPA. In our interviews, longtime EPA staffers recalled <a href="https://100days.envirodatagov.org/epa-under-siege/" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">similar pressure</a> under President Reagan, led by his first administrator, Anne Gorsuch.Gorsuch also slashed budgets, cut back on enforcement and “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/02/01/neil-gorsuchs-mother-once-ran-the-epa-it-was-a-disaster/?utm_term=.26bd7b8c6084" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">treated a lot of people in the agency as the enemy</a>,” in the words of her successor, William Ruckelshaus. She was forced to resign in 1983 amid congressional investigations into EPA misbehavior, including <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/10/us/rita-lavelle-gets-6-month-term-and-is-fined-10000-for-perjury.html" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">corruptive favoritism and its cover-up at the Superfund program</a>.EPA veterans of those years emphasized the importance of Democratic majorities in Congress, which initiated the investigations, and sustained media coverage of EPA’s unfolding scandals. They remembered this phase as an oppressive time, but noted that pro-industry actions by political appointees failed to suffuse the entire bureaucracy. Instead, career staffers resisted by developing subtle, “underground” ways of supporting each other and sharing information internally and with Congress and the media.Similarly, the media are spotlighting Pruitt’s policy actions and <a href="https://www.politico.com/interactives/2018/scott-pruitt-epa-ethics-spending/" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">ethical scandals</a> today. EPA staffers who have left the agency are <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-24/pruitt-proposes-limits-to-scientific-research-used-by-epa-staff" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">speaking out against Pruitt’s policies</a>. State attorneys general and the court system have <a href="https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/8/11/16113348/trump-environmental-agenda-crashing-into-courts" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">also thwarted some of Pruitt’s efforts</a>. And EPA’s Science Advisory Board – including members appointed by Pruitt – recently <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/31052018/epa-science-advisory-board-review-pruitt-climate-change-clean-power-plan-auto-standards-secret-science-policy" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">voted almost unanimously</a> to do a full review of the scientific justification for many of Pruitt’s most controversial proposals.Still, with the Trump administration <a href="https://theconversation.com/trump-administrations-zeal-to-peel-back-regulations-is-leading-us-to-another-era-of-robber-barons-84961" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">tilted hard against regulation</a> and Republicans controlling Congress, the greatest challenge to regulatory capture at the EPA will be the 2018 and 2020 elections.<div>=</div><div><a href="https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060083233" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;" /><h1 class="headline" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060083233" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;"></a><a href="https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060083233" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;"></a><a href="https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060083233" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;"></a><a href="https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060083233" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;"></a><a href="https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060083233" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;">Agency could move rules before science board weighs in</a></h1><section class="homepage byline" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">By <a href="https://www.eenews.net/staff/Sean_Reilly" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: nowrap;">Sean Reilly</a> in <a href="https://www.eenews.net/gw" class="publication gw" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: nowrap; font-weight: bold;">Greenwire</a> <time datetime="2018-06-01 14:10:43 -0400" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap;">2:10 PM EDT</time></section><section class="excerpt" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: border-box;">An EPA official acknowledged this morning that the agency could advance a number of high-profile rulemakings even as an outside advisory panel finds that the underlying science is inadequate.
<h1 class="headline" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline; line-height: 1.4;">Trump team wanted to kill agency authority on CO2 — emails</h1><section class="excerpt" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: border-box;">Trump administration officials had a plan to pull EPA climate regulations out by the roots. A document last year laid out a strategy for reconsidering its 2009 endangerment finding.</section><a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060083175" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;" /><section class="homepage byline" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060083175" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">By </a><a href="https://www.eenews.net/staff/Robin_Bravender" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: nowrap;">Robin Bravender</a> in <a href="https://www.eenews.net/cw" class="publication cw" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: nowrap; font-weight: bold;">Climatewire</a> <time datetime="2018-06-01 07:25:08 -0400" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap;">7:25 AM EDT</time><time datetime="2018-06-01 07:25:08 -0400" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap;">
</time><time datetime="2018-06-01 07:25:08 -0400" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap;">https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060083175</time><time datetime="2018-06-01 07:25:08 -0400" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap;">
</time>Trump administration officials had a plan to pull EPA climate regulations out by the roots.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">One month after President Trump's inauguration last year, then-EPA official David Schnare sent an email with a <a href="https://www.eenews.net/assets/2018/06/01/document_cw_13.pdf" style="background: transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">document</a> that laid out a strategy for reconsidering EPA's 2009 endangerment finding for greenhouse gases, the scientific determination that underpins federal climate change rules, according to documents released to E&E News under the Freedom of Information Act.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"The President has no faith in the 2009 finding, believes regulation under that finding is inappropriate, has directed reconsideration as a primary element in his EPA Action Plan, is expected to direct reconsideration in his forthcoming executive orders on climate, and is expected to direct EPA to grant any petitions seeking consideration," the document says.Schnare, who was on the EPA transition team and "beachhead" team of early political appointees, pushed the administration to be aggressive on unraveling the finding. He's previously spoken about his disappointment that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt wasn't more aggressive on undermining the finding and that its reconsideration was axed from a major Trump executive order on "energy independence" (<a href="https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060067961/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent; font-weight: bold;">Climatewire</a>, Dec. 4, 2017).The newly released document shows exactly how the Trump team planned to wage its attack.The document notes that the agency had already received petitions to reconsider the finding and that climate science completed since 2009 "significantly undercuts the finding."<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It also says that if the reconsideration finds there's no endangerment from greenhouse gases, it "automatically provides the authority needed" to withdraw "high-cost, low value" climate rules. That would include the Obama administration's signature climate rule, the Clean Power Plan.Also included are steps for reconsideration. Those include: building a record of decisionmaking that would hold up in court, relying only on studies where the underlying data are publicly available and relying on an "open public process (crowd sourcing)" to provide "independent peer review."<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Schnare told E&E News in an interview yesterday that the document was intended to deliver on what Trump wanted.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The transition team prepared plans for the administration based on Trump's speeches, Schnare said. "It was very clear that climate change regulations were high on his list of things that needed to be addressed."<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, who led Trump's EPA transition team, said yesterday that the document "certainly represents the thinking of the transition" on "why and how the endangerment finding should be reopened." He added that the work of the transition team was confidential.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But Pruitt fought the plan, said Schnare, who left EPA in March citing disagreements with the EPA boss.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Once Pruitt showed up, that process ended," he said. "He had been led to believe that the political cost was too high, and he was led to believe that by people in the Senate and staffers." Pruitt's chief of staff, Ryan Jackson, previously worked for Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.)."As a result, Pruitt and I discussed it, and he said, 'I'm not doing it,'" Schnare said. Pruitt told Schnare he had his own solution but wouldn't say what that was, Schnare added.<time datetime="2018-06-01 07:25:08 -0400" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap;" />Pruitt has repeatedly questioned mainstream climate science and has called for a military-style "red-team" debate on the issue. Some who hope to see EPA jettison the endangerment finding are hopeful that such a red-team exercise would ultimately set a foundation for that to occur.</section></section></div><div></div>=5/18 House leadership is pushing through the must-pass Interior-EPA bill. It is devastating.  The bill has already been voted out of subcommittee, and if far-right members of the House succeed in getting this passed, we're looking at an awful scenario. Please, Padraic: Don't let that happen. We need to push back on these attacks before the full House votes on this bill.  Massive cuts to the EPA. A $65 million decrease in the hugely popular Land and Water Conservation Fund. Endangered species listing program funding nearly cut in half. A slew of policy riders attacking environmental safeguards =<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-fracking-wastewater-2568743255.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-fracking-wastewater-2568743255.html</a>How Trump’s EPA Is Moving to Undo Fracking Wastewater Protections<div id="utm_campaign" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url" data-elid="2568743255" data-authors="DeSmogBlog" data-headline="How Trump’s EPA Is Moving to Undo Fracking Wastewater Protections" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body-description">By Sharon KellyBack in 2008, residents of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and surrounding areas received a notice in the mail advising them to drink <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bottled-water" style="text-decoration-line: none;">bottled water</a> instead of tap water—a move that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa" style="text-decoration-line: none;">EPA</a>) internal memos at the time <a href="http://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/interactive/us/DRILLING_DOWN_SERIES.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">described</a> as "one of the largest failures in U.S. history to supply clean <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/drinking-water" style="text-decoration-line: none;">drinking water</a> to the public."The culprit: <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wastewater" style="text-align: center; font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" text-decoration-line="text-decoration-line" none="none">wastewater</a> from oil and gas drilling and coal mines. This included <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fracking/" style="text-align: center; font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" text-decoration-line="text-decoration-line" none="none">fracking</a> wastewater that state officials had allowed to be dumped at local sewer plants—facilities incapable of removing the complex mix of chemicals, corrosive salts and radioactive materials from that kind of industrial waste before they piped the "treated"water back into Pennsylvania's rivers.The levels of corrosive salt in some of the oil and gas wastewater was so high that at <a href="https://www.wateronline.com/doc/pa-dep-fines-jersey-shore-75000-for-sewage-0001" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">some sewage plants</a>, it was suspected of killing off the "good bacteria" that removes fecal coliform and other dangerous bacteria from raw sewage.State and federal regulators responded with a mix of <a href="https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2016/06/14/epa-bans-disposal-of-fracking-waste-water-at-public-treatment-plants/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">voluntary requests</a> and, eventually, rules designed to stop drillers from bringing their wastewater to ill-equipped <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/water" style="text-decoration-line: none;">water</a> treatment plants.Eight years after the Pittsburgh incident, in 2016, the EPA finished writing <a href="https://www.epa.gov/eg/oil-and-gas-extraction-effluent-guidelines" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">the rules</a> that would stop that kind of failure from reoccurring, specifically forbidding sewage treatment plans from accepting untreated wastewater from fracked wells.A few months earlier, the EPA had announced its long-awaited <a href="https://www.epa.gov/hfstudy" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">national study</a> of the risks that fracking-related pollution posed to American drinking water supplies. That study specifically examined the impacts of using sewage plants and commercial wastewater plants to handle fracking waste. It made special note of the dangers of toxic <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/chemicals" style="text-decoration-line: none;">chemicals</a> called trihalomethanes that were created during the treatment process, as well as the likelihood that "radium, metals, and organic compounds can also be discharged."Changing the Rules Again?Now, the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Trump</a> administration's EPA is <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-seeks-input-study-management-wastewater-oil-and-gas-extraction" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">announcing</a> that it wants to study the industry's wastewater all over again. The Trump-era study will examine oil and gas wastewater, asking, in the administration's words, "whether any potential federal regulations that may allow for broader discharge of treated produced water to surface waters are supported."In other words, Trump's EPA is questioning whether the rules should be changed, allowing wastewater from oil and gas wells, including fracked wells, to make its way into America's rivers, streams, lakes and reservoirs after some treatment.The problem is that treating oil and gas waste from fracked wells remains particularly tricky because the industry is still <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/fracking-chemicals-secret-2511076831.html" target="self" style="text-decoration-line: none;">allowed</a> to keep secret information about which chemicals drillers use when injecting fluids to crack open shale formations to release oil and gas.This situation means even the EPA doesn't know what exactly to test for if inspectors want to find out whether that treated wastewater is safe to re-enter American water supplies.The EPA has long struggled with internal conflict between the agency's scientific experts and its political appointees, but that battle has taken on an entirely different dimension under its current leadership.The problem is so severe that George W. Bush's EPA chief Christine Todd Whitman penned a <a href="http://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/385134-christine-todd-whitman-scott-pruitt-is-unfit-to-run-the-epa" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">column</a> calling Administrator <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/scott-pruitt" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Scott Pruitt</a> "unfit to run the EPA," adding that his proposals are "a surefire way to kill science at the agency."Pruitt is also <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/2018/04/25/1ee2c348-48b1-11e8-827e-190efaf1f1ee_story.html?utm_term=.e5559e6a7b09" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">under multiple investigations</a> for misconduct so glaring that The New York Times editorial board <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/opinion/scott-pruitt-ridiculous.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">described</a> him as "not just an industry lap dog but also … [a] small-time grifter." His personal grasp on <a href="https://www.popsci.com/epa-transparency-public-health-data" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">basic science</a> has been <a href="https://www.postandcourier.com/opinion/commentary/pruitt-doesn-t-seem-to-understand-good-science/article_e09ff9d4-547c-11e8-9118-13cd7085aa72.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">frequently</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/04/25/scientists-denounce-pruitts-effort-to-block-secret-science-at-epa/?utm_term=.64f3e61bbe2f" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">questioned</a>—perhaps in part because recently released internal EPA emails show that he has <a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060081469" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">sought briefings</a> from industry-funded science deniers while rejecting meetings with premier scientific organizations like the American Association for the Advancement of Science.The EPA's May 2 announcement seems to have largely flown under the radar, generating virtually no press coverage outside of the industry trade press. Its timing could play into that. The announcement came just one day after two high-level EPA aides <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/2-top-pruitt-aides-leave-epa-amid-ethics-investigations-n870486" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">left the agency</a> under ethics investigation.In addition, most of the national press has been focused on Pruitt's ever-growing list of ethics and personal spending <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/07/climate/epa-pruitt-emails-secrecy.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">scandals</a>: the first-class flights, bullet-proof desk and high-security motorcades to fancy restaurants, his sight-seeing trips and other apparent abuses of taxpayer funds.While the press spotlight shines on those issues, Trump's EPA is moving to <a href="https://www.epa.gov/eg/oil-and-gas-extraction-effluent-guidelines" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">shake the foundations</a> of protections for American drinking water supplies from contamination by oil and gas waste, opening the doors for the industry to sell its wastewater as a product instead of paying for its disposal."Currently, the majority of this wastewater is managed by disposing of it using a practice known as underground injection, where that water can no longer be accessed or used," Trump's EPA wrote in a release announcing the new study."Some states and stakeholders are asking whether it makes sense to continue to waste this water, particularly in water scarce areas of the country, and what steps would be necessary to treat and renew it for other purposes."Not Just Fracking: Radioactivity and BrineThe levels of pollution found in oil and gas wastewater can vary, depending on which heavy metals and radioactive materials are found in the ground where the well is drilled, whether the waste comes from a conventional oil and gas well or a fracked well where drillers mix large amounts of chemicals into the water, and how long after drilling and fracking the water rises up from the ground.
There's no set definition for many of the labels that the industry uses to describe that wastewater, to differentiate between "produced water" or "brine," for example.When the EPA wrote its 2016 rules, officially known as the Oil and Gas Extraction Effluent Guidelines, the agency believed that no wastewater, whether from fracked wells or conventional, was still being trucked or piped to sewage treatment plants, but it turned out that some conventional oil and gas drillers in Pennsylvania had in fact kept on trucking. They objected and the EPA gave them until August 29, 2019 to stop their dumping.An industry group has now filed a lawsuit, still pending, seeking to block the 2016 rules from applying to conventional oil and gas drillers.Though public awareness of the hazards of fracking waste has grown over the past decade, oil and gas wastewater that has nothing to do with fracking can be heavily polluted as well. Conventional oil and gas wastewater, which the industry often calls brine, carries high levels of corrosive salts, and it has in some cases been linked to pollution problems similar to those associated with fracking.For example, researchers have continued to <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2015/08/20/radioactivity-found-pennsylvania-creek-sparking-concerns-about-illegal-fracking-wastewater-dumping-nearby-abandoned" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">find</a> radioactive pollution in Pennsylvania's streambeds, just downstream from commercial treatment plants that accepted brine from conventional wells. (Unlike sewage treatment plants, commercial water treatment plants are designed to handle some industrial wastes.)Radium levels up to 650 times higher than those upstream from the commercial treatment plants were found downstream of discharge pipes, according to a peer-reviewed <a href="https://nicholas.duke.edu/about/news/radioactivity-oil-and-gas-wastewater-persists-pennsylvania-stream-sediments" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">study</a> by Duke University published in January.The sediments that the team, led by Avner Vengosh, professor of geochemistry and water quality at Duke, found in Pennsylvania's streambeds carried levels of radium as high as 25,000 Becquerels per kilogram (Bq/kg)—about eight times the threshold at which radioactive oilfield waste like sludge is <a href="http://gekengineering.com/Downloads/Free_Downloads/NORM-NaturallyOccurringRadioactiveMaterialsinProducedAWMA22June2016-FinalVersion.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">considered</a> "contaminated."Radium mostly emits alpha radiation, which can be blocked by people's skin, and the health risks associated with radium stem primarily from drinking contaminated water or eating fish that lived in those polluted waters. Radium has a half-life of 1,600 years, meaning it persists in the environment for an unusually long time, and researchers were able to establish that the pollution occurred during the last three years."Despite the fact that conventional oil and gas wastewater is treated to reduce its radium content, we still found high levels of radioactive build-up in the stream sediments we sampled," Vengosh <a href="https://nicholas.duke.edu/about/news/radioactivity-oil-and-gas-wastewater-persists-pennsylvania-stream-sediments" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">said</a>. "Radium is attached to these sediments, and over time even a small amount of radium being discharged into a stream accumulates to generate high radioactivity in the stream sediments."Recycling, Trump-StyleTrump's EPA wants to explore whether it makes sense to use more oil and gas wastewater instead of requiring it to be disposed. The main disposal method currently used in most states involves trapping that wastewater deep underground using injection wells, a practice that has led to earthquakes in Oklahoma, Texas and other states.It's a significant problem given that the sheer volume of wastewater coming from the oil and gas industry is enormous, with one 2015 <a href="http://blogs.edf.org/energyexchange/2015/11/11/recycling-wastewater-from-oil-and-gas-wells-poses-challenges-2/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">estimate</a> putting it at over 800 billion gallons a year."In New Mexico's arid environment, conserving our resources by recycling produced water for more beneficial uses presents a significant economic development and water supply opportunity," New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department cabinet secretary Ken McQueen said in an EPA statement.The industry has struggled to find effective treatment methods to recycle the volume of wastewater it generates, which is sometimes calls "produced water." That produced wastewater can be five to eight times <a href="https://phys.org/news/2014-07-saltwater-fracking-ocean.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">saltier</a> than ocean water, and those salts aren't simply the familiar table salt but are instead corrosive salts that lace the water from oil and gas wells.Recycling wastewater not only <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/us/02gas.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">raises concerns</a> about spills, transportation and other logistical headaches, it also begs the question of what to do with the waste left over from the wastewater recycling process itself. That process can concentrate toxic and radioactive materials into highly contaminated sludges. And re-using the water for more drilling can also raise the levels of pollutants in that water which will ultimately have to be disposed somehow.Trump's EPA is forging ahead with plans to re-open the question of what rules the industry will have to play by as it seeks to offload its waste."In the coming months, EPA plans to reach out to stakeholders—including states, industry, and nongovernmental organizations—to facilitate conversations," the agency's announcement states. "Following this study, EPA will determine if future agency actions are appropriate to further address oil and gas extraction wastewater."...</div></div><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/01052018/trump-epa-regulatory-capture-industry-influence-climate-pruitt-compared-reagan-gorsuch-journal-public-health">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/01052018/trump-epa-regulatory-capture-industry-influence-climate-pruitt-compared-reagan-gorsuch-journal-public-health</a>Under the Trump administration, the Environmental Protection Agency has veered so far from its foundational mission of protecting human health and the environment that it faces the highest risk in its 47-year history of being reshaped to serve industry rather than the American public, according to a new study in the American Journal of Public Health.<div class="content" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded" style="box-sizing: inherit;">The EPA routinely faces criticism from environmental and public health advocates for allegedly <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16112017/fracking-chemicals-safety-epa-health-risks-water-bush-cheney" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">quashing science</a> and softening rules to help industry. During the early years of the Reagan presidency in particular, EPA Administrator Anne Gorsuch worked to scale back the agency's activities.But the new study, based on interviews with current and former EPA staff and reviews of White House and EPA initiatives, concluded that the agency is now on the edge of "regulatory capture," when industry priorities determine policy rather than the public interest and impartial research."New EPA leadership has thus far aimed at deconstructing, rather than reconstructing, the agency by comprehensively undermining many of the agency's rules, programs, and policies while also severely undercutting its budget, work capacity, internal operations and morale," concluded <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304360" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">the study</a>, titled "The Environmental Protection Agency in the Early Trump Administration: Prelude to Regulatory Capture."The study, part of the American Journal of Public Health's <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/toc/ajph/108/S2" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">special issue on climate change</a>, adds to the mounting scrutiny and criticism of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's policy, personnel and operational decisions, which sometimes weave together.For instance, the study suggests that the undermining of the EPA's public health mission is enabled in part by Pruitt and his aides making policy decisions with little input from longtime staff and scientists.Such isolation is cemented by "the extraordinary lengths that Pruitt has [gone to] to preserve secrecy and autonomy from the EPA career staff, such as cordoning his office wing off from career employees, reportedly forbidding note taking at some meetings and employing 24-hour armed guards," the report said. The study was accepted by the peer-reviewed journal in February of this year, before some of the recent scandals around Pruitt had surfaced, including his condo rental from the wife of a lobbyist. He currently faces <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-25/here-s-a-scorecard-of-the-scott-pruitt-investigations-quicktake" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">at least 10 investigations</a> from his EPA tenure.<h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.333;">EPA Staff: Industry Has More Influence Today</h3>Pruitt was an energetic ally of fossil fuels in his previous role as Oklahoma's attorney general, when he sued the Obama EPA 14 times to overturn environmental policies that affected businesses. The study said that details of Pruitt's schedule, obtained by media and activists through the Freedom of Information Act, show that he had met almost exclusively with industry representatives as EPA administrator.The study was conducted by 10 academic researchers involved in the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative (EDGI), a watchdog collaborative of academics, archivists and data scientists created after the 2016 election to monitor the Trump administration's approach to federal environmental agencies and policy. Led by Lindsey Dillon, a sociology professor at University of California-Santa Cruz, the research team tracked the rhetoric, personnel and policy decisions of Pruitt and President Donald Trump. From December 2016 to June 2017, the researchers also conducted lengthy interviews with 45 current and former EPA staff members in order to get perspective on staff morale and a view of the Pruitt agenda from the inside.Several staff members had worked at EPA under Gorsuch, who had been an opponent of environmental rules before Reagan named her to head the agency. While EPA staff said there are similarities between Gorsuch and Pruitt, current circumstances at the agency are worse.They said they thought that industry had less power over EPA in the early 1980s and that Congress was more willing to seriously investigate accusations of malfeasance within the agency, a problem that eventually toppled Gorsuch. "Even in the `80s, there was just broader support for what the agency did," one recent EPA retiree told the researchers. "The question was, ok, we know this is a problem ... How do we fix it ... No one questioned the premise of what EPA was doing."The study's analysis of the Trump administration's actions indicates that it "sought to reorient the EPA toward industrial and industry-friendly interests, often with little or no acknowledgement of the agency's health and environmental missions."The EPA did not reply to emails seeking comment on the study.<h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333;">From Political Appointees to Policy Rollbacks</h3>The researchers <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/12042018/epa-andrew-wheeler-senate-confirmation-vote-murray-energy-coal-lobbyist-climate-denial-inhofe-pruitt" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">cited political appointments to EPA, drawn almost exclusively from industry</a> or states friendly to fossil fuel interests. The study said Pruitt had sought to delay, block or revoke at least 30 existing rules. Among them are the Clean Power Plan, which cuts greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation, and a ban on the pesticide chlorpyrifos that had been recommended by EPA scientists because of its potential to harm children's health.  The study pointed out a 60 percent reduction in civil penalties in the first six months of Pruitt's term and an overall decline in enforcement activities.The study also highlighted Pruitt's efforts to get rid of longstanding scientific practices at EPA. He dismissed members of scientific advisory boards to make room for industry representatives and banned scientists who get EPA grants from serving on them. More recently, <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/24042018/pruitt-secret-science-evidence-pollution-health-disease-studies-epa-rule-ban" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Pruitt proposed a rule</a> that would prohibit the use of studies based on confidential health information, which he has labeled "secret science." Scientists and regulators have warned that such a prohibition would preclude the use of major longstanding health studies that underpin key air and water pollution rules.Pruitt's ambitious agenda against the EPA's core mission and the Trump administration's move to slash its budget have prompted many veteran staffers to leave, the study said. Still, the most common reaction is for staff to keep their heads down and quietly work to protect public health and the environment, according to those interviewed by researchers. But the EPA interview subjects worried that such perseverance might not be enough to preserve the agency's efficacy.The study said: "As one veteran from the Reagan years reflected, by the time Pruitt and the new political leadership are done with the agency, it will have become 'a much smaller and probably much more passive operation than what you've got now'—an agency, in other words, more easily circumvented or even captured by those it should regulate."</div></div></div></div><div class="tagged-with" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-transform: uppercase; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><label style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; line-height: 1.2;">PUBLISHED UNDER:</label><div class="field field-name-field-topics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-item even" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topics/regulation" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">REGULATION</a></div> <div class="field-item odd" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topics/politics" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">POLITICS</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-item even" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/climate-change" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">CLIMATE CHANGE</a></div> <div class="field-item odd" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/donald-trump" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">DONALD TRUMP</a></div> <div class="field-item even" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/epa" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">EPA</a></div> <div class="field-item odd" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/scott-pruitt" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">SCOTT PRUITT</a></div></div></div></div> <h1 class="widgetheadline h1" style="margin: 10px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer; word-wrap: break-word; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a class="widgetheadline-text custom-post-headline" href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-air-quality-pruitt-2561179827.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; outline: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; line-height: 31px;">PA Memos Show Sneak Attack on Air Quality</a></h1><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url expanded" data-elid="2561179827" data-authors="Olivia Rosane" data-headline="EPA Memos Show Sneak Attack on Air Quality" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body-description"><div class="widgetbrief">Behind all the media attention focused on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa" target="self" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">EPA</a>) head <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/scott-pruitt" target="self" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Scott Pruitt</a>'s many <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/pruitt-epa-news-2559031130.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">scandals</a>, the agency has quietly passed a series of four memos since December that have a net impact of reducing <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/air-pollution" target="self" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">air pollution</a> controls to benefit industry, <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/383661-trumps-epa-quietly-revamps-rules-for-air-pollution" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">The Hill reported</a> Wednesday.The Hill's report comes just days before the world celebration of Earth Day on Sunday, April 22. The first Earth Day, in 1970, <a href="https://www.earthday.org/2010/09/15/on-the-anniversary-of-the-clean-air-act/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">is often credited</a> with leading to the passage of the Clean Air Act that same year, but now the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Trump administration</a> seems intent on rolling back that legacy.</div><div class="js-appear-on-expand" style="transition: all 350ms; height: auto; overflow: hidden; opacity: 1;">"All of these [memos], individually and taken together, will result in more air pollution and less enforcement of the Clean Air Act," Paul Billings, senior vice president for advocacy at the American Lung Association, told The Hill.What follows is a timeline and summary of the memos in question.December 7, 2017: The EPA <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-12/documents/nsr_policy_memo.12.7.17.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">said</a> it would not "second guess" a company's estimates of how much they will pollute after large projects, in part of a process called New Source Review, which the EPA undertakes to issue construction permits.January 25: The EPA <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-01/documents/reclassification_of_major_sources_as_area_sources_under_section_112_of_the_clean_air_act.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">withdrew</a> the "once in always in" policy stipulating that once a pollution source was classified as "major," it would always be subjected to tougher scrutiny. The new policy would allow industrial pollution sources to downgrade themselves to "area" sources of pollution once their emissions fell below certain standards.Environmental groups have already <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-air-pollution-lawsuit-2554061360.html" target="self" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">sued</a> over this rule change in March, saying it would allow industrial polluters in the Midwest alone to release four times the current amount of toxins into the air.March 13: The EPA <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-03/documents/nsr_memo_03-13-2018.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">declared</a> that, in the process to determine if a new project at an existing pollution source needs to pass a New Source Review, the company can now consider both emissions increases and decreases resulting from the project in step 1 of the process, instead of waiting for step 2 to take emissions decreases into account.April 12: President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/presidential-memorandum-administrator-environmental-protection-agency/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">signed</a> an EPA memo that adjusted the enforcement of National Ambient Air Quality standards to be more friendly to industry.The memo directed the EPA to speed up the review process for state plans for reducing smog, determine if existing smog and soot health standards should be altered or eliminated, and make it less difficult for companies to get air-quality permits, <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-orders-epa-pruitt-to-relax-pollution-rules-cba01c2777c6/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Think Progress reported</a>.The first two memos were written by EPA air office head Bill Wehrum, who also spent two years at the agency under Bush.Billings told The Hill that the memos were designed to complete President George W. Bush's attempts to weaken EPA regulations, some of which failed."These were radical departures of current law when they were proposed a decade ago and they're just as radical today," he said.<a href="https://www.nrdc.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Natural Resources Defense Council</a> clean air director John Walke agreed that the new memos were an attempt to complete Bush-era rollbacks."I think Mr. Wehrum has decided this is likely a one-term administration and he's going to devote his full resources to rolling back clean air, climate and public health protections in the time available to him," Walke told The Hill.<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-air-quality-pruitt-2561179827.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-air-quality-pruitt-2561179827.html</a></div></div></div><div>==
<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2018/03/leaked-memo-epa-gives-its-employees-talking-points-on-how-to-downplay-climate-science/">https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2018/03/leaked-memo-epa-gives-its-employees-talking-points-on-how-to-downplay-climate-science/</a>


The

Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday evening sent employees a

list of eight approved talking points on climate change from its Office

of Public Affairs―guidelines that promote a message of uncertainty about

climate science and gloss over proposed cuts to key adaptation

programs.

An internal email obtained by HuffPost―forwarded to

employees by Joel Scheraga, a career staffer who served under President

Barack Obama―directs communications directors and regional office public

affairs directors to note that the EPA “promotes science that helps

inform states, municipalities and tribes on how to plan for and respond

to extreme events and environmental emergencies” and “works with state,

local, and tribal government to improve infrastructure to protect

against the consequences of climate change and natural disasters.”

</div>

But beyond those benign statements acknowledging the threats climate

change poses are talking points boiled down from the sort of climate

misinformation EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has long trumpeted.

</div>

“Human activity impacts our changing climate in some manner,” one

point reads. “The ability to measure with precision the degree and

extent of that impact, and what to do about it, are subject to

continuing debate and dialogue.”

</div>

The other states: “While there has been extensive research and a host

of published reports on climate change, clear gaps remain including our

understanding of the role of human activity and what we can do about

it.”

</div>

The email was sent under the subject line: “Consistent Messages on Climate Adaptation.”

</div>

In a statement to HuffPost, the EPA confirmed the memo and said the agency’s “work on climate adaptation continues under the leadership of Dr. Scheraga.”

The delivery of the talking points comes a week after Pruitt

announced plans to restrict the agency’s use of science in writing

environmental rules, barring the use of research unless the raw data can

be made public for other scientists and industry to scrutinize. That

directive would disqualify huge amounts of public health research

conducted on the condition that subjects’ personal information will

remain private. Two former top EPA officials called the move an “attack

on science” in a <a class="bn-clickable" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/26/opinion/pruitt-attack-science-epa.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" new="New" york="York" times="Times" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" https="https" www.nytimes.com="www.nytimes.com" opinion="opinion" pruitt-attack-science-epa.html="pruitt-attack-science-epa.html" data-beacon-parsed="true" data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:8" data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="2" data-v9y="1">New York Times</a> op-ed published Monday.

</div>

Last year, the EPA reassigned the four staffers in the policy office who worked on climate adaptation, <a class="bn-clickable" href="http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/327854-epa-shutting-climate-adaptation-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" shuttered="shuttered" its="its" program="program" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" http="http" thehill.com="thehill.com" policy="policy" energy-environment="energy-environment" epa-shutting-climate-adaptation-program="epa-shutting-climate-adaptation-program" data-beacon-parsed="true" data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:9" data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="3" data-v9y="1">shuttered its program</a> on climate adaptation and proposed eliminating funding for programs that deal with rising seas and warming temperatures.

</div>

Pruitt <a class="bn-clickable" href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/29012018/scott-pruitt-epa-climate-websites-erased-emails-reveal-close-involvement-clean-power-plan" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" personally="personally" oversaw="oversaw" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" https="https" insideclimatenews.org="insideclimatenews.org" news="news" scott-pruitt-epa-climate-websites-erased-emails-reveal-close-involvement-clean-power-plan="scott-pruitt-epa-climate-websites-erased-emails-reveal-close-involvement-clean-power-plan" data-beacon-parsed="true" data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:10" data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="4" data-v9y="1">personally oversaw</a>

efforts to scrub climate change from EPA websites, and staunchly

defended President Donald Trump’s decision last June to withdraw the

United States from the Paris climate accord. In October, Pruitt <a class="bn-clickable" href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-epa-repeal-clean-power-plan_us_59dbe2b3e4b00377980b25b4" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-beacon="{" p="p" lnid="lnid" proposed="proposed" repealing="repealing" mpid="mpid" plid="plid" https="https" www.huffingtonpost.com="www.huffingtonpost.com" entry="entry" trump-epa-repeal-clean-power-plan_us_59dbe2b3e4b00377980b25b4="trump-epa-repeal-clean-power-plan_us_59dbe2b3e4b00377980b25b4" data-beacon-parsed="true" data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:10" data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="5" data-v9y="1">proposed repealing</a> the Clean Power Plan, the only major federal policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

</div>

The agency had also suggested zero
...

</div>=<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-sued-correspondence-heartland-institute-2548433710.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-sued-correspondence-heartland-institute-2548433710.html</a><div class="headline-container" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h1 class="headline h1" style="margin: 10px; padding: 0px; position: relative; line-height: 31px;">EPA Sued Over Failure to Release Correspondence With Heartland Institute</h1></div><div id="utm_campaign" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url" data-elid="2548433710" data-authors="Lorraine Chow" data-headline="EPA Sued Over Failure to Release Correspondence With Heartland Institute" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px;"><div class="body-description">The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa" style="text-decoration-line: none;">EPA</a>) is being sued for its "unlawful and unreasonable delay" in responding to requests for information about the agency's communications with the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/heartland-institute" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Heartland Institute</a>, according to a <a href="http://blogs.edf.org/climate411/files/2018/03/2018-03-15-Complaint.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">complaint</a> by the <a href="https://www.southernenvironment.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Southern Environmental Law Center</a> (SELC) and the <a href="https://www.edf.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Environmental Defense Fund</a> (EDF).The Heartland Institute is an Illinois-based think tank that rejects the science of man-made <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change" style="text-decoration-line: none;">climate change</a> and has received <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/heartland-institute-climate-science-2334892782.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">funding</a> from the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/koch-brothers" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Koch brothers</a> and the fossil fuel industry.The lawsuit centers around the EDF and SELC's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for communications between the EPA and the Heartland Institute in August and October of 2017, respectively.The requests were made after Heartland Institute Communications Director Jim Lakely <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/trump-administration-lining-up-climate-change-red-team/article/2629124" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">said</a> last July, "The White House and the Environmental Protection Agency have reached out to the Heartland Institute to help identify scientists who could constitute a red team, and we've been happy to oblige."EPA Administrator <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/scott-pruitt" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Scott Pruitt</a>, a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-denier" style="text-decoration-line: none;">climate change denier</a> who has close ties to the fossil fuel industry, has long insisted on a nationally publicized "<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/pruitt-climate-science-2471734818.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">red team-blue team</a>" debate that would pit climate skeptics against scientists who accept the facts about global warming. However, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/09/climate/pruitt-red-team-climate-debate-kelly.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">news</a> emerged this week that White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly has reportedly put a stop to Pruitt's plan.According to the complaint, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, the EPA acknowledged both requests and asked for some initial clarification, but has subsequently stopped communicating with SELC and provided vague responses to EDF's outreach that do not indicate any expectation of near-term progress on EDF's FOIA request.There certainly appears to be some—and even extensive—contact between the EPA and the Heartland Institute. As seen below, the complaint states that the EPA's own search for correspondence between agency employees and Heartland yielded between 200 and 600 records....</div></div>=omg
https://thinkprogress.org/epa-eliminates-key-research-office-074f12d18393/
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to eliminate its National Center for Environmental Research (NCER), a department that funds research into environmental impacts on communities.
The center, tasked with distributing “grants to test the effects of chemical exposure on adults and children,” will be shuttered amid a reorganization at the agency as part of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s goal of creating more efficiency at the agency.
Most of the EPA’s grants come out of the NCER, a division of the agency’s Office of Research and Development. Last October, Pruitt ordered that scientists who have received EPA grants from the NCER and other programs at the agency won’t be allowed to serve on the agency’s advisory boards. Critics of the policy change denounced the move as a poorly disguised attempt to push out experts at odds with industry.
The NCER’s most prominent program is called Science to Achieve Results, or STAR, which was created in 1995. The STAR program has distributed grants to the Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Centers. The two centers have been “successful in advancing our scientific understanding and ability do address the ways that environmental chemicals can impact children’s health,” a former EPA senior scientist told The Hill.
A recent report issued by the National Academies of Sciences concluded that through the STAR program, EPA has created a vehicle that fosters collaboration and knowledge-sharing in a way that “may reduce the cost of regulations, protect public health, and save lives.” About eight years after STAR’s creation, a National Research Council committee reviewed the program and strongly endorsed it as an integral part of EPA’s research program.
The Trump administration, however, has singled out the STAR program for elimination in its budget proposals. The STAR program’s budget allocation has varied over the years, peaking at around $138 million in 2001 and 2002 and reaching its lowest point in 2016 at about $39 million. Between 2001 and 2015, the program awarded nearly 1,500 grants and fellowships in total, according to the National Academies of Sciences report.,...<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-syngenta-pesticides-2535467506.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-syngenta-pesticides-2535467506.html</a><div class="headline-container" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h1 class="headline h1" style="margin: 10px; padding: 0px; position: relative; line-height: 31px;">Trump EPA Slammed for Ag Giant's 'Absurdly Low' Pesticide Fine</h1></div><div id="utm_campaign" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url" data-elid="2535467506" data-authors="Lorraine Chow" data-headline="Trump EPA Slammed for Ag Giant's 'Absurdly Low' Pesticide Fine" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px;"><div class="body-description" style="">The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa" style="text-decoration-line: none;">EPA</a>) announced a <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-reaches-agreement-syngenta-farmworker-safety-violations-kauai" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">settlement</a> this week with Syngenta Seeds, LLC over violations of federal <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides" style="text-decoration-line: none;">pesticide</a> regulations at its farm in Kauai, Hawaii.The company, a subsidiary of Swiss biotech giant <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/syngenta" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Syngenta</a> AG, agreed to pay a civil penalty of $150,000 and spend another $400,000 on worker protection training sessions."Reducing pesticide exposure for the millions of farmworkers who cultivate our food is a high priority for EPA," said Alexis Strauss, EPA's acting regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest. "This settlement will bring to Hawaii and Pacific Island growers much-needed training to protect agricultural workers."That fine, however, is a tiny fraction of the $4.8 million in civil penalties initially sought by President Obama's EPA.<a href="https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-files-complaint-against-syngenta-farmworker-safety-violations-kauai.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">According</a> to an EPA complaint, on Jan. 29, 2016, 19 workers entered a Syngenta field recently sprayed with a restricted use organophosphate insecticide. Ten of these workers had to be taken to the hospital for medical treatment.The EPA alleged that Syngenta misused the pesticide "Lorsban Advanced," and failed to notify workers to avoid the field. The active ingredient in "Lorsban Advanced" happens to be <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/chlorpyrifos" style="text-decoration-line: none;">chlorpyrifos</a>, a controversial insecticide linked to a host of health and environmental problems. It was said that Syngenta allowed workers to enter the site without protective gear and did not provide adequate decontamination supplies at the field, nor did it supply prompt transportation for emergency medical care.Then, in an <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-02/documents/fifra-09-2017-0001-syngenta_seeds_llc_amended_complaint-2018-01-12.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">amended complaint</a> filed this month, Syngenta again violated pesticide use rules in January 2017 after a worker sprayed chlorpyrifos on a field but did warn work crews about the treated areas. One worker who said he was exposed experienced "adverse health effects" as a result.Chlorpyrifos is widely used in citrus, nuts and orchards. Chemical maker <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/dow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Dow Chemical</a> sells about 5 million pounds of it in the U.S. each year.But chlorpyrifos is acutely toxic and associated with <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/chlorpyrifos-ban-schneiderman-2434908038.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">neurodevelopmental harms</a> in children. Furthermore, the EPA released a report indicating that that <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/endangered-species-pesticides-2201058081.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">97 percent</a> of the more than 1,800 animals and plants protected under the Endangered Species Act are likely to be harmed by the commonly used insecticide....</div></div><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-pollution-fines-2017-2532716998.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-pollution-fines-2017-2532716998.html</a><div class="headline-container" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h1 class="headline h1" style="margin: 10px; padding: 0px; position: relative; line-height: 31px;">Fines Against Polluters Drop Sharply Under Trump EPA</h1></div><div id="utm_campaign" style="margin-top: 10px;"><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url" data-elid="2532716998" data-authors="Lorraine Chow" data-headline="Fines Against Polluters Drop Sharply Under Trump EPA" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px;"><div class="body-description" style="">The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa" style="text-decoration-line: none;">EPA</a>) <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-2017-annual-environmental-enforcement-results" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">announced</a> Thursday its annual enforcement and compliance <a href="https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/enforcement-annual-results-fiscal-year-2017" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">report</a> that boasted $1.6 billion in administrative and civil judicial fines against polluters."A strong enforcement program is essential to achieving positive health and environmental outcomes," Susan Bodine, head of the agency's enforcement division said in a statement.However, analyses show that the penalties against polluters are significantly lower under <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch" style="text-decoration-line: none;">President Trump</a>'s EPA. According to <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/373054-epa-data-reveals-dramatic-decrease-in-enforcement-of-polluter-fees" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">The Hill</a>, that $1.6 billion figure is roughly a fifth of the $5.7 billion in penalties collected the year before under President Obama's EPA.In addition to that, the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/scott-pruitt" style="text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;">Scott Pruitt</a>-led agency is also taking credit for the previous administration's enforcement efforts. The EPA 2017 enforcement report covers the federal fiscal year from Oct. 1, 2016 to Sept. 30, 2017, meaning the final tally covers three and half months of the Obama administration, "when some of the E.P.A.'s biggest cases were settled," as the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/08/business/epa-penalties-polluters.html" target="blank" style="text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;">New York Times</a> observed.The largest chunk came from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/volkswagen" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Volkswagen's</a> $1.45 billion to resolve civil claims for its "dieselgate" emissions scandal, which was <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/volkswagen-ag-agrees-plead-guilty-and-pay-43-billion-criminal-and-civil-penalties-six" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">announced</a> on Jan. 11—before Trump was even sworn in.Steven Chester, the deputy assistant administrator in EPA's compliance office from 2011 to 2014 told The Hill that he is concerned about the drop in litigation and enforcement and its consequences for the environment."My big concern is that if there isn't a viable threat of litigation and enforcement, if there aren't an appropriate number of lawsuits or complaints brought, that you lose that deterrent effect—and if you rely too heavily on compliance assistance you are going to end up with more non-compliance," he said.Chester said that the most noticeable change in the 2017 enforcement report was the drop in the EPA's recommendations to the Justice Department (DOJ) to prosecute polluters, from 152 the year before to 110 now."Those numbers tell you what's in the pipeline and what's going to be in the pipeline in future years," Chester said. "Those might not look like big numbers but these are huge numbers because these are cases referred to DOJ, these are cases that DOJ is going to fine."...</div></div>
<p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="180" data-total-count="9642" itemprop="articleBody" id="story-continues-10" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 1em 135px; line-height: 1.4375rem; width: 532px; max-width: 540px;">odd rare win?<p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="180" data-total-count="9642" itemprop="articleBody" id="story-continues-10" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 1em 135px; line-height: 1.4375rem; width: 532px; max-width: 540px;"><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-suspends-pebble-mine-2529694490.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-suspends-pebble-mine-2529694490.html</a><p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="180" data-total-count="9642" itemprop="articleBody" id="story-continues-10" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 1em 135px; line-height: 1.4375rem; width: 532px; max-width: 540px;">...The unexpected move from President Trump's <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-clean-air-act-2528831006.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">pro-business</a> administration was a blow to Pebble Limited Partnership, a subsidiary of Canadian mining company Northern Dynasty Minerals. The mine developer is <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-lawsuit-pebble-mine-2404702705.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">proposing</a> to extract one of the world's largest copper and gold deposits from the pristine watershed. Shares fell as much <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northern-dynasty-epa-stock/shares-in-alaska-mine-developer-slide-26-percent-on-epa-reversal-idUSKBN1FI1ZX" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">as 26 percent</a> on Monday following the EPA's surprise decision.The Obama EPA in 2014 <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/371001-trump-epa-revives-obama-proposal-to-block-alaska-mine" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">proposed to block</a> the project under the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/clean-water-act" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Clean Water Act</a> but the plan was never finalized after a federal court put a hold on the process.Last year, the EPA <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-lawsuit-pebble-mine-2404702705.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">started a process</a> to reverse the decision, and Pebble submitted its first permit application to build the mine last month. But the EPA received more than one million comments from interested stakeholders, most that were fiercely opposed to withdrawing the earlier proposed protections. More than 65 percent of Alaskans, 80 percent of Bristol Bay residents and Native communities, and 85 percent of commercial fishermen oppose the mine.Joel Reynolds, the western director and senior attorney the <a href="http://nrdc.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Natural Resources Defense Council</a> noted, "The Bristol Bay fishery is the economic and cultural heart and soul of the region, producing last summer alone some 60 million wild salmon. Every year it generates an estimated $1.5 billion in revenue, supporting some 14,000 jobs in a region that depends on that economic engine for its very survival. According to EPA's own comprehensive assessment of risk, the Pebble Mine's impact on the region could be 'catastrophic.'"EPA administrator <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/scott-pruitt" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Scott Pruitt</a> said Friday, "We have restored process, reviewed comments, and heard from a variety of stakeholders on whether to withdraw the proposed restrictions in the Bristol Bay watershed.""Based on that review, it is my judgment at this time that any mining projects in the region likely pose a risk to the abundant natural resources that exist there. Until we know the full extent of that risk, those natural resources and world-class fisheries deserve the utmost protection."...<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/05/24/donald-trumps-pick-for-epa-enforcement-office-was-a-lobbyist-for-superfund-polluters/">https://theintercept.com/2017/05/24/donald-trumps-pick-for-epa-enforcement-office-was-a-lobbyist-for-superfund-polluters/</a>
bodine<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/06/28/epas-new-water-safety-official-is-a-lobbyist-with-deep-ties-to-the-dakota-access-pipeline/">https://theintercept.com/2017/06/28/epas-new-water-safety-official-is-a-lobbyist-with-deep-ties-to-the-dakota-access-pipeline/</a>forsgren=<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/06/28/epas-new-water-safety-official-is-a-lobbyist-with-deep-ties-to-the-dakota-access-pipeline/">https://theintercept.com/2017/06/28/epas-new-water-safety-official-is-a-lobbyist-with-deep-ties-to-the-dakota-access-pipeline/</a>forsgren
FORSGREN, a former lobbyist recently tapped to lead the Environmental Protection Agency office in charge of water safety, has deep ties to a fossil fuel advocacy group engaged in the promotion of the Dakota Access Pipeline as well as controversial offshore drilling efforts.The appointment signals a victory for industrial opponents of clean water regulations. The department that Forsgren will now help oversee, the EPA’s Office of Water, is in charge of implementing the landmark Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water Acts passed in the early seventies. In that capacity it studies the toxic effects of fracking on groundwater safety, the downstream consequences of industrial pollutants, and the environmental impact of oil spills.Before arriving at the EPA, Forsgren was an attorney for HBW Resources, a fossil fuel lobbying firm known for orchestrating campaigns on behalf of industry clients.The public-facing side of Forsgren’s lobbying firm is the Consumer Energy Alliance, an astroturf advocacy organization managed by HBW Resources that works aggressively to build support for contentious oil and gas projects around the country.CEA <a href="https://consumerenergyalliance.org/about/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">portrays itself</a> as the “voice of the energy consumer,” providing “sound, unbiased information on U.S. and global energy issues.” However, <a href="http://990s.foundationcenter.org/990_pdf_archive/261/261658339/261658339_201512_990O.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">tax filings</a> show that the organization shares <a href="https://www.google.com/maps?num=30&biw=1440&bih=662&q=2211+norfolk+street+houston&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj0j-fe4N7UAhVBlFQKHYe6CE0Q_AUICigB" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">office space</a> in Houston with HBW Resources, HBW’s staff <a href="https://hbwresources.com/bios/david-holt-managing-partner/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">simultaneously</a> serve as CEA’s staff members, HBW is registered to lobby for CEA, and CEA transfers the bulk of its funding to HBW for “management” fees.Moreover, the group relies heavily on funding from the corporate interests which benefit the most from their advocacy. The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, the trade group for the nation’s largest oil refineries, <a href="https://republicreport.wpengine.com/2014/keystone-xl-refinery/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">provided</a> significant financing to CEA. Energy Transfer Partners, the company responsible for building the Dakota Access pipeline, is listed as a <a href="https://consumerenergyalliance.org/about/our-members/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">corporate member</a> of CEA.CEA played a significant role in the energy industry’s attempt to <a href="https://www.republicreport.org/2014/keystone-xl-refinery/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">build support</a> for the Keystone XL, sponsoring a study on the economic benefits of the pipeline, providing draft letters used by members of Congress to endorse it, and setting up a special website to mobilize thousands of petitions to pressure the State Department to approve the project.Similar tactics were deployed by the CEA and HBW to win support for offshore drilling efforts stalled because of public backlash. Letters <a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/09/01/onion-farmers-letter-support-arctic-drilling-lifts-language-oil-lobby-group/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">filed</a>with regulators in support of Shell Oil during its bid to drill for oil and gas in the Arctic used language provided by CEA. In another case, <a href="https://www.republicreport.org/2014/ocs-governors-lobbyist/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">metadata</a>from a letter signed by several governors in support of drilling efforts in the Atlantic Ocean off the Eastern Seaboard revealed that a staffer with HBW had authored the document.Over the last year, CEA and HBW have worked to build approval for the Dakota Access pipeline, which would bring fracked oil from North Dakota to refineries on the Gulf Coast.In 2016, the group launched a campaign called “Pipelines for America,” which included grassroots events and advertisements <a href="http://northamericanshalemagazine.com/articles/1647/organization-launches-campaign-supporting-energy-infrastructure" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">designed</a> to push back against growing opposition to the Dakota Access. The group also appeared in the media to sharply criticize protests at Standing Rock, the encampment for activists opposed to the Dakota Access. David Holt, the president of both HBW and CEA, was <a href="https://consumerenergyalliance.org/2016/10/concerns-raised-dakota-access-pipeline-riots/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">quoted</a> last fall claiming that Standing Rock protesters have no interest in “protecting the environment” and are instead motivated by an interest in “shutting down the American economy.”In response to the <a href="https://consumerenergyalliance.org/2017/01/applauds-trump-administration-pipeline-decisions/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">decision</a> by President Donald Trump to approve pipeline projects delayed by the previous administration, Holt issued a statement stating, “CEA has strongly supported both the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines for many years and we enthusiastically applaud President Trump’s decision today to move ahead with these long-delayed projects.”The deputy assistant administrator of the Office of Water, the position awarded to Forsgren, does not require Senate confirmation, meaning that he can start his job right away. The announcement was made through an EPA staff email obtained by The Intercept.As we’ve reported, the EPA under Administrator Scott Pruitt has become the perhaps the greatest nexus for industry influence in the entire Trump administration.The official tapped to lead the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, Nancy Beck, is a former chemical industry lobbyist. Susan Bodine, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/05/24/donald-trumps-pick-for-epa-enforcement-office-was-a-lobbyist-for-superfund-polluters/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">nominated</a> to lead the EPA’s enforcement office, previously worked as a lobbyist for industrial paper and forestry clients cited for hundreds of EPA violations. Justin Schwab, appointed as a senior attorney at the EPA, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/05/25/trump-admin-disclosures/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">previously</a> worked for utility industry interest to oppose the EPA’s climate change regulations. Even the EPA’s new legislative outreach staff <a href="https://www.law360.com/articles/924517/senate-dems-say-epa-pick-s-lobbying-past-makes-her-unfit" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">includes</a> a former industry lobbyist who worked previously for a power plant trade group tasked with repealing the EPA’s Clean Air Act rules.The EPA did not respond to a request for comment about whether Forsgren has signed an ethics waiver, and if he will recuse himself from any issues related to HBW or CEA advocacy.In recent months, the EPA’s Office of Water has been busy <a href="https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060048549?t=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eenews.net%2Fstories%2F1060048549" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">dealing</a> with the lead-poisoning water scandal in Flint, Michigan, as well as <a href="https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/office-water-feedback-reducing-regulatory-burden" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">complying</a> with President Trump’s executive order to help find “existing regulations that could be repealed, replaced or modified to make them less burdensome.”<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/11/13/epa-michael-dourson-nomination-republicans/">https://theintercept.com/2017/11/13/epa-michael-dourson-nomination-republicans/</a>MASSIVE CONFLICTS OF interest no longer stand in the way of confirmation to the Environmental Protection Agency’s highest posts, as Scott Pruitt, the EPA’s sworn enemy, demonstrated when he ascended to the agency’s top job. Last Thursday, the Senate confirmed a second highly conflicted EPA nominee, fossil fuel lobbyist <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/10/06/watch-a-top-epa-nominee-embarrass-himself-with-feigned-ignorance-of-basic-facts/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Bill Wehrum</a>, who will now oversee air pollution protections despite his clear record of working to undermine those very same protections. With only one Republican opposing Wehrum, the 49-47 vote was a reminder of how little Senate Republicans expect of those who are meant to protect us from environmental threats.Yet <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/10/03/epa-nominee-michael-dourson-toxic-chemicals/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Michael Dourson</a>, the industry scientist Trump nominated to head EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, may be unable to clear even this low bar. Though the Senate’s Environment and Public Works committee voted to advance Wehrum’s and Dourson’s nominations at the same <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/10/25/epa-michael-dourson-senate-vote/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">October 25 hearing</a>, only Wehrum’s advanced to the floor of the Senate, an indication that Republicans don’t yet have the votes to confirm Dourson.Resistance to his nomination is coming from red states that have been directly harmed by chemicals Dourson has defended on behalf of industry. The senators from West Virginia, for example, might have been expected to fall in line behind Dourson. But in a hearing last month, West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito questioned the nominee about his involvement with two chemicals that have affected her state: PFOA and MCHM, both of which, Capito said, had “very much touched the lives of my fellow West Virginians.” Capito, who didn’t respond to inquiries for this story, has yet to announce how she will vote.Dourson was responsible for <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/07/21/trumps-epa-chemical-safety-nominee-was-in-the-business-of-blessing-pollution/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">setting a state standard</a> for PFOA that was thousands of times higher than the EPA’s current safety level. His consulting company Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment also worked on MCHM, one of the chemicals that spilled into West Virginia’s Elk River in 2014, leaving some 300,000 people without drinking water.West Virginia’s other senator, Joe Manchin, <a href="https://www.manchin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/manchin-statement-on-epa-nominee-dourson-" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">announced</a> his intention to vote against Dourson last month. Though a Democrat, Manchin often votes with Republicans, but not this time. West Virginia is “unfortunately familiar with the dangers that can arise when we neglect to properly comply with and enforce our chemical regulations,” Manchin said in a statement.Dourson is also facing problems in another red state struggling with chemical contamination: North Carolina. While both Republican senators from the state voted for Pruitt and Wehrum, <a href="https://bnanews.bna.com/environment-and-energy/north-carolina-senators-decline-to-back-epa-nominee-dourson" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">neither</a> has committed to Dourson. The state is home to Camp Lejeune, the military base where TCE and other carcinogenic chemicals seeped into drinking water, leading to a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/17/health/cancer-can-be-tough-case-to-prove.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">cluster of cancer cases</a>. As retired Marine Jerry Ensminger <a href="http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article181973661.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">pointed out</a> in the Raleigh News and Observer, Dourson’s evaluation of TCE, which was paid for by the American Chemistry Council, calculated a safety level that was less protective than the one set by the EPA. Ensminger, whose daughter died of leukemia at Camp Lejeune, has called on his senators to oppose Dourson, whom he calls a “walking, talking example of conflict of interest.”North Carolina is also <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/06/17/new-teflon-toxin-found-in-north-carolina-drinking-water/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">ground zero</a> for <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/03/03/new-teflon-toxin-causes-cancer-in-lab-animals/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">GenX</a>, the latest in a family of chemicals known as PFAS to be found in drinking water. DuPont and its spinoff, Chemours, have dumped at least 1 million pounds of PFAS into North Carolina’s Cape Fear River since 1980. GenX and other PFAS are unregulated, which is limiting the state’s ability to clean it up.While he has stayed mum about whether he will vote for Dourson, North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr wrote to Pruitt on October 31, asking him to consider evaluating GenX and the entire class of chemicals to which it belongs, a step that could lead to regulation. <a href="https://insideepa.com/daily-news/hedging-toxics-nominee-burr-urges-pruitt-address-pfc-concerns" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Some</a> have suggested that Burr’s support for Dourson may be contingent on whether the EPA promises to help address his state’s water contamination problem. Burr’s office did not respond to inquiries for this story.In addition to these possible defectors, Maine Sen. Susan Collins is also expected to break with the Republican ranks to oppose Dourson. Collins was the only Republican senator to vote against both Pruitt and Wehrum.“Susan has been heroic in so many ways,” said Delaware’s Sen. Tom Carper, who has been leading the charge against Dourson in the Senate.Because Dourson has worked on behalf of industry to defend dozens of chemicals that have contaminated the water and air of Republicans, as well as Democrats, Carper hopes that some of Collins’s colleagues will join her this time.“We’ve heard from states around the country where lives have been lost because of exposure to toxic chemicals,” Carper told The Intercept.“I know some of our Republican colleagues don’t feel good about the votes they cast on the floor,” he said. “After casting votes for one troubling nominee after the other after the other, you reach a point where some of the Republicans will say, Enough already. No more.”=<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-employees-leaving-2519323571.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-employees-leaving-2519323571.html</a><div class="headline-container" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 10px;"><h1 class="headline h1" style="margin: 10px; padding: 0px; position: relative; line-height: 31px;">700+ Employees Have Left the EPA Under Trump: Loss of Scientists, Staffers Undermines Agency's Purpose</h1></div><div id="utm_campaign" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 10px;"><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url" data-elid="2519323571" data-authors="Lorraine Chow" data-headline="700+ Employees Have Left the EPA Under Trump: Loss of Scientists, Staffers Undermines Agency's Purpose" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body-description">Hundreds of people have quit, retired or taken buyouts from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa" style="text-decoration-line: none;">EPA</a>) ever since <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">President Trump</a> and his EPA head <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/scott-pruitt" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Scott Pruitt </a>took office.</div></div>That figure includes more than 200 scientists and 96 are environmental protection specialists that investigate important issues such as pollution levels, according to a new <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/22/climate/epa-buyouts-pruitt.html?r=0" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">report</a> from the New York Times and ProPublica. Others that have left include nine department directors and dozens of attorneys and program managers.“There has been a drop of employees of 770 between April and December. While several hundred of those are buyouts, the rest of those are either people that are retiring or quitting in disgust," Kyla Bennett, director of New England Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, told <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-employees-leaving-under-pruitt-11b36a220062/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">ThinkProgress</a> earlier this month. “Is that number higher than it would normally be? I think it is."Most of these positions will not be replaced, leaving the agency depleted of vital knowledge about protecting our environment and ultimately public health."Rolling back enforcement is very troubling—it essentially means that people are going to breathe dirtier air and drink dirtier water," Judith Enck, who served as Regional Director for EPA Region 2 during the Obama administration, explained to ThinkProgress.
The EPA had employed about 15,000 people at the end of President Obama's term.But President Trump has proposed a drastic 31 percent cut to the EPA's budget—the largest cut to any federal agency. In June, the EPA unveiled a buyout program in an overall effort to remove 3,200 positions from the EPA, roughly 20 percent of its workforce.“We're proud to report that we're reducing the size of government, protecting taxpayer dollars and staying true to our core mission of protecting the environment and American jobs," Pruitt <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-epa/epa-workforce-shrinking-to-reagan-era-levels-agency-official-idUSKCN1BH1LY" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">said</a> about the staff reduction program.Pruitt has been <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-epa-scott-pruitt-2182406074.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">criticized</a> by environmentalists for leading an agency he was actively trying to undermine as Oklahoma's former attorney general. The known <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/scott-pruitt-climate-change-2307785184.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">climate change denier</a> has close ties to the fossil fuel industry and has sued the EPA more than a dozen times over safeguards designed to protect the the country's air and water.Under his watch, the words climate" and "climate change" have been <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-climate-website-2498932391.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">removed</a> across several EPA websites. Pruitt has also issued rules that block anyone who receives an EPA grant from serving on science panels.This mass exit of staffers comes amid a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/15/us/politics/epa-scott-pruitt-foia.html" target="blank" style="text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;">New York Times</a> report that Republican campaign operatives were using the Freedom of Information Act to investigate agency employees critical of the Trump administration.<div class="around-the-web" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="around-the-webheadline" style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase;">RELATED ARTICLES AROUND THE WEB</div><ul class="around-the-weblist" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; list-style: none;"><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-under-siege-2444990496.html" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">50+ Interviews With EPA Staff: Trump Poses 'Greatest Threat' to ... ›</a></li><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/environmental-protection-network_us_593edf75e4b0c5a35ca2191f" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Former EPA Employees Are So Worried About Trump's Plans, They ... ›</a></li></ul></div><div>=</div><div><h1 class="widgetheadline h1" style="margin: 10px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer; word-wrap: break-word; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a class="widgetheadline-text custom-post-headline" href="https://www.ecowatch.com/syngenta-neonicotinoids-2518688773.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; line-height: 31px;">EPA Considers Allowing Bee-Killing Pesticide to Be Sprayed on 165 Million Acres of U.S. Farmland</a></h1><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url" data-elid="2518688773" data-authors="Center for Biological Diversity" data-headline="EPA Considers Allowing Bee-Killing Pesticide to Be Sprayed on 165 Million Acres of U.S. Farmland" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px;"><div class="body-description"><div class="widgetbrief">The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will consider allowing the bee-killing pesticide thiamethoxam to be sprayed on the most widely grown crops in the U.S. The <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0234-0001" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">application</a>, if approved, would allow the highly toxic pesticide to be sprayed directly on <a href="https://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/Acre/Acre-06-30-2017.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">165 million acres</a> of wheat, barley, corn, sorghum, alfalfa, rice and potato.The proposal by the agrochemical giant Syngenta to dramatically escalate use of the harmful neonicotinoid pesticide came last Friday, on the same day the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/neonicotinoid-pesticides-birds-2518407784.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">EPA released new assessments</a> of the extensive dangers posed by <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/neonicotinoids" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">neonicotinoids</a>, including thiamethoxam."If the EPA grants Syngenta's wish, it will spur catastrophic declines of aquatic invertebrates and pollinator populations that are already in serious trouble," said Lori Ann Burd, director of the <a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Center for Biological Diversity's</a> environmental health program. "You know the pesticide-approval process is broken when the EPA announces it will consider expanding the use of this dangerous pesticide on the same day its own scientists reveal that the chemical kills birds and aquatic invertebrates."Neonicotinoids have long been known to pose serious harm to bee populations. But the new EPA assessments found the commonly used <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">pesticides</a> can kill and harm birds of all sizes and pose significant dangers to aquatic invertebrates.Thiamethoxam is currently widely used as a seed coating for these crops. This application would allow it to be sprayed directly on the crops, greatly increasing the amount of pesticide that could be used.The just-released <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0581-0093" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">aquatic and non-pollinator risk assessment</a> found that the majority of uses of the neonicotinoid on currently registered crops resulted in risks to freshwater invertebrates that exceeded levels of concern—the threshold at which harm is known to occur.The EPA did not assess risks associated with spraying the pesticides on the crops it announced it was considering expanding use to on Friday. But it is likely that increasing the number of crops approved for spraying would dramatically increase that risk.In January the EPA released a <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0581-0034" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">preliminary assessment</a> of on-field exposures to thiamethoxam that found all uses of the pesticide—on foliar, soil and seeds—result in exposures that exceed the level of concern for acute and chronic risk to adult bees. But the agency has taken no steps to restrict use of these products and is now considering expanding their use.Despite growing scientific and public concern about neonicotinoids, the application for expanded use of thiamethoxam was not announced by the EPA but quietly posted in the Federal Register."For years the EPA and pesticide companies bragged that by using treated seeds they were avoiding spraying insecticides, and despite the science showing that these treated seeds were deadly to birds, claimed that they were environmentally beneficial," said Burd. "But we can expect the Trump EPA to now ignore the risks to birds and bees and approve these ultra-toxic pesticides to be sprayed across hundreds of millions of U.S. acres."Neonicotinoids are a class of <a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/pesticides_reduction/index.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">pesticides</a> known to have both acute and chronic effects on aquatic invertebrates, honeybees, birds, butterflies and other pollinator species; they are a major factor in overall pollinator declines. These systemic insecticides cause entire plants, including pollen and fruit, to become toxic to pollinators; they are also slow to break down and therefore <a href="http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3941#.VPTcRy4RRpj" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">build up in the environment</a>.A large and growing body of independent science links neonicotinoids to catastrophic bee declines. Twenty-nine independent scientists who conducted a global review of more than 1,000 independent studies on neonicotinoids found overwhelming evidence linking the pesticides to declines in populations of bees, birds, earthworms, butterflies and other wildlife.<div class="around-the-web" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="around-the-webheadline" style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase;">RELATED ARTICLES AROUND THE WEB</div><ul class="around-the-weblist" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; list-style: none;"><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/09/the-evidence-points-in-one-direction-we-must-ban-neonicotinoids" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px; word-wrap: break-word;">The evidence points in one direction – we must ban neonicotinoids ... ›</a></li><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/neonicotinoid-pesticides-birds-2518407784.html" class="around-the-web__link" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px; word-wrap: break-word;">EPA: Neonicotinoid Pesticides Pose Serious Risks to Birds, Aquatic ... ›</a></li></ul></div><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/syngenta-neonicotinoids-2518688773.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/syngenta-neonicotinoids-2518688773.html</a><div>
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</div><div><a href="http://prospect.org/article/scott-pruitt%E2%80%99s-dirty-war-clean-water">http://prospect.org/article/scott-pruitt%E2%80%99s-dirty-war-clean-water</a></div><div>
</div><div>This week, the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in a case that will determine how far the federal government can go in safeguarding American waterways. At issue are challenges to the Clean Water Rule that began working its way up to the high court two years ago.</div><div>
</div>Yet no matter what the Court decides, the Clean Water Rule’s days are almost certainly numbered as the Environmental Protection Agency finalizes a plan to kill the rule outright this fall. The agency has come under fire from scientists, environmental advocates, and state officials for moves related to its repeal crusade, including cutting back on public input, an ominous sign that flies in the face of past EPA practice.Scott Pruitt, the head of the EPA, has a personal stake in this battle royale: He helped lead the multi-state legal assault against the rule during his tenure as Oklahoma’s attorney general, which culminated in <a href="http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/national-association-of-manufacturers-v-department-of-defense/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color, 0.15s; text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 0.8;">National Association of Manufacturers v. Department of Defense</a>, the case currently before the high court. The case hinges on whether a federal appeals court had the authority to stay the rule in 2015.As Oklahoma’s top law enforcement officer, Pruitt repeatedly blocked Obama’s environmental agenda with multi-state lawsuits. Characterizing the water-protection rule as a federal land grab, Pruitt and another opponent, Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, once <a href="http://prospect.org/article/that%20does%20not%20bode%20well%20for%20transparency%20in%20government%20or%20American%20democracy." style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color, 0.15s; text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 0.8;">smeared it</a> as “the greatest threat to private property rights the modern era has ever seen.” The men went on to pledge a concerted campaign to kill the rule. “Failure is not an option,” they wrote.<div class="pullquote-large pullquote-right" style="margin: 22px 0px 20px 20px; padding: 0px 30px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 22px; vertical-align: baseline; float: right; width: 255.984px; text-align: center;">Since becoming President Trump’s top environmental official, Pruitt has taken dead aim at the Clean Water Rule.</div><span class="pullquote-right" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto; margin-left: 0px !important; float: none !important;">Since becoming President Trump’s top environmental official, Pruitt has taken dead aim at the Clean Water Rule.Whether or not Pruitt can finally kill the rule, his assault on the EPA’s rulemaking process and its ability to enforce basic environmental standards is unlikely to slow down. At risk are not just clean water protections, but the ability of citizens influence how regulations are crafted and enforced, threats that do not bode well for American democracy.“The degree of aggressiveness in the [Clean Water Rule] repeal effort is unprecedented,” says Jon Devine, senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Water Program. “It’s hard to identify an action that the previous administration took that this new administration isn’t trying to dismantle.”First passed in 1972, the Clean Water Act’s authority was intentionally broad. The act originally covered all water bodies with a “significant nexus,” or connection, to “navigable waters.” But during the George W. Bush years, a series of court cases dramatically curtailed that authority and left much of the act’s enforcement in legal limbo.The Clean Water Rule clarified which bodies of water fell under Clean Water Act protections and which did not. First proposed in 2014, the rule was designed to expand federal protections across 20 million acres of lakes, wetlands, and streams, along with drinking water for more than 117 million Americans. It would also help protect drinking water against contaminants like algal blooms, which last year posed a threat to water sources in <a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/08/29/491831451/poisonous-algae-blooms-threaten-people-ecosystems-across-u-s" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color, 0.15s; text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 0.8;">more than 20 states</a>.“There’s been a lot of confusion and inconsistency over what’s protected and what’s not,” says Jennifer Peters, water programs director at Clean Water Action. “The Clean Water Rule itself doesn’t require any new regulations. It just more clearly defines what’s protected.”Public input was a top priority when the EPA first proposed the new rule. While the rule was in the works, the agency gave state and local officials, environmental advocates, and private citizens 180 days to comment. Of the one million–plus comments the agency received, nearly 90 percent supported the policy.But the EPA under Trump has taken a very different approach to its responsibilities to the public. While most major regulatory proposals give people 60 days to contact the agency with comments, the Trump EPA allotted just 30 days for the Clean Water Rule repeal. That move prompted 22 Democratic senators to <a href="https://beyer.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=621" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color, 0.15s; text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 0.8;">demand</a> the EPA give the public 90 days to send in their views on the rule. Clean Water Action, the League of Conservation Voters, the Sierra Club, and other national and state advocacy groups also protested the new cutoff. The outcry produced a modest victory: The EPA finally agreed on a 60-day comment window.Yet Trump’s EPA has scheduled only ten hearings on the Clean Water Rule, with only one of them open to the public, and did not include environmental advocates at all. In a July “outreach” session in Orangeburg, South Carolina, Pruitt held a <a href="https://www.southcarolinaradionetwork.com/2017/07/25/epa-administrator-listens-complaints-waters-u-s-rule-orangeburg-county-stop/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color, 0.15s; text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 0.8;">closed-door meeting</a> with a group of farmers, developers, and utility company officials—the people who are enthusiastic about repeal. Pruitt told reporters after the meeting, “What we’re doing is hearing from folks in the states … not associations in Washington, D.C., not 501c(3)s and … other organizations which exist just to engage in advocacy.”If this conduct seems extreme, Pruitt’s allies in Congress were willing to go much further. In July, House lawmakers, including South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson, who attended the Orangeburg meeting, offered a proposal that would allow the agency to ignore public comments entirely and bar environmental groups from challenging the repeal in court. The plan did not get far, but it may signal a new Trump strategy in the push for deregulation. “It would be a remarkable action to remove the public from democratic decision-making,” says Michael Gerrard, a Columbia University environmental law professor.Unlike their Trump counterparts, Obama environmental officials made a concerted effort to engage farmers, business owners, and developers as well as scientists and environmental advocates about the Clean Water Rule. The EPA conducted hundreds of public meetings across the country and visited farms in nine states. Feedback from these meetings prompted officials to redefine which tributaries would be impacted by the rule and to clarify protections around floodplains and covered waterways.“Under the previous administration, we would have been invited to a meeting like [Orangeburg],” says Peters. “Clearly, we’re not the stakeholder group they’re interested in engaging with.”Perhaps that’s because environmental groups are particularly effective in organizing public opposition to dubious undertakings that pose environmental risks. People power played a critical role in the campaign to halt the Keystone XL pipeline project: Organizations like 350.org, Bold Nebraska, and the Sierra Club helped galvanize grassroots opposition. After federal officials conducted dozens of hearings and plowed through more than five million public comments, President Obama killed the pipeline in 2015. (The Trump administration later moved to revive the project.)“There are not many mechanisms by which the public can have input that affects rulemaking,” says Gerrard. Without public comments and hearings, “only the lobbyists and others wired into the process know what’s happening and can express their views.”During his tenure at Gardere & Wynne, a Tulsa law firm, in the 1990s, Page tried several cases for Pruitt. He claims that Pruitt, who was fresh out of law school and did not have much litigation experience, relied on him and others to try cases in court. Most of their work focused on patent law and product liability, and Page recalls that Pruitt didn’t have much interest in environmental law or regulation.NOT SURPRISINGLY, PRUITT HAS NEVER had much interest in protecting the health of waterways or ecosystems—or listening to the people who do. “Scott has no expertise in environmental matters,” says David Page, an environmental attorney with Leach & Sullivan in Duncan, Oklahoma, “other than what he learned from corporate donors.”That worldview shifted when Pruitt entered politics in 1998. As a state senator in Oklahoma, he chaired the Civil Justice Task Force of the Koch-connected American Legislative Exchange Council. He also <a href="https://www.followthemoney.org/entity-details?eid=6583668&default=candidate" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color, 0.15s; text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 0.8;">relied heavily</a> on campaign contributions from fossil fuel companies like Devon Energy, Chesapeake Energy, and Koch Industries.  <span class="pullquote-right" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto; margin-left: 0px !important; float: none !important;">“Some big states like California or Florida have similar units, but for a smaller state like Oklahoma it was very unique and it was very powerful,” says Page. “When you have a company as big as Tyson or Cargill, a typical city or county can’t stand up to a powerful entity like that.”Pruitt launched a full-fledged anti-environmental crusade when he became Oklahoma attorney general in 2010. He dismantled the Environmental Protection Unit, which defended state environmental laws. The move was a major blow for families and towns that were often at the mercy of the large agricultural and fossil fuel companies that dominate Oklahoma politics and pollute local communities.Under Pruitt, pending environmental cases ground to a halt, including a lawsuit against Tyson Foods and other large poultry companies over toxic pollution in Oklahoma’s Illinois River, a watershed designated as <a href="http://oces.okstate.edu/poultrywaste/oklahoma-regulations/files/GW%20Statewide%20Map.pdf" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color, 0.15s; text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 0.8;">highly vulnerable</a> to groundwater contamination. For years, hundreds of thousands of tons of chicken waste had been seeping into the watershed. To stop the pollution, the state sued the companies in federal district court in 2005.Page, then working for the state’s Environmental Protection Unit, spent five years preparing the case. When Pruitt took office, he made it clear he wouldn’t push for a resolution. Today, the case remains in legal limbo. Much like his Clean Water rule repeal effort, Pruitt’s slow-going in the Tyson case allowed him to sidestep the case’s legal and environmental merits, as well as his responsibility to enforce the law. “If you delay enforcement, it no longer has the opportunity to get back into the regulatory process,” Page explains. “That seemed to be a tactic, and it looks like he’s doing it in the same way now.”In July 2015, backed by corporate allies like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Home Builders, and the National Mining Association, Pruitt filed a lawsuit against the Clean Water Rule—one of 14 suits he filed against the EPA. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, each of these co-litigators in the Clean Water Rule lawsuit has been a major donor to the Republican Attorneys General Association. In 2016 alone, the Chamber of Commerce <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/527s/527cmtedetail_contribs.php?ein=464501717&cycle=2016" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color, 0.15s; text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 0.8;">donated</a> more than $1.3 million, making it the group’s second-largest benefactor.Repealing the Clean Water Rule has also been a major priority for the Business Roundtable, a conservative group of CEOs representing nearly two-dozen of America’s largest corporations. Within weeks of Trump’s inauguration, the group sent the administration a <a href="https://businessroundtable.org/sites/default/files/Regulations%20of%20Concern%20Letter%20and%20List%20170222.pdf" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color, 0.15s; text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 0.8;">letter</a>, calling on the new administration to rescind a number of Obama-era programs, including the Clean Water Rule. Tellingly, the Business Roundtable includes Exxon Mobil, JPMorgan, and AT&T—all <a href="https://www.followthemoney.org/entity-details?eid=6583668" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color, 0.15s; text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 0.8;">major donors</a> to Pruitt, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics.Pruitt’s lawsuit was part of a broader assault called the <a href="http://www.republicanags.com/rule_of_law_republican_ags_join_gop_election_wave" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color, 0.15s; text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 0.8;">Rule of Law</a> campaign, an alliance of conservative attorneys general that Pruitt helped found when he chaired the Republican Attorneys General Association. Likened to a “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy-firms-in-secretive-alliance-with-attorneys-general.html?r=0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color, 0.15s; text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 0.8;">large national law firm</a>,” the alliance filed lawsuits against a range of Obama-era initiatives including the Affordable Care Act and DACA. Though the Rule of Law campaign, Pruitt took dead aim at the EPA’s regulatory processes on everything from how agency experts review scientific data to how they estimate the costs of new regulations. The campaign <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/40428688/conservative-group-led-by-epa-chief-pruitt-received-dark-money-to-battle-environmental-regulations" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color, 0.15s; text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 0.8;">depends heavily</a> on dark-money sponsors like the Judicial Crisis Network and the <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/behind-the-curtain-exclusive-the-koch-brothers-secret-bank-096669" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color, 0.15s; text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 0.8;">Koch-connected</a> Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce for as much as 40 percent of its budget.A federal district judge <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/252140-judge-blocks-obamas-water-rule" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color, 0.15s; text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 0.8;">stayed the Clean Water Rule</a> just hours before it was to go into effect in August 2015, and a federal appeals court expanded the stay nationwide. The end result? Pruitt’s lawsuit had ensured that the Clean Water Rule was never fully enforced. Meanwhile, the Oklahoman’s aggressive record of undermining federal rulemaking prompted 13 former state environmental protection agency heads to <a href="http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/images/2017/01/Letter%20to%20EPW%201-16-17.pdf?ga=2.156792315.1359615055.1505150457-212449269.1485884011" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color, 0.15s; text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 0.8;">publicly oppose</a> his nomination as EPA administrator. “His record, particularly as a litigator against many EPA rules, causes us to question whether he … appropriately respects science-based decision making,” the former officials warned. “We fear that an EPA under Mr. Pruitt would undermine the rules that help to make sure that our state regulations are successful.” The Senate confirmed Pruitt in February.The warning proved prescient. In less than seven months, Pruitt has moved to delay or reverse not only the Clean Water Rule but more than 30 other environmental regulations on everything from landfill pollution limits to ozone smog standards to pesticide worker safety protections—a deregulatory assault unprecedented in the agency’s history. The EPA head has also reportedly <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/01/us/politics/trump-epa-chief-pruitt-regulations-climate-change.html?mcubz=3&r=0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color, 0.15s; text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 0.8;">shifted decision-making</a> away from the EPA’s career staff in favor of political appointees and outside lawyers, along with his former colleagues at the Republican Attorneys General Association.“Even under Bush, you didn’t see this aggressive attacking and rolling back of regulations,” says Peters. “This is new territory.”The irony is that this assault has created exactly the type of “regulatory uncertainty” Pruitt and his anti-government allies <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/feb/25/scott-pruitt-epa-cpac-climate-change-pollution-regulation" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color, 0.15s; text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 0.8;">love to rail against</a>. In attacking Obama-era regulations so aggressively, and with such flimsy legal authority, the EPA has made the regulatory environment too unpredictable. “Industry really has no idea what they can rely on in this atmosphere,” says Meleah Geertsma, a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “It seems to be hurting the people that Pruitt is trying to help. Industry lawyers have not been happy.”<span class="pullquote-right" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto; margin-left: 0px !important; float: none !important;">But even if the rule survives, it is still vulnerable to the severe budget cutbacks that the White House and Congress are hammering out.<span class="pullquote-right" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto; margin-left: 0px !important; float: none !important;"> In May, the Trump administration proposed slashing the EPA’s 2018 funding by 31 percent, a cutback one Democratic lawmaker called “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/06/27/on-capitol-hill-epa-chief-gets-an-earful-about-trumps-downright-offensive-budget-plan/?utm_term=.45f771ca11ed" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color, 0.15s; text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 0.8;">downright offensive</a>.” While the House budget plan does not go quite that far, the proposal would reduce the agency’s funding to its lowest level in more than a decade.The Trump administration is headed into murky legal waters as the Supreme Court considers the Clean Water Rule.If the court reverses the nationwide stay when it delivers its opinion next year and the rule goes into effect, environmental advocates say that the decision would demonstrate that the rule is not the great threat to private property and states’ rights that Pruitt and his allies have made it out to be. “They’re trying to push repeal through as fast as possible,” says Peters. “Clearly they’re on shaky ground.”Trump officials have <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0ahUKEwiCsYDj4ePWAhWB7iYKHfXEDZ4QFggpMAE&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fnews%2Fenergy-environment%2Fwp%2F2017%2F03%2F01%2Fwhite-house-proposes-cutting-epa-staff-by-one-fifth-eliminating-key-programs%2F&usg=AOvVaw2T9rYgEyCe4Jc65yA4T8aS" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color, 0.15s; text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 0.8;">promised</a> to return the agency to what they view as its primary mission: protecting “clean water, clean air, and other core responsibilities rather than activities that are not required by law.” Yet major budget cuts would directly affect the EPA’s ability to implement the regulations it is legally required to enforce. “The budget would be yet another major obstacle to effectively enforcing the Clean Water Act,” says Devine of the Natural Resources Defense Council. “It would be devastating.”Pruitt’s multi-pronged assault on the EPA not only threatens core environmental protections, but also the ability of citizens to impact how those protections are crafted and enforced. Whether or not the Clean Water Rule can survive, Pruitt’s destructive campaign against the EPA’s regulatory process ensures that the public is increasingly shut out.<div>=</div>swamp things see pruitt 3
<h4 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.2rem 0px 0.5rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Christian Palich</h4>Deputy associate administrator in the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations, EPAFormerly: lobbyist who was once president of the Ohio Coal Association<table id="dirty-deputies-table" class="display responsive dataTable no-footer dtr-inline" role="grid" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-spacing: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: thin solid grey; table-layout: initial; clear: both; width: 1240px; margin-top: 6px !important; margin-bottom: 6px !important; max-width: none !important;"><tbody style="box-sizing: border-box;"><tr role="row" class="even" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td tabindex="0" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 81.625px;">Nancy</td><td class="sorting_1" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 89.625px;">Beck</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 192.625px;">Environmental Protection Agency</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2017/04/trump-just-put-chemical-industy-hack-charge-assessing-chemicals-epa" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 156.625px;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancybbeck" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">American Chemistry Council</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="https://www.americanchemistry.com/Membership/MemberCompanies/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">ACC members include Exxon.</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;">
</td><td data-search="Exxon; oil and gas; fossil fueldata-order=" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 173.625px;">Exxon; oil and gas; fossil fuel</td></tr></tbody></table><table id="dirty-deputies-table" class="display responsive dataTable no-footer dtr-inline" role="grid" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-spacing: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: thin solid grey; table-layout: initial; clear: both; width: 1240px; margin-top: 6px !important; margin-bottom: 6px !important; max-width: none !important;"><tbody style="box-sizing: border-box;"><tr role="row" class="even" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td tabindex="0" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 81.625px;">Erik</td><td class="sorting_1" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 89.625px;">Baptist</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 193.625px;"><a href="https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/07/06/stories/1060056988" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Environmental Protection Agency</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-baptist-2378a22b/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Senior Deputy General Counsel</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 155.625px;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-baptist-2378a22b/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">American Petroleum Institute; Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; McDermott Will & Emery</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="http://www.api.org/about" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">The American Petroleum Institute is the only national trade association that represents all aspects of America's oil and natural gas industry</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;">
</td><td data-search="oil and gas; fossil fueldata-order=" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 173.625px;">oil and gas; fossil fuel</td></tr></tbody></table><table id="dirty-deputies-table" class="display responsive dataTable no-footer dtr-inline" role="grid" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-spacing: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: thin solid grey; table-layout: initial; clear: both; width: 1240px; margin-top: 6px !important; margin-bottom: 6px !important; max-width: none !important;"><tbody style="box-sizing: border-box;"><tr role="row" class="even" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td tabindex="0" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 81.625px;">Liz</td><td class="sorting_1" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 89.625px;">Bowman</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 192.625px;">Environmental Protection Agency</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/04/14/stories/1060053120" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Public Affairs</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 156.625px;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizsnyderbowman/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">American Chemistry Council</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="https://www.americanchemistry.com/Membership/MemberCompanies/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">ACC members include Exxon.</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;">
</td><td data-search="Exxon; oil and gas; fossil fueldata-order=" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 173.625px;">Exxon; oil and gas; fossil fuel</td></tr></tbody></table><table id="dirty-deputies-table" class="display responsive dataTable no-footer dtr-inline" role="grid" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-spacing: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: thin solid grey; table-layout: initial; clear: both; width: 1240px; margin-top: 6px !important; margin-bottom: 6px !important; max-width: none !important;"><tbody style="box-sizing: border-box;"><tr role="row" class="odd" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td tabindex="0" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 81.625px;">amantha</td><td class="sorting_1" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 89.625px;">Dravis</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 192.625px;">Environmental Protection Agency</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/about-associate-administrator-epas-office-policy" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Associate Administrator for Office of Policy</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 156.625px;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthadravis/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Rule of Law Defense Fund; Republican Attorneys General Association; Freedom Partners</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;">Freedom Partners is a Koch organization; RAGA received funding from the oil and gas industry.</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;">Dravis is the designated regulatory reform officer.</td><td data-search="Koch; oil and gas; fossil fueldata-order=" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 173.625px;">Koch; oil and gas; fossil fuel</td></tr></tbody></table><table id="dirty-deputies-table" class="display responsive dataTable no-footer dtr-inline" role="grid" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-spacing: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: thin solid grey; table-layout: initial; clear: both; width: 1240px; margin-top: 6px !important; margin-bottom: 6px !important; max-width: none !important;"><tbody style="box-sizing: border-box;"><tr role="row" class="odd" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td tabindex="0" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 81.625px;">Dennis Lee</td><td class="sorting_1" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 89.625px;">Forsgren</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 192.625px;"><a href="https://blog.asdwa.org/2017/06/23/epa-staff-up-moves-forward/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Environmental Protection Agency</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="https://blog.asdwa.org/2017/06/23/epa-staff-up-moves-forward/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 156.625px;"><a href="http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/politico-influence/2017/06/27/nonprofit-airs-ads-attacking-balch-bingham-221069" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">HBW Resources</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;">
</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/06/28/epas-new-water-safety-official-is-a-lobbyist-with-deep-ties-to-the-dakota-access-pipeline/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Was a lobbyist for HBW Resources, which staffed an advocacy group working on behalf of the Dakota Access Pipeline and offshore drilling projects</a></td><td data-search="oil and gas; former lobbyist; fossil fueldata-order=" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 173.625px;">oil and gas; former </td></tr></tbody></table><table id="dirty-deputies-table" class="display responsive dataTable no-footer dtr-inline" role="grid" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-spacing: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: thin solid grey; table-layout: initial; clear: both; width: 1240px; margin-top: 6px !important; margin-bottom: 6px !important; max-width: none !important;"><tbody style="box-sizing: border-box;"><tr role="row" class="even" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td tabindex="0" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 81.625px;">Amy</td><td class="sorting_1" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 89.625px;">Graham</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 192.625px;">Environmental Protection Agency</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-energy" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Deputy Associate Administrator for Public Engagement</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 156.625px;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-j-graham-5556a74b" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV); CRC Public Relations</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="http://www.crcpublicrelations.com/clients.aspx" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">CRC represents Koch-funded organizations and oil and gas companies.</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;">
</td><td data-search="Koch; oil and gas; fossil fueldata-order=" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 173.625px;">Koch; oil and gas; fossil fuel</td></tr></tbody></table><table id="dirty-deputies-table" class="display responsive dataTable no-footer dtr-inline" role="grid" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-spacing: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: thin solid grey; table-layout: initial; clear: both; width: 1240px; margin-top: 6px !important; margin-bottom: 6px !important; max-width: none !important;"><tbody style="box-sizing: border-box;"><tr role="row" class="even" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td tabindex="0" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 81.625px;">James</td><td class="sorting_1" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 89.625px;">Hewitt</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 192.625px;"><a href="https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/07/06/stories/1060056988" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Environmental Protection Agency</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ac360a1162381ecd6a554b8d1a824244ec688972d925559538c1b1b75bc2544de884b2fb3178adff8c6577e22636d2baf13ae9d82360c03" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Special Adviser for Public Affairs</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 156.625px;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-hewitt-91616968/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Dezenhall Resources, Ltd.; Republican National Committee</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2006-04-16/the-pit-bull-of-public-relations" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Dezenhall Resources clients included Enron executives; the firm was allegedly hired by ExxonMobile to incite the IRS to audit Greenpeace</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;">
</td><td data-search="oil and gas; fossil fueldata-order=" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 173.625px;">oil and gas; fossil fuel</td></tr><tr role="row" class="odd" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td tabindex="0" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 81.625px;">Millan</td><td class="sorting_1" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 89.625px;">Hupp</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 192.625px;">Environmental Protection Agency</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/millan-hupp-1998513a" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Deputy Director for Scheduling and Advance</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 156.625px;"><a href="http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_private_money_thats_after_trumps_public_infrastructure_20170702" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Liberty 2.0 PAC; Oklahoma Strong PAC; Pruitt Political Consultant</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;">Ran Liberty 2.0 PAC and Oklahoma Strong PAC, which accepted contributions from Murray Energy and other fossil fuel companies</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;">
</td><td data-search="coal; oil and gas; fossil fueldata-order=" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 173.625px;">coal; oil and gas; fossil fuel</td></tr></tbody></table><table id="dirty-deputies-table" class="display responsive dataTable no-footer dtr-inline" role="grid" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-spacing: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: thin solid grey; table-layout: initial; clear: both; width: 1240px; margin-top: 6px !important; margin-bottom: 6px !important; max-width: none !important;"><tbody style="box-sizing: border-box;"><tr role="row" class="odd" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td tabindex="0" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 81.625px;">Troy</td><td class="sorting_1" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 89.625px;">Lyons</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 192.625px;">Environmental Protection Agency</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/03/30/stories/1060052358" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Associate Administrator for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 156.625px;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/troy-lyons-735152b" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Hess Corporation; BP</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;">
</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;">
</td><td data-search="oil and gas; fossil fueldata-order=" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 173.625px;">oil and gas; fossil fuel</td></tr></tbody></table><table id="dirty-deputies-table" class="display responsive dataTable no-footer dtr-inline" role="grid" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-spacing: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: thin solid grey; table-layout: initial; clear: both; width: 1240px; margin-top: 6px !important; margin-bottom: 6px !important; max-width: none !important;"><tbody style="box-sizing: border-box;"><tr role="row" class="even" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td tabindex="0" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 81.625px;">Christian</td><td class="sorting_1" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 89.625px;">Palich</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 192.625px;">Environmental Protection Agency</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060054069" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 156.625px;"><a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060054069" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Ohio Coal Association</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;">
</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;">
</td><td data-search="coal; fossil fueldata-order=" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 173.625px;">coal; fossil fuel</td></tr></tbody></table><table id="dirty-deputies-table" class="display responsive dataTable no-footer dtr-inline" role="grid" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-spacing: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: thin solid grey; table-layout: initial; clear: both; width: 1240px; margin-top: 6px !important; margin-bottom: 6px !important; max-width: none !important;"><tbody style="box-sizing: border-box;"><tr role="row" class="even" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td tabindex="0" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 81.625px;">George</td><td class="sorting_1" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 89.625px;">Sugiyama</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 192.625px;">Environmental Protection Agency</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-sugiyama-32447751" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Deputy Associate Administrator for Policy</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 156.625px;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-sugiyama-32447751" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), Troutman Sanders</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="https://soprweb.senate.gov/index.cfm?event=getFilingDetails&filingID=F90EF5B5-3C39-4E9D-B9E3-8B3CCA00C69C&filingTypeID=51" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">At Troutman Sanders, Sugiyama lobbied for the National Mining Association.</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;">
</td><td data-search="coal; Inhofe; fossil fuel; Former lobbyistdata-order=" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 173.625px;">coal; Inhofe; fossil fuel; Former lobbyist</td></tr><tr role="row" class="odd" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td tabindex="0" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 81.625px;">Heather</td><td class="sorting_1" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 89.625px;">Swift</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 192.625px;"><a href="https://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2017/07/12/stories/1060057289" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Department of the Interior</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060049449" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Press Secretary</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 156.625px;"><a href="https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060049449" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT); DCI Group</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/03/11/former-koch-agents-fossil-fuel-industry-hired-guns-now-staffing-trumps-federal" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">DCI Group represented Exxon Mobil; U.S. Chamber of Commerce receives Koch funding.</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-welcomes-seven-new-hires" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Was a member of the Interior Beachhead Team; served as Zinke's congressional Communications Director and Deputy Campaign Manager</a></td><td data-search="Exxon; oil and gas; Koch; fossil fueldata-order=" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 173.625px;">Exxon; oil and gas; Koch; fossil fuel</td></tr><tr role="row" class="even" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td tabindex="0" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 81.625px;">Patrick</td><td class="sorting_1" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 89.625px;">Traylor</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 192.625px;">Environmental Protection Agency</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-traylor-b505b22b/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 156.625px;">Hogan Lovells</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="http://eba-net.org/node/474" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Clients included TransCanada, several electric utilities, Venture Global LNG, and two Koch subsidiaries</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="https://www.hoganlovells.com/en/patrick-traylor" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Helped secure permits to expand a coal mine on the Navajo Nation</a></td><td data-search="fossil fuels; coal; oil and gas; Kochdata-order=" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 173.625px;">fossil fuels; coal; oil and gas; Koch</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table id="dirty-deputies-table" class="display responsive dataTable no-footer dtr-inline" role="grid" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-spacing: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: thin solid grey; table-layout: initial; clear: both; width: 1240px; margin-top: 6px !important; margin-bottom: 6px !important; max-width: none !important;"><tbody style="box-sizing: border-box;"><tr role="row" class="even" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td class="sorting_1" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 89.625px;">bill Wehrum</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 192.625px;"><a href="http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/349882-trump-riles-dems-with-pick-for-powerful-epa-job" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Environmental Protection Agency</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/349882-trump-riles-dems-with-pick-for-powerful-epa-job" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 156.625px;"><a href="http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/349882-trump-riles-dems-with-pick-for-powerful-epa-job" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Hunton & Williams; Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation under George W. Bush</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/349882-trump-riles-dems-with-pick-for-powerful-epa-job" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Was a lawyer for the American Petroleum Institute, the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, the American Chemistry Council, and the National Association of Manufacturers</a></td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;"><a href="http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/349882-trump-riles-dems-with-pick-for-powerful-epa-job" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">"Wehrum has also expressed doubt that the EPA has the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, despite the Supreme Court’s 2007 Massachusetts v. EPA decision stating otherwise."</a></td><td data-search="oil and gas; fossil fueldata-order=" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 173.625px;">oil and gas; fossil fuel</td></tr><tr role="row" class="odd" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td tabindex="0" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 81.625px;">Andrew</td><td class="sorting_1" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 89.625px;">Wheeler</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 192.625px;">Environmental Protection Agency</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;">Nominee for Deputy Administrator</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 156.625px;">Lobbyist at Faegre Baker Daniels; Senator James Inhofe</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;">Clients include Murray Energy, a coal company</td><td style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 137.625px;">
</td><td data-search="Nominee; lobbyist; fossil fuel; coal; Inhofedata-order=" style="box-sizing: content-box; padding: 0.5rem; border: thin solid grey; vertical-align: bottom; width: 173.625px;">Nominee; lobbyist; fossil fuel; coal; Inhofe</td></tr></tbody></table>sen cli hawk defend cpp 11/17<div>=</div><div>omg</div><div>
</div><div><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-energy-sector-2501855523.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-energy-sector-2501855523.html</a></div><div>
</div><div><div class="headline-container" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h1 class="headline h1" style="margin: 10px; padding: 0px; position: relative; line-height: 31px;">Pruitt, Zinke and Perry Target Clean Air and Water Rules to Curb 'Burdens' on Energy Sector</h1></div><span class="js-scroll-trigger js--active" data-target="body" data-triggers="render-rebelbar" data-toggle-class="with-floating-shares" data-loaded="true" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div id="utm_campaign" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url" data-elid="2501855523" data-headline="Pruitt, Zinke and Perry Target Clean Air and Water Rules to Curb 'Burdens' on Energy Sector" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body-description">At a speech in North Dakota last month, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">President Trump</a> boasted that his administration is refocusing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa" style="text-decoration-line: none;">EPA</a>) to its "core mission: clean air and clean water.""That's what I want—clean air," he continued. "Think of it. We talk about the—I want beautiful clean air, and I want crystal-clean water, right? That's what we want."That statement—based on Trump's nine months of environmental rollbacks, from approving the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/dakota-access-pipeline" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Dakota Access</a>and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/keystone-xl" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Keystone</a> pipelines to gutting the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/clean-power-plan" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Clean Power Plan</a>—could not be further from the truth.In a shocking report from <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-environment-regulation/epa-to-review-how-clean-air-water-laws-affect-energy-sector-jobs-idUSKBN1CU38W?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Reuters</a>, EPA Administrator <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/scott-pruitt" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Scott Pruitt</a>, Energy Sec. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/rick-perry" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Rick Perry</a> and Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke have each announced separate steps on how they will carry out President Trump's <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-executive-order-weather-underground-2334907513.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">"energy independence" executive order</a> in March to ease regulatory burdens on energy development.One of the most environmentally consequential steps comes from Pruitt's EPA, which will try to pinpoint how the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/clean-air-act" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Clean Air Act</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/clean-water-act" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Clean Water Act</a> affects energy sectors jobs. (Earth to Mr. President: these landmark laws are designed to give us "clean air" and "crystal-clean water.")"We are working to curb unnecessary and duplicative regulatory burdens that do not serve the American people," Pruitt said in a statement.Here are the other steps that Trump's agencies will be taking to boost the energy sector, as detailed by Reuters:"The EPA will also create a task force to simplify the permit process for building new polluting facilities, weigh options to revamp national ambient air quality standards and launch a "smart sectors" program to engage with industries as it crafts regulations.

The Energy Department said it will focus on streamlining natural gas exports, review its national laboratory policies, review National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations for approving major infrastructure projects and reviewing the agency's popular household appliance standards program.The Interior Department submitted what it called an 'energy burdens' report to the president, which outlines some Obama-era regulations it has started to reverse or reform, or has plans to.This includes lifting the moratorium on coal leases on federal land, reviewing regulations on fracking on federal and tribal land, developing a five-year plan for offshore drilling and streamlining the federal leasing program and permitting process."While the administration claims that boosting jobs and the economy are the end goal, a new feature in <a href="http://time.com/4998279/company-man-in-washington/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">TIME</a>questions if Pruitt's actions—and Trump's by extension—are serving industry interests instead: 
"Since [Pruitt] took office, more than a dozen EPA regulations have been killed or put under review, from fuel-efficiency standards to regulations on the disposal of coal ash to restrictions on toxic metals like arsenic in waterways," the magazine noted. "Moreover, the Trump Administration has proposed slashing funding for the agency's law-enforcement branch, which identifies polluters under existing regulations."All this has aided businesses, propping up the declining coal industry, ensuring profit margins for chemical makers and reducing compliance costs for farmers. But the change has also weakened an agency designed to save lives."'They're trying to deconstruct and dismantle the basic protections,' says Mustafa Ali, a career EPA official who resigned in March after 24 years. 'They're creating situations where more folks are going to get sick, some folks are going to die, more folks are going to be put in harm's way.'"</div></div></div><div>=</div>=<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-climate-website-2498932391.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-climate-website-2498932391.html</a><div class="headline-container" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h1 class="headline h1" style="margin: 10px; padding: 0px; position: relative; line-height: 31px;">New EPA Climate Change Website Doesn't Mention 'Climate Change'</h1></div><div id="utm_campaign" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url" data-elid="2498932391" data-headline="New EPA Climate Change Website Doesn't Mention 'Climate Change'" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body-description">In the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Trump</a> administration's <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/fema-puerto-rico-2493700609.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">ongoing efforts</a> to pretend that <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change" style="text-decoration-line: none;">climate change</a> doesn't exist, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa" style="text-decoration-line: none;">EPA</a>) has made dramatic changes to a website catered to helping states, local and tribal governments learn about global warming and how prepare and respond to the impacts of our <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/september-warmest-record-2498158563.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">hot new world</a>, according to a new analysis from the watchdog group <a href="https://envirodatagov.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Environmental Data and Governance Initiative</a>(EDGI).As you can see in the screenshot above, the website site was previously titled "<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170413052024/https://www.epa.gov/statelocalclimate" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Climate and Energy Resources for State, Local, and Tribal Governments</a>." Now, it's called, "<a href="https://www.epa.gov/statelocalenergy" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Energy Resources for State, Local, and Tribal Governments</a>." Fifteen mentions of the term "climate change" were scrubbed from the original main page alone, and the old epa.gov/statelocalclimate URL even redirects to epa.gov/statelocalenergy.But that's not the only change—the old site consisted of about 380 pages of content, while the new site consists of about 175. The current website leaves out vital resources including information on how local governments can invest in clean energy, curb emissions and adapt to extreme weather conditions.
EDGI, which has been <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/energy-dept-rewrite-website-2372236613.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">closely tracking</a> changes to federal websites since President Trump took office, <a href="https://envirodatagov.org/epas-website-overhaul-continues/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">noted</a>that this is the first example of returned content since the EPA began <a href="https://envirodatagov.org/the-overhaul-of-epa-gov-has-already-begun/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">overhauling its climate change website</a> on April 28."Large portions of climate resources that were formerly found on the previous website have not been returned, and thus have ultimately been removed from the current EPA website (though many of these resources can still be found in the <a href="https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">January 19 snapshot of the EPA website</a>)," the organization explained. "The new website launch was done without an accompanying news release and the decision not to include particular climate resources was not explained."As EDGI pointed out, "The continued removal of Web content makes it more difficult for the public and for state, local, and tribal governments to access climate-related Web resources. Moreover, without clear notice from the EPA explaining its decision to remove information and resources, website users may be confused as to why the removals were necessary: was the removed content inaccurate or is there some other kind of justified change in priority or policy? This lack of transparency in the EPA's website overhaul process harms the public's understanding of our government's operations and is a concerning indicator for the possible future mishandling of Web resources to come."Gina McCarthy, former EPA administrator under President Obama, criticized the website overhaul."There is no more significant threat than climate change and it isn't just happening to people in far-off countries—it's happening to us," she said in a statement to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/climate/epa-climate-change.html?r=0" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">New York Times</a>. "It is beyond comprehension that EPA would ever purposely limit and remove access to information that communities need to save lives and property. Clearly, this was not a technical glitch, it was a planned shutdown."
The EPA did not respond to the Times' requests for comment on the EDGI report.</div></div><div class="headline-container" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h1 class="headline h1" style="margin: 10px; padding: 0px; position: relative; line-height: 31px;">Meet the 4 Horsemen of the EPA-pocalypse</h1></div><div id="utm_campaign" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url" data-elid="2487546138" data-headline="Meet the 4 Horsemen of the EPA-pocalypse" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px;"><div class="body-description" style="">By Mary Anne HittEvery week, another decision that endangers our families seems to come out of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/scott-pruitt" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Scott Pruitt's</a> and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Donald Trump's</a> U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa" style="text-decoration-line: none;">EPA</a>).The latest facepalm/outrage comes in the form of confirmation hearings that start this week for four completely unacceptable nominees to critical leadership positions at EPA.This Wednesday, Sep. 20, the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works will <a href="https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/hearings?ID=70C061F1-0A2F-446B-BDC8-662052AC0963" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">decide whether to confirm</a> Bill Wehrum to lead the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, David Ross as chief of the EPA's Office of Water, and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-chemical-safety-2484776932.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Michael Dourson</a> to head up the agency's chemical safety programs. Later this month, they will hold a hearing on the nomination of Andrew Wheeler as EPA's deputy administrator, the agency's second-in-command.We can thank EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt for these four horsemen of the EPA-pocalypse—four people who will gladly choose polluters over public health and clean air and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/drinking-water" style="text-decoration-line: none;">water</a> standards every time.Andrew Wheeler, who Pruitt has tapped for the number two spot at EPA, was <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/07/21/trump-to-tap-longtime-coal-lobbyist-for-epas-number-two-spot/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">described by the Washington Post</a> as a "longtime coal lobbyist" and has worked on behalf of a company which reportedly has <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/24/us/24murray.html?r=0" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">numerous environmental and worker safety</a> violations. Wheeler <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/andrew-wheeler-epa-deputy-2318403147.html" target="self" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;">has spent his career challenging vital life-saving environmental protections</a> that keep our air and water clean so that we can keep our families safe (I wrote <a href="http://www.sierraclub.org/compass/2017/07/another-fox-henhouse-coal-lobbyist-tapped-for-top-spot-trump-s-epa" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;">this post</a> about him earlier this summer). He also used to be an aide for outspoken <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-denier" style="text-decoration-line: none;">climate-denying</a> and corporate-polluter-loving senator, James Inhofe.Bill Wehrum, Pruitt's pick to head up the office in charge of enforcing the Clean Air Act and keeping your air safe to breathe, is a lobbyist who represents a host of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;">coal</a>, oil, gas, and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/chemicals" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;">chemical</a> companies, and was a former George W. Bush-era EPA official. If you recognize his name, it's because he was also nominated to this position in 2006—his nomination was withdrawn when he failed to earn support of the 60 Senators needed for confirmation.And while he's nominated to lead the EPA's air and radiation office, ironically enough, he's said that the Clean Air Act shouldn't apply to the carbon pollution that contributes to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">climate change</a> and superstorms like <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/hurricane-harvey" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Hurricane Harvey</a>. As my friend <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/where-will-bill-wehrum-trumps-latest-epa-nominee-take-us-clean-air" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">John Walke at NRDC put it</a>, Wehrum "is an industry lawyer who was largely responsible for the Bush EPA's record of violating the Clean Air Act more often, and allowing more illegal emissions of harmful <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/air-pollution" style="text-decoration-line: none;">air pollution</a>, than any EPA administration before or since."David Ross, nominated for for the top spot at the Office of Water, has sued the EPA many times related to its clean water safeguards in his work representing fossil fuel states like Wyoming, including challenging the Clean Water Rule and the Chesapeake Bay cleanup program (he lost the latter lawsuit, which the <a href="https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/07/27/stories/1060058019" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;">court called</a> "long on swagger, but short on specificity"). According to <a href="https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/07/27/stories/1060058019" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;">E&E News</a>, he "has represented states and industry in lawsuits against the agency—some of which were filed by then-Oklahoma Attorney General and now EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt."Finally, Michael Dourson is on deck to head up the EPA division that oversees the chemical industry, called the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. According to the <a href="https://www.edf.org/media/deep-concerns-over-nomination-industry-consultant-lead-toxics-program-epa" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;">Environmental Defense Fund</a>, "Dourson has extensive, longstanding ties to <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/20141219/one-stop-science-shop-has-become-favorite-industry%E2%80%94and-texas" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">the chemical industry (as well as earlier ties to the tobacco industry)</a>. He also has a history of failing to appropriately address his conflicts of interest." The first example they cite hits close to home for me as a West Virginian—they report he was the sole spokesperson for an expert panel studying the 2014 Elk River chemical spill but failed to disclose, until cornered by a reporter, that he had previously "done paid work for both of the companies that produced the chemicals involved in the spill."In addition, Dourson has spent much of his professional career writing studies that undermine existing science and concerns about toxic chemicals, and call for weaker regulations on chemicals like <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides" style="text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;">pesticides</a>. As our friends at the <a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/speakout/dourson" target="blank" style="text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;">United Farm Workers</a> explain, Dourson was paid by Dow Agrosciences to downplay concerns about a toxic pesticide and cast doubt on a Columbia University study linking exposure to it by pregnant women to irreversible neurodevelopmental problems in children—in other words, to hide the fact that the pesticide is dangerous to kids. As you may have heard, in a highly controversial move the EPA recently <a href="https://sierra.secure.force.com/actions/National?actionId=AR0085207&id=7010Z000001usLPQAY&data=2f3d8b232ed6d5fdff869520328611cbc055ad66dd2806da52b55069a8b6a516b8d7bb2226cd72c720a5afe276c6c58b&utm_medium=email&utm_source=sierraclub&utm_campaign=internationalclimate" target="blank" style="text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;">reversed restrictions on the use of this pesticide</a>, called <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/chlorpyrifos" style="text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;">chlorpyrifos</a>, shortly after meeting with officials from Dow.Senators shouldn't get fooled—Scott Pruitt has seized the EPA and is trying to install polluter lobbyists in key positions. We can't let dirty fuel lobbyists win—we need the Senate to draw the line and reject these nominations.Mary Anne Hitt is the director of the <a href="http://beyondcoal.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign</a>.</div></div><div>=</div><div><div class="headline-container" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h1 class="headline h1" style="margin: 10px; padding: 0px; position: relative; line-height: 31px;">White House Considers Green Rebrand</h1></div><div id="utm_campaign" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url" data-elid="2488285108" data-headline="White House Considers Green Rebrand" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px;"><div class="body-description">The White House convened a "big-picture" strategy meeting on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">climate</a> and environment this week, <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/21/white-house-trump-energy-environment-policy-strategy-242980" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Politico reported</a>.At the meeting, deputy-level White House officials and representatives from agencies discussed how to frame <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">President Trump's</a> larger environmental objectives beyond simply overturning Obama-era regulations. Per Politico, meeting attendees considered the possibility of highlighting job creation and new energy technology and "how to combat the public perception that the administration is out of touch with climate science."Worry over the administration's environmental PR problem extends beyond the White House: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is conducting mandatory anti-leaking trainings according to multiple reports this week. <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-epa-leaks/epa-trains-employees-on-leaks-presentation-shows-idUSKCN1BW31W" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Reuters reported</a> that an introductory slide for Wednesday's training read that releasing unauthorized information "harms our nation and shakes the confidence of the American people."For a deeper dive:WH meeting: <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/21/white-house-trump-energy-environment-policy-strategy-242980" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Politico</a>Leaking training: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-21/federal-employees-are-ordered-to-attend-anti-leaking-classes" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">AP</a>, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-epa-leaks/epa-trains-employees-on-leaks-presentation-shows-idUSKCN1BW31W" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Reuters</a>, <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/351742-epa-holds-anti-leaking-training-for-employees" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">the Hill</a>, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/federal-employees-ordered-to-attend-anti-leaking-classes/" target="_blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">CBS</a></div></div></div>

<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-toxic-waste-rule-2485171744.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-toxic-waste-rule-2485171744.html</a>

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<div>swamp thing: nb cf bannon chl rose  djt ban and only limited # ppl avail to fill posts</div>

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<div><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-chemical-safety-2484776932.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-chemical-safety-2484776932.html</a></div>

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For decades, a weak law left Americans at risk from toxic <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/chemicals" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">chemicals</a> in everyday products such as cleaners and fabrics. As a result, chemicals tied to infertility, learning disabilities and even <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/cancer" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">cancer</a> found their way into all our homes, schools and workplaces.

A turn-around looked likely in 2016 when Congress <a href="https://www.edf.org/blog/2016/06/07/3-things-know-about-most-important-new-environmental-law-decades" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">passed a strong, bipartisan law</a> to overhaul the Toxic Substances Control Act to better protect our health. The agency charged with carrying out the new law <a href="http://blogs.edf.org/health/2017/08/07/epas-announced-changes-to-new-chemicals-review-process-put-industry-demands-for-ready-market-access-above-public-health-protection/" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">hit the ground</a> running and was making good progress.

That is, until a new president was elected and new leadership took over the reins at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">EPA</a>).

The <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">Trump administration</a> first <a href="https://www.edf.org/blog/2017/05/10/conflicts-interest-taint-trumps-environmental-picks-top-7-examples" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">installed a top official</a> from the main chemical industry lobbying group to oversee changes to rules that will determine how chemicals are reviewed for safety. The changes she made could undermine efforts to protect us from harmful chemicals for many years to come, according to <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/22/trump-epa-energy-chemicals-clash-239875" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">Politico</a>.

The push to return America to its toxic past may now accelerate with Trump's subsequent nomination of Michael Dourson to run the EPA's entire chemical safety program.

Dourson has made a career as a hired gun for the chemical industry, helping clients play down concerns over toxic chemicals with known and potentially severe health effects.

Defended tobacco and Teflon

If confirmed to the top job at the EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, Dourson will be regulating his old industry friends. It's a pattern we keep seeing with Trump's administration as the president and his appointees turn the federal government's mission to protect public health on its head.

Dourson's paid work for industry goes back several decades and includes work he did for the <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/20141219/one-stop-science-shop-has-become-favorite-industry%E2%80%94and-texas" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">tobacco industry </a>in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Also on his resume is his work involving the "Teflon" chemical PFOA, which continues to affect <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/drinking-water" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">drinking water</a> in places such as West Virginia, Ohio, New York and Vermont. And he worked for the manufacturer of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/chlorpyrifos" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">controversial pesticide chlorpyrifos</a>, which Dourson defended and the Trump EPA decided not to ban despite expert calls to do so.

Dourson: Toxic toys? Kids should wash hands

Among other things, Dourson's company used industry money to develop and run a now-defunct website, "<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20161013022021/http:/kidschemicalsafety.org:80/health/" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">kidschemicalsafety.org</a>," with copy penned by staff from chemical industry consulting firms who sought to put chemical hazards "into context."

The website told parents, for example, that even water can be toxic at high exposure levels, "but few people would want to ban" water.

It also played down concerns about chemicals in products such as toys, shifting the burden to parents by suggesting they make sure to read labels, keep toys out of their children's mouths, and make sure kids wash their hands after playing.

His defense: Jesus hung out with shady people, too

Of course, none of Dourson's work will come as a shock to anyone who has followed industry tactics closely. Whether professional <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-denier" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">climate deniers</a> or <a href="http://blogs.edf.org/climate411/2017/04/03/putting-profits-over-our-childrens-health/" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">big tobacco</a>, manufacturing doubt is a well-known dark art.

The problem here is that if the Senate votes to confirm him, Dourson will speak from a government office.

Running the toxics office at the EPA is unlikely to change Dourson's outlook. After all, this is the man who defended his work for tobacco <a href="https://www.publicintegrity.org/2014/12/19/16546/one-stop-science-shop-has-become-favorite-industry-and-texas" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">to downplay concerns</a> about second-hand smoke by saying "Jesus hung out with prostitutes and tax collectors."

That logic may help Dourson sleep at night, but it won't provide much solace to those of us who were hoping the new law would do a better job protecting us from toxic chemicals.

Jack Pratt is the chemicals campaign director at <a href="https://www.edf.org/" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">Environmental Defense Fund</a>.

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<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-epa-grants-climate-research-2481822320.html" style=" text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-epa-grants-climate-research-2481822320.html</a>

<h1 class="headline h1" style=" margin: 10px; padding: 0px; position: relative; line-height: 31px;">Trump's EPA Can Now Veto Science Grants if They Mention Climate Change</h1>

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By Jake Johnson

In what environmentalists characterized as an "outrageous" scheme by the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/" style=" text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">Trump administration</a> to put "politics before science," the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now only issuing grants and awards if they are approved by a political appointee, the Washington Post's Juliet Eilperin <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/epa-now-requires-political-aides-sign-off-for-agency-awards-grant-applications/2017/09/04/2fd707a0-88fd-11e7-a94f-3139abce39f5_story.html" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">reported</a> on Monday.

John Konkus—a GOP operative who served as President Donald Trump's Leon County, Florida campaign chairman—now "reviews every award the agency gives out, along with every grant solicitation before it is issued," Eilperin noted.

She continued:

According to both career and political employees, Konkus has told staff that he is on the lookout for "the double C-word"—<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" style=" text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">climate change</a>—and repeatedly has instructed grant officers to eliminate references to the subject in solicitations.

Konkus, who officially works in the EPA's public affairs office, has canceled close to $2 million competitively awarded to universities and nonprofit organizations. Although his review has primarily affected Obama administration priorities, it is the heavily Republican state of Alaska that has undergone the most scrutiny so far.

Liz Bowman, an EPA spokeswoman, made clear in an interview with the Washington Post that the purpose behind having a political aide "screen" awards and grants has nothing to do with scientific merit.

Rather, Konkus's role is "ensure funding is in line with the agency's mission and policy priorities," Bowman said.

Given the Trump administration's moves during its first seven months in power—which include <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/06/01/destructive-fossil-fuel-puppet-trump-ditches-climate-deal-fact-free-speech" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">withdrawing</a> the U.S. from the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement" style=" text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">Paris climate accord</a> and dismantling <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/08/14/critics-condemn-trump-administrations-assault-americas-water-resources" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">regulations aimed at protecting</a> the air and water—environmentalists warned that the EPA's new standard for grants and awards essentially amounts to <a href="https://twitter.com/johnupton/status/905041913665003520" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">a ban on climate funding</a>.

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<div><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-job-cuts-2482556618.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-job-cuts-2482556618.html</a></div>

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<h1 class="headline h1" style=" margin: 10px; padding: 0px; position: relative; line-height: 31px;">Trump, Pruitt Slash EPA Staff to 30-Year Lows as Drinking Water, Climate Change Crises Mount</h1>

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By October of this year, the staff at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">EPA</a>) will be reduced to levels not seen since the Reagan administration, 30 years ago, according to a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/09/06/epa-under-trump-shrinks-to-near-reagan-era-staffing-levels/?utm_term=.63df8ecb7dc4" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">report</a> by Brady Dennis with the Washington Post.

The dramatic reduction in staff will almost certainly include career scientists and other staff who are often called into local communities where an environmental disaster is occurring, like Houston following Hurricane Harvey. These staffers also work on less urgent, but serious problems like the widespread <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/drinking-water" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">drinking water</a> contamination that impacts virtually every American....

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<div><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-ap-houston-2481736139.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-ap-houston-2481736139.html</a></div>

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">EPA</a>) directly attacked the Associated Press this weekend for accurate reporting around Houston's toxic cleanup.

An <a href="https://apnews.com/27796dd13b9549b0ac76aded58a15122" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">AP exclusive</a> posted Saturday reported that AP reporters had been able to access seven flooded Superfund sites in the Houston area, despite the EPA's claims that several of the sites were inaccessible to agency personnel.

In a <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-response-aps-misleading-story" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">news release</a> posted Sunday, the EPA personally blasted reporter Michael Biesecker for reporting an "incredibly misleading story ... from the comfort of Washington," citing a story Biesecker wrote earlier this summer on EPA Administrator <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/scott-pruitt" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">Scott Pruitt</a> that merited a later correction. The news release did not deny the AP's assertion that EPA personnel had not visited the sites in question, or note that reporter Jason Dearen, who shared the story's byline, was on the ground in Houston.

The agency would not confirm to Politico which staffer wrote the release.

"AP's exclusive story was the result of on the ground reporting at Superfund sites in and around Houston, as well as AP's strong knowledge of these sites and EPA practices," AP Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Sally Buzbee said in a statement Sunday.

"We object to the EPA's attempts to discredit that reporting by suggesting it was completed solely from 'the comforts of Washington' and stand by the work of both journalists who jointly reported and wrote the story."

As reported by <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-attacks-news-agency-reporter-for-coverage-of-flooded-texas-hazardous-waste-sites-33f6d0a4a17b/" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">ThinkProgress</a>:

"<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">President Donald Trump</a> is notorious for attacking individual reporters in his speeches and tweets as part of an effort to generate distrust of the news media among the American public. But it is very rare, if not unprecedented, for a federal agency to specifically target an individual reporter in a press release."

For a deeper dive:

<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/03/trump-epa-reporter-attacked-hurricane-242300" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">Politico</a>, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/epa-slams-reporter-over-story-on-flooded-toxic-waste-sites-in-houston/" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">CBS</a>, <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/09/epa-denies-houston-superfund-sites-being-neglected.html" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">NY Magazine</a>, <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/349094-ap-stands-by-report-after-epa-attack" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">The Hill</a>, <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/are-government-agencies-taking-their-lead-trump-and-going-after-journalists-659205" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">Newsweek</a>, <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/epa-lashes-out-at-associated-press-reporter-for-story-on-flooded-toxic-land-sites-in-texas/article/2633310" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">Washington Examiner</a>, <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-attacks-news-agency-reporter-for-coverage-of-flooded-texas-hazardous-waste-sites-33f6d0a4a17b/" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">ThinkProgress</a>, <a href="http://www.chron.com/technology/businessinsider/article/EPA-blasts-Associated-Press-journalist-over-12170978.php" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">Business Insider</a>

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<div>lobbyist hired to oversee water</div>

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Given how President Donald Trump has taken aim at the Environmental Protection Agency with regulatory rollbacks and deep proposed budget cuts, it may come as no surprise that the Office of Environmental Justice is on the chopping block.

This tiny corner of the EPA was established 24 years ago to advocate for minorities and the poor, populations most likely to face the consequences of pollution and least able to advocate for themselves.

It does so by acting as a middleman, connecting vulnerable communities with those who can help them. It heads a group that advises EPA officials about injustices and another that brings together representatives from other federal agencies and the White House to swap proposals.

When it works, all the talk leads to grants, policies and programs that change lives.

In the Arkwright and Forest Park communities in Spartanburg, South Carolina, residents were living near contaminated industrial sites and a landfill — and <a href="https://upstateforever.org/pdfs/old/newsletters/June%20%2703%20Newsletter/AReGenJun_03.htm" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">dying</a> of respiratory illnesses and cancer at extraordinary rates. They <a href="https://blog.epa.gov/blog/2014/08/a-dream-realized-community-driven-revitalization-in-spartanburg/" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">used</a> a $20,000 environmental justice grant from the EPA as seed money to form partnerships with local businesses and government agencies. Those alliances, in turn, helped bring more than $250 million in infrastructure, community health centers, affordable housing, environmental cleanups and job training to the area.

Trump’s budget proposal would effectively eliminate the office and the $2 million it takes to operate it. An EPA spokesperson suggested in a statement that the agency doesn’t need a special arm devoted to environmental justice to continue this work.

“Environmental justice is an important role for all our program offices, in addition to being a requirement in all rules EPA issues,” the statement said. “We will work with Congress to help develop and implement programs and continue to work within the Agency to evaluate new ideas to properly address environmental justice issues on an agency-wide basis.“

In theory, this is right. Federal agencies are required to consider the impacts of environmental and health-related decisions on the poor and minorities anyway — President Bill Clinton mandated they do so in an executive order. But, in practice, that order was vague and didn’t carry the force of law, leaving each president to decide how little, or how much, to do.

Now, with the Office of Environmental Justice’s fate in doubt, it’s become achingly apparent that well before Trump, those who purported to champion environmental justice — primarily Democratic legislators and presidents — did little to codify the progress and programs related to it, even when they were best positioned politically to do so.

“We haven’t done enough,” acknowledged Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey.

Booker and other Democrats are racing to file bills that save the Office of Environmental Justice and similar initiatives on an emergency basis, though they know they have little chance of success.

“There’s no time like the present for doing what is right,” Booker said. “We can’t wait.”

"First steps"

That’s when residents in the town of Afton in Warren County, North Carolina, mounted mass demonstrations against a landfill where the state planned to dump contaminated soil. The dirt was laced with toxins called polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs, a now-banned substance that even then, the EPA knew to <a href="https://www.epa.gov/pcbs/learn-about-polychlorinated-biphenyls-pcbs" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">cause</a> birth defects and potentially cancer.The concept of environmental justice began bubbling up toward the end of the civil rights movement. But it wasn’t until 1982 that it began to really take hold.

“We know why they picked us,” the Rev. Luther G. Brown, pastor of Coley Springs Baptist Church, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1982/10/11/as-in-the-60s-protesters-rally/47e2d0e3-8556-4d9f-8a77-8a78ab51ca61/?utm_term=.a9a8cc39d4de" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">said</a> at the time. “It’s because it’s a poor county — poor politically, poor in health, poor in education and because it’s mostly black. Nobody thought people like us would make a fuss.”

The protests and subsequent lawsuits didn’t stop the landfill; in the years since, the site has actually <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/fighting-environmental-racism-in-north-carolina" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">expanded</a>. But the uproar was enough to spark Congress’ attention.

In 1983, a government <a href="http://archive.gao.gov/d48t13/121648.pdf" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">report</a> found that three of the four landfills it examined were located in some of the region’s poorest or predominantly black communities. In 1987, a more expansive survey by the United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/16/us/race-bias-found-in-location-of-toxic-dumps.html?mcubz=2" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">found</a> that nationally, hazardous waste facilities were more likely to be located in predominantly minority communities.

“These were invisible problems in invisible communities until they organized themselves and started to have their own dialogue with EPA,” said Vernice Miller-Travis, a former member of the advisory council convened by the Office of Environmental Justice.

Pressure was mounting for the government to act.

In 1990, the EPA took a look at its policies, for the first time examining environmental risks through the lens of race and class. It issued a <a href="https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyNET.exe/40000JLA.txt?ZyActionD=ZyDocument&Client=EPA&Index=1991%20Thru%201994&Docs=&Query=&Time=&EndTime=&SearchMethod=1&TocRestrict=n&Toc=&TocEntry=&QField=&QFieldYear=&QFieldMonth=&QFieldDay=&UseQField=&IntQFieldOp=0&ExtQFieldOp=0&XmlQuery=&File=D%3A%5CZYFILES%5CINDEX%20DATA%5C91THRU94%5CTXT%5C00000005%5C40000JLA.txt&User=ANONYMOUS&Password=anonymous&SortMethod=h%7C-&MaximumDocuments=1&FuzzyDegree=0&ImageQuality=r105g16/r105g16/x150y150g16/i600&Display=hpfr&DefSeekPage=x&SearchBack=ZyActionL&Back=ZyActionS&BackDesc=Results%20page&MaximumPages=1&ZyEntry=1&slide" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">report</a> in 1992 that found that “EPA should give more explicit attention to environmental equity issues,” collect better data, revise its enforcement and permitting programs, and communicate more with communities of color.

It’s worth noting, this was a hot moment in American politics. President George H.W. Bush, a Republican, was defending his place in the White House against a young Democratic governor named Bill Clinton. The tenor of the debate was radically different from the most recent election; these candidates argued over who was a better environmentalist.

Bush announced the creation of the Office of Environmental Equity, which would evolve into today’s Office of Environmental Justice. Its purpose in the 1990s was the same as it is today: Listen to communities, get their concerns in front of policymakers, funnel grant money into local projects. “We have been negligent,” Clarice Gaylord, the office’s first director told the St. Petersburg Times. “Now we will have to focus more on how we affect people.”

Bush lost the election, but his replacement pushed forward on environmental justice, moving the mission beyond that one EPA office.

Clinton signed an executive order in 1994 requiring federal agencies to consider environmental justice in all of their policies. He established policies that would allow people the right to participate in decisions that impacted them and ordered an analysis of health and environmental impacts for projects seeking federal permits. He also declared environmental injustice a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act — the same law that sought to end segregation in schools. Now, communities could ask the EPA to investigate environmental discrimination. EPA could strip violators of funding until they got in line.

“I think it’s important for people to understand that this is a first step,” EPA Administrator Carol Browner said at the time. “There are many, many more steps to come if we are really going to address the problems that these communities are raising.”

In hindsight, this might have been the time to take additional steps.

For the first six years, lawyers were unclear on exactly how much power the executive order gave the EPA to enforce environmental justice via existing laws, like the Clean Air Act. A legal opinion eventually resolved that issue, but a broader problem remained: The executive order was more of a philosophical guide than a rigid list of requirements. Some have wondered, looking back, whether the language directing administrations to enforce environmental justice “to the greatest extent practicable” could have been stronger or more specific.

Those invested in environmental justice would soon learn just how much rode on the sitting president.

Fickle justice

George W. Bush didn’t approach environmental issues like his father.

In addition to walking back arsenic standards for drinking water and refusing to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, the younger Bush’s administration began to erode environmental justice programs.

Clinton’s executive order required every federal agency to consider the health and environmental impacts policies had on minority and low-income communities. Under Bush, the focus shifted to ensuring protections for “all people.” The EPA inspector general rebuked that position in a 2004 report, saying that reversing the emphasis on vulnerable communities had led to confusion, a lack of consistency and “return[ed] the Agency to pre-Executive Order status.”

In 2006, the inspector general found that the EPA wasn’t conducting environmental justice reviews of its policies and programs, nor had it developed a framework to do so. The EPA office charged with policing environmental discrimination ground to a halt, amassing a backlog that stretched for a <a href="https://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/08/11/17714/california-unsatisfying-settlement-pesticide-spraying" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">decade</a>.

The weakness of the executive order prompted Democratic legislators to sponsor bills almost every year to legally establish the advisory groups created under the executive order, force the EPA to abide by the IG report recommendations, and give citizens the right to sue under Title VI for environmental discrimination. The bills were often championed by Democratic heavyweights — Sens. John Kerry and Hillary Clinton, and Reps. Hilda Solis and Mark Udall — but even when Democrats held the most power in Congress, they never came close to passing.

“There’s not been an environmental justice bill that’s ever been put to a floor vote,” said Albert Huang, director of environmental justice at the National Resources Defense Council.

“Politically, it’s a very attractive issue to introduce legislation around because it threads so many needles: civil rights, environment, social justice, low-income — so many issues,” said Huang. “But for those same reasons, it’s a lightning rod for moderates and conservatives because those issues are viewed as the most progressive and liberal of each of those topics.”

By 2007, it was becoming clear that the promise of environmental justice was stalled. The United Church of Christ <a href="http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/unitedchurchofchrist/legacy_url/7987/toxic-wastes-and-race-at-twenty-1987-2007.pdf?1418432785" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">updated</a> its toxic waste report and found that 20 years later, little had changed.

Then, Barack Obama was elected. He’d promised in his campaign to “resurrect” civic environmental responsibility and to prioritize remediation efforts in “neglected communities so that living daily with extreme environmental pollution and health risks will be a condition of the past.”

His administration raised the profile of the Office of Environmental Justice, audited the Office of Civil Rights and eliminated a backlog of cases against polluters (though it drew <a href="https://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/08/03/17668/environmental-racism-persists-and-epa-one-reason-why" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">criticism</a> from those who said it hadn’t done enough).

It also took a laundry list of other incremental steps: developed strategic plans for environmental justice and enforcing civil rights, issued a case-resolution manual to guide investigations, and created a compliance toolkit to help state agencies stay within the bounds of the law. The administration added a senior adviser for environmental justice, who participated in high-level meetings at the EPA and advocated for vulnerable communities in major budget and policy decisions.

But the Obama years also featured plenty of missed opportunities.

Talia Buford covers disparities in environmental impacts for ProPublica.

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<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-teams-rolling-back-regulations-led-by-hires-with-deep-industry-ties">https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-teams-rolling-back-regulations-led-by-hires-with-deep-industry-ties</a>

President Trump entered office pledging to cut red tape, and within weeks, he ordered his administration to assemble teams to aggressively scale back government regulations.

But the effort — a signature theme in Trump’s populist campaign for the White House — is being conducted in large part out of public view and often by political appointees with deep industry ties and potential conflicts.

Most government agencies have declined to disclose information about their deregulation teams. But ProPublica and The New York Times identified 71 appointees, including 28 with potential conflicts, through interviews, public records and documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

Some appointees are reviewing rules their previous employers sought to weaken or kill, and at least two may be positioned to profit if certain regulations are undone.

The appointees include lawyers who have represented businesses in cases against government regulators, staff members of political dark money groups, employees of industry-funded organizations opposed to environmental rules and at least three people who were registered to lobby the agencies they now work for.

At the Education Department alone, two members of the deregulation team were most recently employed by pro-charter advocacy groups or operators, and one appointee was an executive handling regulatory issues at a for-profit college operator.

So far, the process has been scattershot. Some agencies have been soliciting public feedback, while others refuse even to disclose who is in charge of the review. In many cases, responses to public records requests have been denied, delayed or severely redacted.

The Interior Department has not disclosed the correspondence and calendars for its team. But a review of more than 1,300 pages of handwritten sign-in sheets for guests visiting the agency’s headquarters in Washington found that appointees had met regularly with industry representatives.

Over a four-month period, from February through May, at least 58 representatives of the oil and gas industry signed their names on the agency’s visitor logs before meeting with appointees.

The EPA also rejected requests to release the appointment calendar of the official leading its team — a former top executive for an industry-funded political group — even as she met privately with industry representatives.

And the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security provided the titles for most appointees to their review teams, but not names.

Meghan Burris, a spokeswoman there, said: “As previous administrations have recognized, it’s good government to periodically reassess existing regulations. Past regulatory review efforts, however, have not taken a consistent enough look at regulations on the books.”When asked for comment about the activities of the deregulation teams, the White House referred reporters to the Office of Management and Budget.

With billions of dollars at stake in the push to deregulate, corporations and other industry groups are hiring lawyers, lobbyists and economists to help navigate this new avenue for influence. Getting to the front of the line is crucial, as it can take years to effect regulatory changes.

“Competition will be fierce,” the law firm Clark Hill, which represents businesses pitching the Environmental Protection Agency, said in a marketing memo. “In all likelihood, interested parties will need to develop a multi-pronged strategy to expand support and win pre-eminence over competing regulatory rollback candidates.”

Jane Luxton, a lawyer at the firm, said she advised clients to pay for economic and legal analyses that government agencies, short on staff, could use to expedite changes. She declined to identify the clients.

“You may say this is an agency’s job, but the agencies are totally overloaded,” Luxton said.

On a cloudy, humid day in March, Laura Peterson, a top lobbyist for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/31/business/scientists-loved-and-loathed-by-syngenta-an-agrochemical-giant.html" style=" margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; position: relative; line-height: 1; text-decoration-line: none;">Syngenta</a>, arrived at the headquarters for the Interior Department. She looped the letter “L” across the agency’s sign-in sheet.

Her company, a top pesticide maker based in Switzerland, had spent eight years and millions of dollars lobbying the Obama administration on environmental rules, with limited success.

But Peterson had an in with the new administration.

Scott Cameron, newly installed at the Interior Department and a member of its deregulation team, had just left a nonprofit he had founded. He had advocated getting pesticides approved and out to market faster. His group counted Syngenta as a financial partner.

The meeting with Peterson was one of the first Cameron took as a new government official.

Neither side would reveal what was discussed. “I’m not sure that’s reporting information I have to give you,” Peterson said.

But lobbying records offered clues.

Syngenta has been one of several pesticide manufacturers pushing for changes to the Endangered Species Act. When federal agencies take actions that may jeopardize endangered animals or plants, they are generally supposed to consult with the Interior Department, which could raise objections.

For decades, the EPA largely ignored this provision when approving new pesticides. But recently, a legal challenge from environmental groups forced its hand — a change that affected Syngenta.

Pesticide lobbyists have been working behind the scenes at agencies and on Capitol Hill to change the provision. Companies have argued that they should be exempt from consulting with the Interior Department because they already undergo EPA approval.

Along with spending millions of dollars on lobbying, they have funded advocacy groups aligned with their cause. Cameron’s nonprofit, the Reduce Risks From Invasive Species Coalition, was one such group for Syngenta.

The organization says on its website that its goals include reducing “the regulatory burden of the Endangered Species Act on American society by addressing invasive species.” One way to do that is to use pesticides. The nonprofit’s mission includes creating “business opportunities for commercial products and services used to control invasive species.”

Because donations are not publicly reported, it is unclear how much Syngenta has contributed to Cameron’s organization, but his group has called the pesticide company one of its “<a href="https://www.rrisc.org/featured/rrisc-holds-its-second-annual-congressional-reception-and-awards-ceremony/" style=" background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: relative; line-height: 1; text-decoration-line: none;">generous sponsors</a>.”

Cameron also served on a committee of experts and stakeholders, including Syngenta, that advised the federal government on decisions related to invasive species. At a committee event last July, he said that one of his priorities was “getting biocontrol agents to market faster,” according to meeting minutes.

Paul Minehart, a Syngenta spokesman, said: “Employees regularly engage with those in government that relate to agriculture and our business. Our purpose is to balance serving the public health and environment with enabling farmers’ access to innovation.”

A spokeswoman for the Interior Department did not respond to questions about how Cameron’s relationship with Syngenta might influence his review of regulations.

Under the law, members of the Trump administration can seek ethics waivers to work on issues that overlap with their past business careers. They can also formally recuse themselves when potential conflicts arise.

In many cases, the administration has refused to say whether appointees to Trump’s deregulation teams have done either.

One such appointee is Samantha Dravis, the chairwoman of the deregulation team at the EPA, who was a top official at the Republican Attorneys General Association. Dravis was also president of the Rule of Law Defense Fund, which brought together energy companies and Republican attorneys general to file lawsuits against the federal government over Obama-era environmental regulations.

The Republican association’s work <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy-firms-in-secretive-alliance-with-attorneys-general.html?_r=0" style=" margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent; position: relative; line-height: 1; text-decoration-line: none;">has been criticized</a> as a vehicle for corporate donors to gain the credibility and expertise of state attorneys general in fighting federal regulations. Donors include the American Petroleum Institute, the energy company ConocoPhillips and the coal giant Alpha Natural Resources.

The Republican association also received funding from Freedom Partners, backed by the conservative billionaires Charles G. and David H. Koch. Dravis worked for that group as well, which recently identified <a href="http://freedompartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/removing_barriers.pdf" style=" margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent; position: relative; line-height: 1; text-decoration-line: none;">regulations it wants eliminated</a>. Among them are EPA rules relating to clean-water protections and restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions.

Liz Bowman, an EPA spokeswoman, declined to say whether Dravis had recused herself from issues dealing with previous employers or their backers, or had discussed regulations with any of them.

“As you will find when you receive Samantha’s calendar, she has met with a range of stakeholders, including nonprofits, industry groups and others, on a wide range of issues,” Bowman said.

Bowman said the calendar could be obtained through a public records request. ProPublica and The Times had already filed a request for records including calendars, but the agency’s response did not include those documents. (An appeal was filed, but the calendar has not yet been released.)

“We take our ethics responsibilities seriously,” Bowman said. “All political staff have had an ethics briefing and know their obligations.”

Addressing the agency’s regulatory efforts, she said, “We are here to enact a positive environmental agenda that provides real results to the American people, without unnecessarily hamstringing our economy.”

At the Agriculture Department, the only known appointee to the deregulation team is Rebeckah Adcock. She previously lobbied the department as a top executive both at CropLife America, a trade association for pesticide makers, and the American Farm Bureau Federation, a trade group for farmers.

The department deals with many issues involving farmers, including crop insurance and land conservation rules, but it would not disclose whether Adcock had recused herself from discussions affecting her past employers....

Another recusal involves Byron Brown, an EPA appointee who is married to a senior government affairs manager for the Hess Corporation, the oil and gas company.

Hess was fined and ordered to spend more than $45 million on pollution controls by the EPA during the Obama administration because of alleged Clean Air Act violations at its refinery in Port Reading, N.J. Disclosure records show that Brown’s wife, Lesley Schaaff, lobbied the EPA last year on behalf of the company.

An EPA spokeswoman declined to say whether Brown or Schaaff owned Hess stock, though an agency ethics official said Brown had recused himself from evaluating regulations affecting the company.

The agency declined to say whether Brown would also recuse himself from issues affecting the American Petroleum Institute, where his wife’s company is a member. The association has lobbied to ease Obama-era natural gas rules, complaining in a recent letter to Brown’s team about an “unprecedented level of federal regulatory actions targeting our industry.”

Before being selected to lead the deregulation team at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Maren Kasper was a director at Roofstock, an online marketplace for investors in single-family rental properties. Financial disclosure records show Kasper owned a stake in the company worth up to $50,000.

...

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<div><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/26/us/politics/epa-official-pressured-scientist-on-congressional-testimony-emails-show.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/26/us/politics/epa-official-pressured-scientist-on-congressional-testimony-emails-show.html</a></div>

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<p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="241" data-total-count="241" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" max-width="max-width" none="none" width="width" px="px" style=" margin: 0px 0px 1em 75px; line-height: 1.625rem;">The <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/e/environmental_protection_agency/index.html?inline=nyt-org" title="More articles about the Environmental Protection Agency." class="meta-org">Environmental Protection Agency</a>’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 the House Science Committee on the role of states in environmental policy when Ryan Jackson, the E.P.A.’s chief of staff, asked her to stick to the agency’s “talking points” on the dismissals of several members of the scientific board.

“I was stunned that he was pushing me to ‘correct’ something in my testimony,” said Dr. Swackhamer, a retired University of Minnesota professor. “I was factual, and he was not. I felt bullied.”

Dr. Swackhamer’s testimony came two weeks after the dismissals, which were met with fierce pushback from a scientific community that saw it as evidence that the Trump administration is seeking to weaken the role of academic science in environmental policy. That criticism has sharpened in recent weeks, after the E.P.A. administrator, Scott Pruitt, and the energy secretary, Rick Perry, openly questioned the established science of human-caused <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/topics/globalwarming/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="Recent and archival news about global warming." class="meta-classifier" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" color="color" rgb="rgb" style=" font-family: georgia,;">climate change</a>, and as the E.P.A. has taken down websites about climate change. Scientists have also expressed concern that Mr. Pruitt has staffed his senior offices with several former senior staff members of Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, a prominent <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/02/26/jim-inhofes-snowball-has-disproven-climate-change-once-and-for-all/?utm_term=.5d13038ff105" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" color="color" rgb="rgb" style=" font-family: georgia,;">denier of human-caused climate change</a>. Mr. Jackson also came from Mr. Inhofe’s staff.

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<p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="473" data-total-count="2087" id="story-continues-3" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" max-width="max-width" none="none" width="width" px="px" style=" margin: 0px 0px 1em 75px; line-height: 1.625rem;">Among other requests in his May 22 emails, Mr. Jackson asked Dr. Swackhamer to note that “a decision had not yet been made” about whether to dismiss her colleagues on the agency’s scientific review board. However, at that time, several scientists on the board had already received notices that their terms would not be renewed. Since that testimony, the E.P.A. has sent out dozens more notices to academic scientists that their terms on the board will not be renewed.

“The Board of Scientific Counselors had 68 members two months ago. It will have 11 come Sept. 1,” Dr. Swackhamer said. “They’ve essentially suspended scientific activities by ending these terms. We have no meetings scheduled, no bodies to do the work.”

<h2 class="visually-hidden" id="newsletter-promo-heading" style=" line-height: 1.375rem; margin: -1px; position: absolute; width: 1px; height: 1px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; clip: rect(0px 0px 0px 0px); overflow: hidden;">Newsletter Sign Up</h2>

<a class="visually-hidden skip-to-text-link" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/26/us/politics/epa-official-pressured-scientist-on-congressional-testimony-emails-show.html#continues-post-newsletter" style=" position: absolute; width: 1px; height: 1px; margin: -1px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; clip: rect(0px 0px 0px 0px); overflow: hidden; text-decoration-line: none;">Continue reading the main sto</a></div>

<p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="265" data-total-count="2614" times="times" new="new" roman="roman" serif="serif" max-width="max-width" none="none" width="width" px="px" style=" margin: 0px 0px 1em 75px; line-height: 1.625rem;">James Thurber, the founder and former director of the <a href="http://www.american.edu/spa/ccps/">Center for Congressional Studies</a> at American University, said he had never heard of an administration pressuring a witness, particularly a scientist, to alter testimony already submitted for the official record.

“It’s shocking and insulting to be told before you go in to alter your testimony to what the administration wants,” he said. “This just shows a certain amount of amateurishness about how these hearings work. They’re supposed to be places where you get objective views. You don’t go around telling people what to say.”

Mr. Jackson and the E.P.A. communications office did not respond to emailed questions about Mr. Jackson’s communications with Dr. Swackhamer.

Representative Lamar Smith of Texas, the chairman of the committee, dismissed the accusations.

“It’s disappointing that the minority is politicizing what seems to be nothing more than a federal agency making sure that information provided to Congress is accurate,” he said in a statement. “Dr. Swackhamer and the Minority have repeatedly stated that she was testifying in her personal capacity and not in connection with her role as chair of the E.P.A. Board of Scientific Counselors. However, it is clear that the Minority invited her in an attempt to hijack the stated purpose of the Committee’s hearing on states’ role in E.P.A. rulemaking and shift the focus to recent E.P.A. actions involving the” Board of Scientific Counselors.

“Any attempt by E.P.A. to ensure that what Congress heard in testimony about official E.P.A. matters included the full breadth of information seems entirely appropriate,” Mr. Smith continued. “Unfortunately, the Minority has made the choice to waste taxpayer dollars as part of a politically motivated agenda.”

Dr. Swackhamer said she had already submitted her testimony to the congressional committee by the time she received Mr. Jackson’s email. She had also told the Science Committee and the E.P.A. that she planned to speak in her role as an independent scientist rather than an E.P.A. employee, and that she would make this plain at the outset of her testimony.

Dr. Swackhamer made her emails with Mr. Jackson available to the committee’s Democrats. On Monday, the panel’s Democrats, led by the ranking member, Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, sent a letter to Mr. Pruitt expressing concern that Mr. Jackson’s attempt to shape Dr. Swackhamer’s testimony may have been improper or even illegal. The Democrats requested that the agency’s inspector general investigate the matter.

“We contend that Mr. Jackson, and perhaps other senior E.P.A. employees, attempted to interfere with the testimony of an independent scientist to the Science Committee and may have sought to mislead Congress,” they wrote

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<h1 class="headline ">Ex-staffer: Climate website removal 'declaration of war'</h1>

<section class="byline"><time datetime="2017-06-26 07:50:51 -0400">Published: Monday, June 26, 2017</time></section>

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U.S. EPA's decision to scrap its climate change website amounts to "a declaration of war," according to one of the scientists who managed the site for more than five years.

Jason Samenow, who worked at the agency before becoming The Washington Post's weather editor, wrote in the Post that EPA's site lasted through 20 years of both Republican and Democratic administrations because it mirrored findings from the mainstream scientific community, including the government's own researchers.

"Yet [EPA Administrator Scott] Pruitt, a lawyer who has spent much of his career fighting climate change mitigation efforts, decided that he knows more than the thousands of scientists whose decades of work support this conclusion," Samenow wrote.

The agency has said it's "updating" the site but hasn't offered a timetable for doing so. It has archived the site without replacing it, though some cities are now hosting the information on their own sites (<a href="https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060056321/">Climatewire</a>, June 21).

President George W. Bush's staff severely limited any updates to the site, he wrote, but Pruitt's meddling is more drastic and "spiteful, as if he simply couldn't abide knowing that the agency he leads was publishing information he doesn't believe."

He continued: "Pruitt may not accept mainstream climate science conclusions, but if he wanted to promote his alternative views, a much more defensible and transparent action would have been to leave the site up while posting his perspective as well. Instead, one of the world's best climate science sites has vanished" (Jason Samenow, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/i-worked-on-the-epas-climate-change-website-its-removal-is-a-declaration-of-war/2017/06/22/735f0858-5697-11e7-a204-ad706461fa4f_story.html">Washington Post</a>, June 22). — AAA

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The presidential transition team for U.S. EPA included members whose identities have not been officially disclosed, including one who said yesterday that candidate Donald Trump's call for abolishing the agency "struck a chord with me."

The transition did not <a href="https://greatagain.gov/agency-landing-teams-54916f71f462#.55i0sjmrg" style=" background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-weight: bold;">list</a> the unknown aides among nine "landing team" members who conducted interviews with EPA employees.

They were part of the broader "action team" responsible for producing an "action plan" for the agency, Myron Ebell, who headed the transition effort, said in an email exchange yesterday with E&E News.

Ebell declined to name those extra members, saying he considers their identities confidential unless they choose to disclose their involvement.

"So I had been working on plans for fixing EPA, and it's a dream come true after fighting EPA for 25 years," Milloy said. "I think you're starting to see the fruits of that."At least one participant has been happy to reveal himself. Steve Milloy, an attorney and longtime legal foe of EPA, highlights his role on his Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/JunkScience" style=" background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-weight: bold;">biography</a> and noted it again yesterday during a panel discussion at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

Milloy, a fierce critic of mainstream climate science who runs the website JunkScience.com, has been involved in repeated legal challenges against EPA.

A 2012 lawsuit, for example, likened tests exposing people to diesel engine particulate emissions to medical experiments performed in Nazi concentration camps.

Another from last year sought to disband an EPA particulate matter review panel on grounds that most of its members had received grant funding and were thus biased in favor of the agency's position on stricter regulation. Both suits were unsuccessful.

In an interview late yesterday, Milloy also declined to list the other undisclosed members of the transition team or say how many there were.

Legally, only those who go into EPA offices have to be identified, he said, and that's primarily to let the agency know who they are.

Trump has consistently made EPA a target, at one point last year suggesting the agency could be eliminated. That "struck a chord with me," Milloy said at yesterday's CPAC event.

<h3 style=" background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">'Concerning'</h3>

The Trump transition team's approach differed from that taken by the incoming Obama administration eight years ago, said Bob Sussman, who co-chaired the EPA team at the time and went on to serve as the agency's senior policy counsel.

The Obama team revealed all of the approximately 15 EPA transition members, in part to let the public gauge whether there were any conflicts of interest, Sussman said in a phone interview today. There was no distinction between the "landing team" and a broader "action team," he said.

The Obama transition team produced a report of findings and recommendations for the incoming EPA leadership that was not made public on the grounds that it was an internal deliberative document, Sussman said."It's concerning," Sussman said, if other undisclosed participants were involved in the Trump transition effort. He added, "We should know who they are."

Similarly, the final version of the Trump team's action plan has not been released, although the media company Axios last month reported elements of what may have been an earlier draft (<em style=" background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060048813/" style=" margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-weight: bold;">Greenwire</a>, Jan. 23).

Among the recommendations: halting EPA's funding for scientific research and overhauling the agency's science advisory process to eliminate bias and conflicts of interest.

Milloy yesterday told CPAC attendees that he hoped to see EPA "removed" from all scientific research.

"Ultimately, EPA needs to be removed from science," he said. "You can't be responsible for producing science and then regulating based on the science you invented. Those functions just have to be separated."

After the Axios story ran, an administration spokesman said Scott Pruitt, Trump's then-nominee to head the agency, knew nothing about the action plan.

Pruitt won Senate confirmation for the post last Friday; he is now "supposed to implement" the plan, Milloy said.

Doug Ericksen, an agency spokesman, did not reply to an email this morning requesting a copy of the document and asking whether Pruitt plans to implement it.

In a Tuesday speech to EPA employees, Pruitt appealed for civility. John O'Grady, president of an American Federation of Government Employees council that represents thousands of agency workers, had not seen the plan but fully expected Pruitt to pursue it.

"He's a good soldier, and I think that it's inevitable," O'Grady said in an interview today.

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<div><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/scientific-advisory-board-notice-2445590872.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/scientific-advisory-board-notice-2445590872.html</a></div>

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<h1 class="headline h1" style=" margin: 10px; padding: 0px; position: relative; line-height: 31px;">EPA Gives Notice to Dozens of Scientific Advisory Board Members, Plans to Offer Buyout to 1,200 Employees</h1>

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Dozens of scientists on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) <a href="https://www.epa.gov/bosc" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Board of Scientific Counselors</a> and board subcommittees have been informed that they will not be renewed for their roles advising the agency, the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/06/20/trump-administration-to-decline-to-renew-dozens-of-scientists-for-key-epa-advisory-board/?utm_term=.137479137e59" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Washington Post</a> reported.

The move, which would dismiss 38 of the 49 remaining subcommittee members, "effectively wipes out [the board] and leaves it free for a complete reappointment," board executive committee chair Deborah Swackhamer told the Post.

<div id="google_ads_iframe_18190176/AdThrive_Content_1/58d2e52b44e6236dc5819ee2_0container" style=" text-align: left; border: 0pt none;">Advisory board members aren't the only ones facing the end of their time at EPA: the agency also announced Tuesday plans to buy out more than 1,200 employees this summer.</div>

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This signals a troubling attitude toward the EPA's scientific work, according to Ken Kimmell, president of the <a href="http://www.ucsusa.org/" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Union of Concerned Scientists</a>.

"By sacking dozens of scientific counselors, [EPA Administrator Scott] <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/scott-pruitt" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Pruitt</a> is showing that he doesn't value scientific input and the benefits it offers the public," Kimmell said.

"The administrator has an important job to do—and this includes listening to the best independent <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/science/" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">science</a> and to make decisions that protect our health, our safety and our environment. Instead, he's delaying important public protections, denying the facts of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">climate change</a>, and now, dismissing expert researchers who could help EPA do its best work. It's appalling to see an administrator so directly attack the effectiveness of his own agency."

For a deeper dive:

Board: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/06/20/trump-administration-to-decline-to-renew-dozens-of-scientists-for-key-epa-advisory-board/?utm_term=.137479137e59" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Washington Post</a>, <a href="https://www.politicopro.com/energy/story/2017/06/epa-almost-completely-wipes-out-research-advice-committee-158543" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Politico Pro</a>. EPA buyouts: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/06/20/epa-plans-to-buy-out-more-than-1200-employees-by-the-end-of-summer/?utm_term=.1fa800aa4111" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Washington Post</a>, <a href="https://www.politicopro.com/energy/whiteboard/2017/06/epa-could-cut-more-than-1-200-employees-with-buyouts-089386" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Politico Pro</a>

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==

<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-under-siege-2444990496.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-under-siege-2444990496.html</a>

<h1 class="headline h1" style=" margin: 10px; padding: 0px; position: relative; line-height: 31px;">50+ Interviews With EPA Staff: Trump Poses 'Greatest Threat' to Agency in 47-Year History</h1>

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From repealing and replacing Obamacare to constructing that border wall, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">President Donald Trump</a> has broken a lot of promises that he made on the campaign trail. However, there is one area where Trump has been seemingly true to the his word—crippling the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">EPA</a>).

According to the first of a series of reports from the <a href="https://envirodatagov.org/" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Environmental Data and Governance Initiative</a> (EDGI), the Trump administration poses the greatest threat to the EPA's 47-year history.

The group's stunning analysis, <a href="https://100days.envirodatagov.org/epa-under-siege.html" target="_blank" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" text-decoration-line="text-decoration-line" none="none" word-wrap="word-wrap" break-word="break-word" style=" font-family: ;">The EPA Under Siege</a>, draws on institutional history and the insight of more than 50 interviews with long-term EPA staff, who are unidentified in the report for their protection. The report's authors have identified plummeting morale, mutual distrust between political appointees and career staff, and

paralysis of operations within the EPA under current Administrator Scott Pruitt.

"Twice before, presidential administrations in North America have targeted their own environmental agencies with comparable aggression, in the early Reagan administration (1981-1983) and under Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper (2006-2015)," the EDGI report's authors state. "Trump's assault is on track to surpass these."

The <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/edgi" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">EDGI</a> is an international coalition of academics and nonprofits organizations that formed after Trump's election to address potential threats to federal environmental and energy policy. You may know of their detailed work on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/energy-dept-rewrite-website-2372236613.html" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">tracking changes</a> to federal websites.

There are many unsettling revelations from the report, but this section says it all:

"From their front row seats, many agency veterans now think they see a gathering profile of the Trump administration's long game: to abolish the EPA. 'I think there's a <a href="https://100days.envirodatagov.org/epa-under-siege.html#id.nugacl4iovoi" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">general consensus</a> among the career people,' one tells us, 'that at bottom they're basically trying to destroy the place.' Another, working in a different office, elaborates: '<a href="https://100days.envirodatagov.org/epa-under-siege.html#kix.3bhlf39dr7nb" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">I think this is just phase one …</a> I think there's a much bigger master plan [discernible] if you read into what came out of restructuring ... we're going to be structured out. I think they're either going to break us up again and send us back to the ... programs we came from, or combine us with Energy or strip even further programs from us so that there's just a real exceedingly small base that's doing this work. <a href="https://100days.envirodatagov.org/epa-under-siege.html#id.g2j22n7iz1ix" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">I think the plan is to get rid of EPA.</a>'"

Here are some of the other allegations from the EPA staff (you can read the <a href="https://100days.envirodatagov.org/epa-under-siege.html#id.ng9alatpk9th" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">whole collection of quotes here</a>):

Pruitt has never met with environmental groups. "I don't believe he's met with any environmental groups to date, so he's still kind of sticking with his core business, government groups." Almost no one interviewed in the report has had contact with Pruitt himself or seen him around the office. Rather, they take note of his frequent trips around the country and visits with like-minded constituencies, such as Western governors, farmers and coal miners.

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Pruitt has banned staff from taking notes. "There's a premium on, I would say secrecy. Meaning senior managers that are going into meetings with Pruitt…. aren't [allowed to compile] written materials. They're asked not to take notes, not to take a computer in and type notes… Everything is just verbal. If it's just verbal, then there's no record that you can get a FOIA to see what happened."

Pruitt has requested around-the-clock security. "Pruitt is requesting in the 2018 budget that he have a security team, 24/7, made up of 10 people because he feels his life is I guess at risk because there's such internal hatred at EPA. This is scary and unfounded."

Pruitt's first speech to the agency was carefully stage-managed to avoid dissent. His speech also never alluded to the EPA's longstanding work in safeguarding human health, science, scientists, ecology or even <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">climate change</a>. One staff member recalled, "I can say that many of us were seething after watching his speech. Well, watching it 'live' from the EPA TV. Junior staff were not permitted to attend in person. All staff were provided with the opportunity to rsvp to attend but apparently the rsvp list was reviewed with a fine toothed comb so only those certain to not cause a disruption during the speech, would be there. I assume that means old people with suits (which is what we saw on the EPA tv while watching the speech). Yes, I too was wondering when he would mention human health. Apparently never!"

Trump's visit to the EPA was met with frustration from staff employees. During Trump's March 28 visit to the agency's headquarters to sign "new energy revolution" executive order to undo Obama's climate policies he was flanked by coal miners, Pruitt, Vice President Mike Pence and the new Secretaries of Energy Rick Perry and Interior Ryan Zinke. However, few people at the EPA were invited. One interviewee said, "We were frankly insulted that the President would come to EPA to announce that he is overturning the work to battle the most urgent environmental problem of our generation—climate change. It was beyond comprehension that an Administration could be so arrogant and callous." Another veteran official described it as an "in-your-face, insulting [a] thing as I've experienced in my time here."

Some staff believe that Trump's draconian <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-budget-cuts-2419155713.html" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">2018 EPA budget proposal</a> was influenced by conservative think-tanks. One EPA worker's "personal opinion" was that "it's all from the Heritage Foundation's report, almost verbatim ... they just literally went through the list and said well this is climate change, boom this goes. EJ [environmental justice] we couldn't care less about that, this goes."

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<div><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/19052017/leaked-donald-trump-budget-EPA-climate-clean-energy-environment">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/19052017/leaked-donald-trump-budget-EPA-climate-clean-energy-environment</a></div>

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<p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style=" box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; font-family: ;">Details of President <a href="file://localhost/%20https/::insideclimatenews.org:tags:donald-trump" style=" box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Donald Trump's</a> 2018 budget proposal, leaked this week, reveal that the administration appears determined to wallop environmental programs, including many that tackle climate change. It would cut Environmental Protection Agency funding by nearly one-third, slash spending on renewable energy innovation, and eliminate the Greenhouse Gas Reporting program, among other programs.

The White House only has the first move in the long budget process; once the proposal is unveiled officially next week, it will be Congress' turn to weigh in on spending priorities. With Trump embroiled in scandal, and many popular programs targeted for elimination, it's not at all clear that lawmakers will follow the president's lead.

The president's so-called "skinny" budget, released in March, also called for slashing EPA funding by 31 percent but was light on detail.

This second version of the budget proposal, leaked late this week, reveals that the administration intends to follow through on its commitment to reduce <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/epa" style=" box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">EPA</a> to the size it was in the 1970s, when <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/climate-change" style=" box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">climate change</a> wasn't on its radar screen.

Research on air and energy would be slashed by 67 percent, and clean air regulatory programs—which include climate change—would be cut 47 percent.

Among the EPA programs that would be eliminated:

<li style=" box-sizing: inherit;">The $8 million <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ghgreporting" style=" box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program</a>, under which industrial facilities have been reporting their carbon emissions since 2010.</li>

<li style=" box-sizing: inherit;">The $27 million <a href="https://www.epa.gov/nep" style=" box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">national estuaries program</a> for protection of coastal waterways.</li>

<li style=" box-sizing: inherit;">$7 million for Environmental Justice.</li>

<li style=" box-sizing: inherit;">$19.9 million in assistance to Alaska villages.</li>

<li style=" box-sizing: inherit;">$427 million in geographic programs focused on environmental issues in the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, Chesapeake Bay, Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans and other hot spots.</li>

</ul>

<p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style=" box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; font-family: ;">By slashing the geographic programs, which have bipartisan support on Capitol Hill, the Trump administration is showing little inclination to open the budget process with any conciliatory moves to win over key members of Congress. To pass cuts to discretionary programs like those at EPA would require some Democratic support to reach 60 votes in the Senate, where the GOP holds 52 seats. Some Republicans also have indicated they would not support the deep cuts that the White House had signaled it was seeking.

At a public forum in Washington this week, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, (R-Alaska), chair of both the Senate Energy Committee and the Appropriations Committee's subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Other Agencies, had voiced hope that the administration would back off of its planned cuts.

...

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<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/neonicotinoids-epa-violation-2401492224.html">http://www.ecowatch.com/neonicotinoids-epa-violation-2401492224.html</a>

<h1 class="headline h1">Judge: EPA's Approval of Bee-Killing Pesticides Violated Federal Law</h1>

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<a href="http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/files/2017-5-8-dkt-269--order--granting-and-denying-in-part-msjs_54860.pdf" target="_blank">A federal court has ruled</a> that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) systematically violated the Endangered Species Act—a key wildlife protection law—when it approved bee-killing insecticides known as <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/neonicotinoids">neonicotinoids</a>.

In a case ongoing for the last four years, brought by beekeepers, wildlife conservation groups and food safety and consumer advocates, Judge Maxine Chesney of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California held that EPA had unlawfully issued 59 pesticide registrations between 2007 and 2012 for a wide variety of agricultural, landscaping and ornamental uses.

"This is a vital victory," George Kimbrell, <a href="http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/">Center for Food Safety</a> legal director, said. "Science shows these toxic <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides">pesticides </a>harm <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bees">bees</a>, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species">endangered species</a> and the broader environment. More than fifty years ago, Rachel Carson warned us to avoid such toxic chemicals, and the court's ruling may bring us one step closer to preventing another Silent Spring."

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==

<a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2017/5/8/headlines/epa_head_scott_pruitt_dismisses_academics_from_science_review_board" style=" text-decoration-line: none; outline: none;">https://www.democracynow.org/2017/5/8/headlines/epa_head_scott_pruitt_dismisses_academics_from_science_review_board</a>

Back in Washington, D.C., Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt on Friday dismissed half of the members of an EPA scientific review board, clearing the way for new appointees from the industries the agency is tasked with policing. Among those removed from the EPA Board of Scientific Counselors was Michigan State University professor Robert Richardson, who tweeted, "Today I was Trumped." The dismissals come as the Trump administration seeks to slash EPA funding, roll back environmental regulations, appoint climate change deniers as the heads of government agencies, and defund and erase climate change programs and research.

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<a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-makes-room-for-industry-scientists-237f4038f1ab">https://thinkprogress.org/epa-makes-room-for-industry-scientists-237f4038f1ab</a>

===

http://www.alternet.org/environment/after-giving-1-million-trump-inauguration-dow-chemical-urges-administration-ignore

After contributing $1 million to Donald Trump’s presidential festivities, pesticide maker Dow Chemical Co. is asking the Administration to set aside previous findings of federal scientists across multiple agencies that confirm the risks that organophosphate pesticides pose to about 1,800 critically threatened or endangered species. This comes after the Administration <a href="http://beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/2017/03/epa-reverses-course-allows-continued-use-highly-neurotoxic-pesticide-chlorpyrifos/" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">abandoned plans to restrict</a> the brain-damaging pesticide chlorpyrifos, also an organophosphate pesticide created by Dow, despite mountains of evidence that show the chemical’s neurotoxic impacts on children’s brains.

In <a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/pesticides_reduction/pdfs/Letters_to_Pruitt_Zinke_Ross_from_Dow_Chemical.pdf" style=" text-decoration-line: none;">letters</a> sent to government officials, lawyers for Dow urge Administration officials and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set aside “biological evaluations” that detail how three highly toxic organophosphate insecticides –chlorpyrifos, malathion and diazinon– harm nearly all 1,800 threatened and endangered animals and plants, claiming the process to be “fundamentally flawed.”

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<div>http://www.ecowatch.com/epa-chiefs-speak-out-pruitt-2359082031.html</div>

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<div>CTW, browner, gina</div>

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It's simple. Clear air, drinkable water and a livable <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">climate</a> should not be partisan issues.

Four former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrators were appointed by four different presidents—two Democrats and two Republicans. So, what could they have in common?

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All of them have spoken out against the current administration's environmental policies—as new EPA Administrator <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/scott-pruitt" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Scott Pruitt</a> repeats fossil fuel talking points, the president signs <a href="https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/time-plan-b" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">extreme executive orders</a> that roll back environmental progress and a new federal budget proposes to <a href="https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/not-spending-money-anymore" target="blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">cut EPA funding by 31 percent</a>.

But here's just some of what these former administrators had to say:

1. <a href="http://e360.yale.edu/features/republican_former_chief_of_epa_time_to_battle_trump_on_climate_william_k_reilly" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">William K. Reilly</a>

EPA administrator under President George H. W. Bush (1989 - 1993)

"For a prospective EPA administrator to doubt or even contest a conclusion that 11 national academies of science have embraced is willful political obstruction."

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<div><a href="https://grist.org/article/climate-leadership-was-scrubbed-from-the-state-department-website/">https://grist.org/article/climate-leadership-was-scrubbed-from-the-state-department-website/</a></div>

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<p droid="Droid" serif="serif" cambria="Cambria" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" px="px" line-height="line-height" text-rendering="text-rendering" optimizelegibility="optimizeLegibility" color="color" rgb="rgb" background-color="background-color" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px;">Nearly the entire description of the office was changed.

Deleted from the text was: “The United States is taking a leading role by advancing an ever-expanding suite of measures at home and abroad.” Also stricken were references to mitigation efforts and other mentions of leading on climate change.

In its place is more generic language, solely referencing that the office represents the U.S. at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and other international forums. It does use the word “lead” once, but only saying the office leads the U.S. government in participating with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The new language does note foreign assistance for clean energy and adaptation. The addition of adaptation language mirrors <a href="http://www.climatecentral.org/news/epa-climate-web-pages-change-21133" style=" box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; border-bottom: 0.0625rem solid rgb(148, 168, 183); transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out; text-decoration: none !important;">changes to the Environmental Protection Agency’s website</a>.

Other changes to the page that occurred prior to Tillerson’s swearing in include <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/01/27/a-coalition-of-scientists-keeps-watch-on-the-u-s-governments-climate-data/" style=" box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; border-bottom: 0.0625rem solid rgb(148, 168, 183); transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out; text-decoration: none !important;">paring down the sidebar menu</a> that had links to reports and statements about climate change that included how the U.S. was addressing its international climate commitments.

On their own, they are small changes and are to be expected with any new administration. But they didn’t happen in a vacuum, and taken with other actions, they offer insights into America’s climate change strategy abroad.

The G20 finance ministers recently axed climate finance from a communique under U.S. pressure, a move that <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-g20-climatechange-idUSKBN16S1W3" style=" box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; border-bottom: 0.0625rem solid rgb(148, 168, 183); transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out; text-decoration: none !important;">business leaders promptly decried</a>. That stands in contrast to the 2016 communique, when G20 finance ministers lauded the Paris Agreement and pledged to provide assistance to developing countries for clean energy and adaptation projects through mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund, which aims to raise $100 billion by 2020.

President Trump’s 2018 budget proposal also represents a major departure from recent years. The blueprint slices <a href="http://www.climatecentral.org/news/trump-budget-would-hamper-climate-efforts-abroad-21253" style=" box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; border-bottom: 0.0625rem solid rgb(148, 168, 183); transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out; text-decoration: none !important;">more than $10 billion</a> off the current State Department budget, including zeroing out U.S. commitments to the international climate process and funding. That’s in addition to cuts into clean energy innovation and domestic climate programs (though the final budget passed through Congress will likely look different).

In a letter to State Department staff, Tillerson endorsed shrinking the budget....

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<div><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/17032017/epa-trump-budget-cuts-gina-mccarthy-mustafa-ali-carol-browner">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/17032017/epa-trump-budget-cuts-gina-mccarthy-mustafa-ali-carol-browner</a></div>

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As the environmental world copes with the budget outline unveiled by <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/donald-trump" style=" box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">President Trump</a> on Thursday, two former EPA administrators and a longtime environmental justice official have more sobering news: It's actually worse than you think.

The <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/budget/fy2018/2018_blueprint.pdf" style=" box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">budget blueprint</a> handed down from the White House sent the unmistakable message that it plans to <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16032017/donald-trump-budget-proposal-climate-change-global-warming-epa" style=" box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">take a hacksaw to climate action</a>. And no agency fell more directly in its path than the <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/epa" style=" box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">Environmental Protection Agency</a>.

"Literally and figuratively this budget is a scorched earth budget," said Gina McCarthy, EPA administrator under <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/barack-obama" style=" box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">President Obama</a>. "It represents really an all-out assault on clean air and clean water and our ability to have safe homes, schools and places to work."

The budget outline proposes a 31 percent cut to the total EPA budget, including a 45 percent reduction in state funds and the elimination of 3,200 positions under new administrator <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/scott-pruitt" style=" box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">Scott Pruitt</a>, a longtime antagonist of the agency. Those cuts, McCarthy pointed out, represent one in five agency employees. Forty two percent of the scientists in the Office in Research and Development—the agency's scientific research arm—will lose their jobs, she said.

"This budget is even more challenging than it looks at first glance," McCarthy said, because the total proposed budget includes $2.3 billion in State Revolving Funds, which are given directly to states to dole out to communities for infrastructure improvements.

"When you take that out of the picture, the rest of the budget is going to be cut from $6 billion to $3.4 billion. That's actually a 43 percent cut in the ability to implement all of the clean water and clear air and clean land programs," she said. "Not to mention our ability to address the greatest environmental challenge of our time which is <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/climate-change" style=" box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">climate change</a>."

McCarthy was joined on a conference call Friday by Carol Browner, a fellow former EPA administrator, Mustafa Ali, who recently resigned as EPA advisor for environmental justice, and Nicole Hernandez Hammer, a climate advocate for the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Browner, who led the  EPA for the entirety of the Clinton administration from 1993-2001, is no stranger to attacks on the agency. Two years after President Clinton was elected, Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) became Speaker of the House as part of a wave of Republican momentum in the midterm elections, based on promises to cut government waste and limit regulations.

In his <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/02/17/gingrich-lashes-out-at-epa/cfd4a3ae-4af6-4828-b2bf-c869d85efe31/?utm_term=.7e97d590d2a0" style=" box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">first major speech on the environment </a>in February 1995, Gingrich called the EPA "the biggest job-killing agency in inner-city America."

"We were shut down more than once because of failure to fund the EPA," said Browner. But the government shutdowns resulted in a blowback in popular opinion. "What the Republican Congress discovered then is that the American people like their clean air. They like their clean water. They want the environmental cops on the beat," she said.

Now, with a budget proposal that she said "puts polluters first," Browner said she could only hope that Congress will remember that lesson.

One clue into how Trump's budget will be received by Congressional Republicans has come from the Great Lakes region, where politicians from both parties have assailed the proposal to slash funding to a program to restore the lakes.

"I have long championed this program," said Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) <a href="http://www.portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=5CA4BA44-28AD-41FD-9A9E-FC6546AD2E2C" style=" box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">in a statement</a>, "and I'm committed to continuing to do everything I can to protect and preserve Lake Erie, including preserving this critical program and its funding."

And another clue came from Congress earlier this week, when 17 House Republicans <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/15032017/GOP-house-resolution-climate-change" style=" box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">introduced a resolution</a> calling for solutions to climate change that keep in mind the health of the economy. Though the resolution fell short in some ways (notably leaving out any mention that carbon emissions drive climate change) its mere introduction gave hope to some seeking climate action.

Both former administrators stressed that though this budget would result in thousands of people losing their jobs, the bigger impacts would be felt by the general public. One of the roles that the EPA plays is to provide technical and scientific support that states cannot afford.

Ali, who <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09032017/epa-environmental-justice-mustafa-ali-flint-water-crisis-dakota-access-pipeline-trump-scott-pruitt" style=" box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">resigned last week</a> after 24 years as the head of the EPA's environmental justice program, talked about what that would mean to the communities he worked with.

"This sends a direct signal that it's taking away the science that our most vulnerable communities have been asking for, to be able to validate the impacts of what has been happening inside of their communities," he said. "It takes away those enforcement actions that help us make sure that those checks and balances between communities and those businesses and industries that may not necessarily be good players."

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<h1 class="news-brief-title" style=" box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1rem 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; display: inline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Trump’s “skinny budget” may slash EPA funding even more than previously reported.</h1>

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The White House’s first budget outline, released last month, called for a <a href="https://grist.org/briefly/trump-plans-to-slash-epas-budget-and-boost-the-militarys/" style=" box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none; background-image: url(linear-gradient(to top, rgb(117, 143, 163) 1px, transparent 1px); background-position: 0px -1px; background-repeat: no-repeat;">24 percent cut</a> to EPA’s budget. Now a 31 percent cut is being proposed as part of the Trump administration’s latest budget plan, which will be released <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-budget-idUSKBN16M1DO" style=" box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none; background-image: url(linear-gradient(to top, rgb(117, 143, 163) 1px, transparent 1px); background-position: 0px -1px; background-repeat: no-repeat;">on Thursday</a>, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/us/politics/budget-epa-state-department-cuts.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=1&referer=https://t.co/gZuM44lC5G" style=" box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none; background-image: url(linear-gradient(to top, rgb(117, 143, 163) 1px, transparent 1px); background-position: 0px -1px; background-repeat: no-repeat;">New York Times reports</a>.

So if Trump gets his way, EPA’s annual budget will shrink from $8.2 billion to $5.7 billion — its lowest level in 40 years, accounting for inflation.

Even EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt — who tried to hamper the agency by filing more than a dozen lawsuits against it while he was Oklahoma attorney general — doesn’t want cuts that big. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/us/politics/budget-epa-state-department-cuts.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=1&referer=https://t.co/gZuM44lC5G" style=" box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none; background-image: url(linear-gradient(to top, rgb(117, 143, 163) 1px, transparent 1px); background-position: 0px -1px; background-repeat: no-repeat;">According to the Times</a>, he pushed for $7 billion for the agency. <a href="https://www.axios.com/exclusive-even-deeper-cuts-being-discussed-for-epa-2314124510.html" style=" box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none; background-image: url(linear-gradient(to top, rgb(117, 143, 163) 1px, transparent 1px); background-position: 0px -1px; background-repeat: no-repeat;">Axios reports</a> that Pruitt was particularly concerned about maintaining funding for cleanup of brownfields and other toxic sites.

Former EPA chief Gina McCarthy <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/former-epa-heads-blast-pruitt_us_58b728e1e4b019d36d1030be" style=" box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none; background-image: url(linear-gradient(to top, rgb(117, 143, 163) 1px, transparent 1px); background-position: 0px -1px; background-repeat: no-repeat;">said</a> earlier this month that a 24 percent cut would be “devastating for the agency’s ability to protect public health.” A 31 percent cut would be more devastating still.

Trump’s plan is not a done deal, though. Budgets must be passed by Congress, and this one is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/us/politics/budget-epa-state-department-cuts.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=1&referer=https://t.co/gZuM44lC5G" style=" box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none; background-image: url(linear-gradient(to top, rgb(117, 143, 163) 1px, transparent 1px); background-position: 0px -1px; background-repeat: no-repeat;">getting</a> some <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/27/politics/epa-cuts-25-percent/" style=" box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none; background-image: url(linear-gradient(to top, rgb(117, 143, 163) 1px, transparent 1px); background-position: 0px -1px; background-repeat: no-repeat;">negative reactions</a> from <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-budget-idUSKBN16M1DO" style=" box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none; background-image: url(linear-gradient(to top, rgb(117, 143, 163) 1px, transparent 1px); background-position: 0px -1px; background-repeat: no-repeat;">both sides of the aisle</a>, so it won’t sail through as proposed.

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<div><a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/141227/republicans-war-science-just-got-frighteningly-real">https://newrepublic.com/article/141227/republicans-war-science-just-got-frighteningly-real</a></div>

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<p style=" box-sizing: inherit; margin: 1.5em 0px 1.5em 200px; padding: 0px 20px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: -0.1px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; flex: 0 0 66.6667%; flex-direction: column; width: 800px; max-width: 66.6667%;">n obvious solution, for those seeking to avoid such regulation, would be to prevent that science from seeing the light of day. That’s exactly what Lamar Smith, a Republican congressman from Texas, is trying to do. On Thursday, the House Science Committee passed two of Smith’s bills: <span style=" box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">The <a href="https://science.house.gov/sites/republicans.science.house.gov/files/documents/SMITTX_010_xml.pdf" target="blank" rel="nofollow" style=" box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-image: url(linear-gradient(to top, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0%, rgb(255, 255, 255) 49%, rgb(0, 0, 0) 50%, rgb(0, 0, 0) 100%); background-size: 2px 2px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-position: 0px 97.5%; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.05em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.05em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.09em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.075em 0px;">Honest and Open New EPA Science Treatment Act</a><span style=" box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"> (HONEST Act) and the <a href="https://science.house.gov/sites/republicans.science.house.gov/files/documents/LUCAS_002_xml.pdf" target="blank" rel="nofollow" style=" box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-image: url(linear-gradient(to top, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0%, rgb(255, 255, 255) 49%, rgb(0, 0, 0) 50%, rgb(0, 0, 0) 100%); background-size: 2px 2px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-position: 0px 97.5%; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.05em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.05em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.09em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.075em 0px;">Science Advisory Board (SAB) Reform Act</a><span style=" box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">. Combined, they would significantly change how the Environmental Protection Agency uses science to create rules that protect human health.

<span style=" box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">The HONEST Act is essentially a re-brand of Smith’s notorious <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/house-passes-bill-to-stop-epa-from-using-secret-science-to-craft-pollution-rules-3fbd7320198e#.r8tb46q6c" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style=" box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-image: url(linear-gradient(to top, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0%, rgb(255, 255, 255) 49%, rgb(0, 0, 0) 50%, rgb(0, 0, 0) 100%); background-size: 2px 2px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-position: 0px 97.5%; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.05em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.05em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.09em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.075em 0px;">Secret Science Reform Act</a><span style=" box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">, a bill that would have required the EPA to only use scientific studies for which all data is publicly available and the results are easily reproducible. The SAB Reform Act would change the makeup of the board that reviews the “quality and relevance” of the science that EPA uses: Scientists who receive EPA grants would be forbidden from serving, while allowing the appointment of industry-sponsored experts who have a direct interest in being regulated—so long as they disclose that interest.

<span style=" box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">In a <a href="https://science.house.gov/news/press-releases/sst-committee-members-introduce-honest-and-open-new-epa-science-treatment-act-0" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style=" box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-image: url(linear-gradient(to top, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0%, rgb(255, 255, 255) 49%, rgb(0, 0, 0) 50%, rgb(0, 0, 0) 100%); background-size: 2px 2px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-position: 0px 97.5%; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.05em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.05em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.09em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.075em 0px;">press release</a><span style=" box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">, Smith said these bills would help promote “an open and honest scientific process” at the EPA. He says past regulations have been “based on hidden science” and that the SAB needs “a more balanced group of scientists to assist EPA in fulfilling its core mission.”

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inhofe defends cuts,

federal administration's attack on environmental protections continued this month.

A newly released budget proposal cuts funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by 31%, and potentially eliminates a $4.8 million fund for restoring San Francisco Bay's marshes and wetlands.

President Trump also issued an Executive Order to "eliminate unnecessary federal agencies," which may include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other agencies critical to preparing for sea level rise. Another Executive Order "rescinds or revises" the Clean Water Rule, which was adopted to keep pollution out of water bodies nationwide. And Congress has proposed a new bill to eliminate the ability of citizens, and groups like Baykeeper, to enforce clean water protections.

Baykeeper is fighting against these harmful proposals, along with Waterkeeper groups across the US. Our national Waterkeeper Alliance is watchdogging DC politics, mobilizing resistance, and filing litigation on Baykeeper's behalf.

What's more, we are defending the Bay under California's current environmental protections and working hard to strengthen those protections in collaboration with other waterkeepers in California. You can count on Baykeeper to keep fighting to protect our home, San Francisco Bay.

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://baykeeper.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=3520&qid=891546" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1489774817571_2571" style=" -webkit-padding-start: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background: transparent; outline: none;">Read more about the administration's actions and Baykeeper's response.</a>

==

omg

https://www.democracynow.org/2017/3/10/headlines/epa_official_resigns_amid_push_to_defund_environmental_justice_office

Meanwhile, a top official at the EPA has resigned in protest of a Trump administration proposal to entirely defund his office. Mustafa Ali helped found the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice in 1992 and served under both Republican and Democratic administrations. Ali told InsideClimate News, "My values and priorities seem to be different than our current leadership and because of that I feel that it’s best if I take my talents elsewhere."

==

<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/03032017/scott-pruitt-environmental-protection-agency-methane-greenhouse-gas-climate-change">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/03032017/scott-pruitt-environmental-protection-agency-methane-greenhouse-gas-climate-change</a>

==

<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/pruitt-epa-climate-deniers-2306510852.html">http://www.ecowatch.com/pruitt-epa-climate-deniers-2306510852.html</a>

Days after his confirmation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/scott-pruitt" style=" text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Scott Pruitt</a> began stacking his department with conservatives, many of them <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-denier" style=" text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">climate deniers</a> and all of them eager to axe environmental regulations—much like <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/" style=" text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">President Trump</a> himself, the New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/07/us/politics/scott-pruitt-environmental-protection-agency.html" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">reported</a> Tuesday.

To start, there's Ryan Jackson, former chief of staff to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/sen-inhofe-response-on-climate-change-1955857094.html" style=" text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Sen. James Inhofe</a> (R-Okla.), one of the most outspoken climate deniers in Congress, infamous for bringing a snowball into the chamber to illustrate that global warming was not real. Jackson will serve as Pruitt's chief of staff.

Then there's Byron Brown, another Inhofe staffer, who will now be Jackson's deputy.

Andrew Wheeler, formerly of Inhofe's team but now a fossil fuel lobbyist, is at the top of Pruitt's list to be deputy EPA chief, although he will require confirmation by the Senate.

And two Trump campaigners, <a href="http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/trump-administration-taps-two-washington-state-legislators-to-help-reshape-epa/" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Don Benton and Douglas Ericksen</a>, are also taking on senior positions in the agency.

The Times' Coral Davenport wrote:

To friends and critics, Mr. Pruitt seems intent on building an EPA leadership that is fundamentally at odds with the career officials, scientists and employees who carry out the agency's missions. That might be a recipe for strife and gridlock at the federal agency tasked to keep safe the nation's clean air and water while safeguarding the planet's future.

It remains to be seen whether that kind of conflict will arise between Pruitt and EPA employees. Under Trump, the agency has already rolled back critical Obama-era regulations, effectively restricting the government's ability to prevent <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/02/28/threatening-clean-water-millions-trump-signs-polluter-giveaway" target="blank" style=" text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">water pollution</a> and collect data on <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/03/03/oil-friendly-states-behest-pruitt-cancels-epa-methane-emissions-inquiry" target="blank" style=" text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">methane emissions</a>.

More anti-environmental plans and executive orders from Pruitt and Trump are expected to come this week as well. Meanwhile, the president's first draft budget includes a proposal to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/great-lakes-restoration-initiative-2306413346.html" target="blank" style=" text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">slash the EPA's annual fundin</a>g by about <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/03/02/white-house-aims-slash-major-epa-programs-fire-20-percent-staff" target="blank" style=" text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">24 percent</a> or $2 billion.

EPA employees say morale has plummeted, particularly for those who helped strengthen regulations under former President Obama and will now be ordered to undo their own work.

The changes have also come in more subtle ways. The day after Trump took office, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-climate-change-website-2209059875.html" style=" text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">WhiteHouse.gov scrubbed</a> any mention of "<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/01/20/day-one-trumps-whitehousegov-scrubs-every-mention-combating-climate-change" target="blank" style=" text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">climate change</a>" and on Tuesday, the watchdog group <a href="https://envirodatagov.org/" target="blank" style=" text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Environmental Data and Governance Initiative</a> reported that the agency's Office of Science and Technology Policy no longer lists "science" in its own description.

"This is probably the most important thing we've found so far," Environmental Data and Governance Initiative's Gretchen Gehrke <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/141174/epas-science-office-removed-science-mission-statement" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">told</a> the New Republic. "The language changes here are not nuanced—they have really important regulatory implications."

Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/03/08/under-pruitt-climate-deniers-flourish-epa" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Common Dreams</a>.

<div>From: MassMailer Sent: Monday, January 23, 2017 3:46 PM To: MassMailer <massmailer epa.gov="epa.gov"> Subject: Message from the Acting Administrator</massmailer>

<p style=" background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Today we welcome to EPA members of President Trump's beachhead team. Acting Deputy Administrator Mike Flynn and I will work closely with them as they transition into the Agency.

A message from Senior White House Advisor Don Benton and White House Liaison Charles Munoz:

"As the leaders for the new Administration on EPA transition, we would like to say thank you for the warm reception that we have received. We are looking forward to working with the career professionals at the EPA to make this transition work as well as possible, and to carry out the Agency's mission to protect public health and the environment. We know and understand the incredible knowledge level and commitment of the people who work here. We will be asking you for help. We are committed to working with you. While transitions are always hard, straight forward honest communication combined with respect for each other will make the process work much better."

Listed below are the names and short bios of those currently serving on the transition team.

Layne Bangerter

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Don Benton, Senior White House Advisor

<li style=" background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Don is from Washington State and served in the State Senate there for 20 years. Don has a long and accomplished history in the private sector in addition to his service as the head of a large county environmental office in Washington.</li>

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Patrick Davis

<li style=" background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Patrick is a nationally recognized political consultant and strategist. Since 1992, he has advised candidates for President, Governor, U.S. Senate, Congress, and state/local offices. Patrick is an organizational, strategic, and communications consultant to corporations, issue committees, and non-profits.</li>

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Doug Ericksen, Communications Director

<li style=" background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Doug is a Washington State native and a current member of the Washington State Senate. Senator Ericksen has extensive background in energy and environmental policy. He holds a B.A. in Government from Cornell University and a M.A. in Environmental Policy.</li>

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Holly Greaves, Budget Issues

<li style=" background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Holly has a long background in government accounting and Federal financial management. Ms. Greaves previously worked as a senior manager with KPMG and with the public accounting firm EY. She is a licensed CPA, CISA, and CGFM.</li>

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David Kreutzer

<li style=" background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">David finished nine years with the Heritage Foundation as Senior Research Fellow in Energy, Economics, and Climate Change. David taught economics at Ohio University for three years and at James Madison University for 22 years. His academic research has been published in numerous professional publications.</li>

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Charles Munoz, White House Liaison

<li style=" background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Charles comes to the EPA from Nevada, where he served in key capacities for Americans for Prosperity. For the last two years, Charles served The Donald J. Trump campaign in several high level positions.</li>

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David Schnare, Esq.,Ph.D

<li style=" background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Dr. Schnare is an attorney and environmental scientist returning to EPA after a 41 year career in the field of environmental science, with 33 of those years at EPA. Most recently, Dr. Schnare has been associated with the Free-Market Environmental Law Clinic, The Energy and Environment Legal Institute and the Center for Environmental Stewardship at the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy.</li>

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Justin Schwab, Legal Advisor

<li style=" background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Justin is an environmental and regulatory lawyer currently practicing in the Washington, D.C., area. Justin will be serving as legal advisor on several fronts including environmental health and safety, in addition to other key areas of implementing EPA's core mission.</li>

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George Sugiyama

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<p style=" background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Please join me in welcoming our new colleagues to EPA.

Catherine McCabe Acting Administrator

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<div>no link widgt:  <a href="https://littlesis.org/maps/1956-trump-s-epa-beachhead-team">https://littlesis.org/maps/1956-trump-s-epa-beachhead-team</a></div>

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<div><a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-epa-beachhead-team-2235619725.html?page=2">http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-epa-beachhead-team-2235619725.html?page=2</a></div>

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<div>By Ben Jervey</div>

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<div>Earlier this week, staffers at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received their first official email from the new administration. "Changes will likely come and when they do, we will work together to implement them," wrote Don Benton, a senior White House adviser who is now leading the so-called "beachhead" team for the EPA's transition, in the email published by E&E News.</div>

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<div>DeSmog dives into what we know about the EPA beachhead team (including what it is and who is on it), whom its members are connected to and what the EPA should expect from the Trump team.</div>

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<div>First, who is Don Benton and what is a beachhead team? Benton is a former Washington state legislator (with a history of endorsing conspiracy theories) and the beachhead team is the current incarnation of the EPA transition team, working at the agency to handle the transition until a new administrator is confirmed.</div>

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<div>Agency transitions tend to be complicated and confusing and this one is particularly so. So let's take a quick step back and trace the brief but chaotic history of the transfer of power at the EPA. Before President Donald Trump officially took office, his EPA transition team was being lead by Myron Ebell, the notorious climate science denier from the Competitive Enterprise Institute.</div>

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<div>We've learned recently that Ebell never actually spoke to Trump, that he was actually recruited by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (who not long after lost his role on the Trump team) and that Ebell oversaw the creation of an "agency action plan." That plan is confidential and Ebell has refused to talk about it, but Axios received a leaked version and published some startling, if not surprising, details, including plans to fundamentally alter the agency's reliance on science.</div>

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<div>The following introduces what the plan calls "problems with EPA science":</div>

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<div>"EPA does not use science to guide regulatory policy as much as it uses regulatory policy to steer the science. This is an old problem at EPA. In 1992, a blue-ribbon panel of EPA science advisers that [sic] 'science should not be adjusted to fit policy.' But rather than heed this advice, EPA has greatly increased its science manipulation."</div>

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<div>On Inauguration Day, Ebell stepped down from Trump's EPA transition team (or was relieved of his duties—it's not entirely clear) and the new 10-member beachhead team was announced. This team is being led by Benton and Charles Munoz, a 27-year-old who led Trump's presidential campaign in Nevada, where he had also launched the state chapter of Americans for Prosperity.</div>

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<div>The beachhead team members have 90 day contracts and traditionally such a team's role is to prepare the agency staff and bureaucracy for the arrival of the new administrator. As we've reported extensively on DeSmog, Trump nominated Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to serve as EPA administrator and he faced a contentious confirmation hearing before the Senate's Committee for Environment and Public Works.</div>

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<div>Yesterday, Democratic senators on the committee boycotted the confirmation vote, demanding more information from Pruitt's office about his "unprecedented, secretive alliance" with fossil fuel companies and calling out his office's refusal to comply with dozens of Freedom of Information Act requests from journalists and researchers from the Center for Media and Democracy. Today, Republicans on the committee suspended the rules to push through the Pruitt vote.</div>

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<div>Thanks to a gag order and social media freeze ordered by the Trump Administration, there's little information making it out of the agency, either about what staff is working on or how the beachhead team is managing the transition.</div>

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<div>Last week, Doug Ericksen, communications director for Trump's EPA transition team, told NPR that the agency planned to review all of its scientists' studies on a "case by case basis" prior to publication. Employees were also told to "scrub" EPA's climate change web pages, although the administration backed off that charge. Ericksen told Bloomberg BNA that the agency plans to restore full communications rights, including social media, "as soon as possible."</div>

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<div>Until we learn more, here's what we do know about the beachhead team and some notable affiliations, mapped out using the LittleSis platform.</div>

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<div>view this map on LittleSis</div>

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<div>Koch and Coal Connections</div>

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<div>Charles Munoz is the White House liaison to the EPA landing team and was a top Trump organizer in his home state of Nevada. Munoz helped launch the Nevada chapter of Americans for Prosperity, a political advocacy group funded by the Kochs.</div>

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<div>David Schnare, who has waged intimidation campaigns against climate scientists, worked for 33 years at the EPA before joining a number of Koch-affiliated entities.</div>

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<div>Schnare is director of the the Free Market Environmental Law Clinic at George Mason University, which serves as the official attorney for the Energy and Environment Legal Institute. Both are funded extensively by Donors Capital Fund and Donors Trust. Schnare is also an energy policy expert at the Heartland Institute.</div>

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<div>David Kreutzer was a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a group funded by foundations controlled by Koch Industries</div>

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<div>After working at the EPA during the George W. Bush Administration, George Sugiyama lobbied for the National Mining Association. Sugiyama also served as legal adviser to the Republican minority, led by Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe, on the Senate environment committee. Inhofe is arguably the best-known climate science denier in Congress and famously declared climate change to be a "hoax."</div>

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<div>Washington State's Worst on Climate</div>

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<div>Two Washington state officials, described as the state's "most radical small government lawmakers," have been assigned key posts on the beachhead team. Don Benton, who once introduced legislation based on Agenda 21 conspiracy theories, is the Senior White House Advisor to the EPA transition. And Doug Ericksen is serving as communications director for the transition team.</div>

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<div>Described by the Seattle Times as "an ally of the fossil-fuel industry," Doug Ericksen was named by Washington Conservation Voters as among the state's "Dirty Dozen" worst politicians.</div>

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<div>Ericksen wants to make it a felony for oil-by-rail protests to block train tracks, describing it as "economic terrorism," although the Seattle Times notes that Ericksen's motive is "punishing environmentalists, tribal activists and others who have illegally obstructed oil and coal trains, pipelines and similar projects." The Times notes, "More than going after individual protesters, Ericksen said the legislation's goal is to target wealthy, liberal donors, such as billionaires George Soros or Tom Steyer and organizations such as the Sierra Club, for sponsoring disruptive demonstrations. They could be held liable for damages under the bill."</div>

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<div>Shannon Murphy, head of the Washington Conservation Voters, said, "Sen. Ericksen's and Benton's environmental records speak for themselves. They are both climate deniers who have consistently voted against protecting clean air and water for communities across the state."</div>

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<div>Patrick Davis ran Trump's campaign in Colorado and before that was accused of defrauding a wealthy super PAC by steering money to fake organizations "run" by Davis and his friends.</div>

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<div>Layne Bangerter headed the Trump campaign in Idaho and most recently worked with Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), whose website claims that the cause of changes to the Earth's climate "is ultimately not well-understood and is a matter of vigorous debate." Koch Industries donated $40,000 to Crapo's campaign from 2013-2014.</div>

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<div>Justin Schwab is serving as the main legal advisor and is currently an attorney at the corporate law firm Baker Hostetler in Washington, DC.</div>

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<div>Holly Greaves is working on budget issues and was most recently a public accountant for KPMG, which works with a number of oil, gas and utility industry clients.</div>

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<div>Reposted with permission from our media associate DeSmogBlog.</div>

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<div>The U.S. Interior Department finalized a contentious rule to protect rivers, streams and forests from the negative impacts of surface coal mining. The Stream Protection Rule is the first update to the department's regulations in 33 years, and is one of the Obama administration's last major moves to protect the environment. Specifically, the rule was established to "avoid or minimize impacts on surface water, groundwater, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources," according to the DOI.</div>

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<div>"The responsible rule released [December 20] represents a modern and balanced approach to meeting the nation’s energy needs," U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said on Monday. "Regulations need to keep pace with modern mining practices, so we worked closely with many stakeholders to craft a plan that protects water quality, supports economic opportunities, safeguards our environment and makes coalfield communities more resilient for a diversified economic future."</div>

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