Scott Pruitt is a Disaster for the EPA and the Environment

The Sierra Club is joining other environmental groups in a campaign to get rid of Scott Pruitt, the current head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The “Boot Pruitt” campaign hopes that Pruitt with either resign or be fired from the position. Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, released the following statement:

“We need to get Scott Pruitt out of the EPA because having him lead the agency is like the fox guarding the henhouse and saying its safe. As head of the EPA Scott Pruitt has worked to undo all of the great work done in the past 40 years to protect our environment and public health. He has attacked numerous beneficial programs from the Obama Administration including the Clean Power Plan, clean car standards, ozone pollution rules, Waters of the United States, and more. He has sided with polluters and developers of the people or environment of this country since day one. Meanwhile, he flies a private jet and spends taxpayer money on advanced security because he knows how disliked he is.  Scott Pruitt should not be leading an agency he is trying to destroy from the inside out.

“Pruitt’ attack on the environment has been ruthless. His schedule is packed with meetings with the fossil fuel industry and chemical companies He tried to illegally delay the implementation of the 2015 smog pollution standard as well as an Obama-era rule that limits emissions from truck components. He pledged to stop settlements with environmental groups that sue the EPA, putting a chill on environmental litigation. Pruitt even signed a directive to delay the chemical plant safety standards, putting people directly in harm’s way. This includes allowing a dangerous pesticide to be used despite it leading to a dozen people suffering from health impacts as a result of its use.

“As Attorney General of Oklahoma, Pruitt was already huge ally to the fossil fuel industry whose own biography describes him as “a leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda. Pruitt has sued against regulations that he is now in charge to implement like the Clean Water Rule, Mercury Air Toxic Rule as well as the Clean Power Plan. He even led a ‘secretive alliance’ of attorney generals working for the fossil fuel industry in suing the EPA over clean air, water, and climate protections. When the Sierra Club reached an agreement with an Oklahoma utility to retire and replace one of its polluting coal-fired power plants with Oklahoma-produced wind energy, Scott Pruitt tried to block it altogether.

“Pruitt is a climate change denier who works for the fossil fuel industry instead of the people of the United States. With Pruitt leading the EPA, he has let polluters off the hook, while rolling back regulations on carbon dioxide, ozone and mercury. He has lead the fight to eliminate the Clean Power Plan, which was designed to reduce greenhouse gasses and protect public health. He will continue to carry out Trump’s plans to gut the EPA, remove its staff, and stop all of the vital programs to protect our air and water. This is why we need to get Pruitt out of the EPA.”