Scott Pruitt won’t protect Ohio’s air, water or families

Environment Ohio

“Ohioans and all Americans deserve an EPA administrator who will fight to protect the air we breathe, the water we drink and the planet we love. Scott Pruitt fails on all these accounts.” – Sam Gerard, Environment Ohio

Washington, D.C. – Today the Senate voted to approve President Trump’s nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Environment Ohio’s Sam Gerard issued the following statement in response:

“This country needs an Environmental Protection Agency Administrator whose top priority is protecting our air and water and our families’ health. We need somebody willing to enforce and defend our bedrock environmental laws and a leader guided by science when creating and implementing policy.

“It’s clear that Scott Pruitt won’t protect Ohio’s air, water or families and we are extremely disappointed that he will now be the next EPA administrator.  As attorney general he put dirty energy interests and other polluters ahead of protecting public health.  Instead of taking steps to reduce pollution, he sued to stop the agency he will now lead from enforcing critical clean air and water protections.

“In fact, as attorney general, Scott Pruitt joined with polluters to file 14 lawsuits against the very agency he will now run. These suits aimed to dismantle critical public health safeguards ranging from the Clean Water Rule that protects drinking water sources for 117 million Americans to the Mercury and Air Toxic rule that protects our kids and other vulnerable citizens from highly damaging pollution.

“In addition, as Oklahoma Attorney General, Mr. Pruitt disbanded the state’s environmental protection unit. He was the leading opponent of the Clean Power Plan which set the first ever national limits on carbon pollution and undercut actions to clean up major poultry pollution problems in his state’s river system.

“When asked during his hearing, Mr. Pruitt could not name one current EPA protection that he supported.

“Ohioans and all Americans deserve an EPA administrator who will fight to protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the planet we love. Scott Pruitt fails on all these accounts.  We thank Senator Brown for our families’ health, clean water and clean air and voting to Reject President Trump’s nomination of Scott Pruitt to head the EPA.” 

Environment Ohio is an environmental advocacy organization bringing people together for a cleaner, greener, healthier future. www.environmentamerica.org