Don’t include Pruitt among former EPA administrators wanting “reset” of agency

 

Scott Pruitt wasn’t among them but at least six former Environmental Protection Agency Administrators have called for a “reset” of the EPA following the Trump administration’s regulation reduction steps.

Pruitt, the former Oklahoma Attorney General who was named EPA Administrator in 2017 only to resign in July of 2018 amidst a political scandal did not join the previous administrators. After all, he was part of the administration’s efforts to roll back some of the Obama administration-era rules and regulations.

Current EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler rejected the call by William Reilly, Lee Thomas, Carol Browner, Christine Todd Whitman, Lisa Jackson and Gina McCarthy.

Wheeler spokesman James Hewitt responded by saying the previous administrators “botched” environmental matters when they were in office.

Hewitt said Wheeler “is proud of our record addressing environmental problems impacting Americans” and added that Wheeler “won’t be taking ‘reset’ advice from administrators who ignored the Flint lead crisis, botched the Gold King Mine response and encouraged New Yorkers to breath contaminated air at Ground Zero.”

The reset call by the former administrators was part of a presentation by the Environmental Protection Network, a bipartisan group of more than 500 former EPA senior managers and employees.

Source: Associated Press