U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), senior member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, praised the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for awarding grants to Brownfields sites in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Senator Inhofe authored the legislation to reauthorize the Brownfields program, which was signed into law on March 22, 2018. “The Brownfields program continues …
Category: EPA
Another former Inhofe staffer joins EPA
A former adviser to Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe when he chaired the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has been hired by the Environmental Protection Agency. Jonathan Hackett will work out of the EPA’s Kansas City office and advise on renewable fuels. He started as a legislative clerk for the EPW committee in 2008, …
EPA watchdog says agency should recover excessive expenses by Scott Pruitt
Nearly a year after Scott Pruitt resigned as Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, he is still hounded by the scandals that led to his departure. The latest is a call by the EPA’s inspector general to have the EPA recover “excessive” expenses by Pruitt. The IG recommended the EPA consider recovering $124,000 in …
Senators urge EPA to lower Renewable Fuel Standards
In advance of the upcoming proposed rulemaking for the 2020 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVO) of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) led a letter urging Administrator Wheeler to reset conventional biofuel to reflect market realities. The letter was signed by Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.), Shelley …
EPA thinks improvements are made at Tar Creek Superfund Site—Environmentalists think otherwise
Environmental groups aren’t as easily convinced as administrators of the EPA are about improvements of Oklahoma’s Tar Creek Superfund Site. Their skepticism comes after the EPA recently announced the removal of the site from the agency’s Administrators Emphasis Lists. The agency indicated Tar Creek had reached “important milestones.” But Rebecca Jim, executive director of the …
Feds shake their heads ‘no’ to a Scott Pruitt bill at the EPA
Former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt still has some issues nagging him back in Washington where he left amidst some ethics scandals. Federal ethics officials are balking at a $50-a-night Washington condo deal by Pruitt, the former Oklahoma Attorney General. The Associated Press reported the Office of Government Ethics said in a finding posted recently that …
Gift records reveal what Scott Pruitt received while head of EPA
From POLITICO’s Morning Energy Report—more information about former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt: REQUIRED READING? Former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt received at least six unsolicited copies of “The Lorax” and four of “Global Warming for Dummies” but donated them, according to gift records released Monday by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. The documents, obtained in response to …
EPA proposes final cleanup plan for Oklahoma’s Tar Creek Superfund Site
The Environmental Protection Agency announced this week it intends to spend $16 million a year on cleanup of Oklahoma’s Tar Creek Superfund Site. Working with the State and the Quapaw Nation, the EPa intends to open a five-year draft plan for goals of cleanup for a 30-day public review this summer. It will be the …
They’re still bashing Scott Pruitt on Capitol Hill
Scott Pruitt’s been gone eight months as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and some on Capitol Hill are still taking his name in vain. The latest example was reported by POLITICO’s Morning Energy report and quoted an Iowa U.S. Senator. GRASSLEY HAMMERS ‘FIRED PRUITT’ OVER SMALL REFINER EXEMPTIONS: Sen. Chuck Grassley lacerated former EPA Administrator Scott …
Two-day EPA hearing on Clean Water Act proposals
More than 100 speakers were scheduled to be heard by the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday and Thursday as it holds a public hearing in Kansas City. The hearing is on the Trump administration’s plans to scale back the number of streams and wetlands receiving federal protection under the Clean Water Act. Among the speakers …










