Environmental Protection Agency

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Latest Pruitt Revelation Involves Chick-fil-A

EPA head used aide to help him as he tried to get his wife a franchisee position

(Newser) - The latest odd revelation in the saga of Scott Pruitt's activities since becoming the head of the Environmental Protection Agency: Pruitt at one point attempted to use "his official position and EPA staff" to get his wife a job, as the Washington Post puts it. That job? Chick-fil-A...

The EPA Spent $1,560 on a Dozen Fountain Pens

Plus $1,670 on personalized journals

(Newser) - More controversial expenditures at the Environmental Protection Agency have been revealed thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request: Last year, one of EPA chief Scott Pruitt's top aides spent $1,560 on fountain pens and $1,670 on personalized journals, the Washington Post reports. The order from Tiny...

AP Reporter Grabbed, Shoved Out of EPA Building

EPA has since reversed course, allowed reporters into meeting

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency reversed course Tuesday and allowed a reporter for the Associated Press to cover a meeting on water contaminants after she was earlier grabbed by the shoulders and shoved out of the building by a security guard, the AP reports. The AP journalist, Ellen Knickmeyer, said that...

17 States Sue Over EPA Move on Gas Mileage

Agency plans to drop emissions standards

(Newser) - California and 16 other states sued the Trump administration Tuesday over its plan to scrap Obama-era auto-emissions standards that would require vehicles to get significantly higher gas mileage by 2025. At issue is a move by Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt to roll back 2012 rules aimed at curbing...

Congressman to Pruitt: If I Were Your Boss, 'I'd Get Rid of You'

EPA administrator blames scandals on staffers, Trump enemies

(Newser) - Scott Pruitt blamed staffers, the media, his job's "steep learning curve," and President Trump's enemies for numerous controversies during hours of testimony before Congress Thursday. "Let me be very clear: I have nothing to hide as its relates to how I've run the agency...

White House Investigates Pruitt's $43K Phone Booth

39 senators call for EPA chief to step down

(Newser) - Scott Pruitt's week isn't getting any easier: White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said Wednesday that he's planning to investigate the embattled EPA chief's activities, which include allegedly violating the law by spending $43,000 in taxpayer funds on a soundproof phone booth for his office,...

Scott Pruitt's $43K Phone Booth Broke the Law

Because the EPA didn't notify Congress, a government watchdog finds

(Newser) - It may be a fresh week for Scott Pruitt , but it's not one void of uncomfortable headlines. ABC News reports a government watchdog has determined the EPA "violated section 710” of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act when it spent $43,000 on a "secure"...

Scott Pruitt Has 20-Member Full-Time Security Detail

AP reports that's more than 3 times the part-time contingent his predecessor had

(Newser) - Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt's concern with his safety came at a steep cost to taxpayers as his swollen security detail blew through overtime budgets and at times diverted officers away from investigating environmental crimes. Altogether, the agency spent millions of dollars for a 20-member full-time detail that...

Trump Praises EPA Chief Pruitt Amidst Controversy

Other White House officials don't sound so sure about his future

(Newser) - White House officials sounded increasingly doubtful Thursday about the future of embattled Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt, even as President Donald Trump appeared to throw him a public lifeline, the AP reports. Speaking Thursday to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump used a series of superlatives to describe Pruitt....

White House Stewing Over Scott Pruitt's Condo Rental

'His goose is cooked,' says EPA source

(Newser) - Scott Pruitt may be in hot water again—now for renting an apartment from the wife of an energy lobbyist who's had business with the Environmental Protection Agency, CNN reports. Pruitt, who heads the EPA, leased a room in the Washington, DC, condo for just $50 a night on...

Hurricane Harvey's Toxic Impact Wasn't Fully Disclosed

6 months later, only a few spills have been investigated by the feds: AP

(Newser) - More than a half-year after Hurricane Harvey slammed into the Texas coast, the extent of the resulting environmental assault is beginning to surface, while questions about the long-term consequences for human health remain unanswered. County, state, and federal records pieced together by the AP and Houston Chronicle reveal more than...

EPA Chief Says He Flies First-Class for Security

Scott Pruitt blames 'toxic' political environment

(Newser) - Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt says he needs to fly first-class because of a toxic environment—the political one. He says he wasn't involved in the decision to put him in first class when he travels, which he says was made after some unpleasant interactions with travelers opposed...

New EPA Chief 'Always Has' Fake Nose With Her: Daughter

Cathy Stepp's idea to have daughter introduce her to staff may have backfired

(Newser) - Many employees of the Environmental Protection Agency's Midwest region were already concerned about their new boss' history of making things easier for polluters while sweeping humanity's responsibility for climate change under the rug. Now they also must cope with the unexpected knowledge that she apparently "always has"...

Report: EPA Chief Receiving 'Unprecedented' Security

Agency says 24/7 protection is needed because Scott Pruitt is receiving lots of death threats

(Newser) - Scott Pruitt's travel , and how he's been traveling , has already come under fire. Now the EPA chief is under the microscope for what CNN calls an "unprecedented level" of protection. That includes the reported hiring of 12 new security officers, which TPM notes would bring the total...

'The War on Coal Is Over': EPA Rolls Back Obama Plan

Scott Pruitt says previous White House exceeded authority with 'clean power plan'

(Newser) - The Trump administration will abandon the Obama-era Clean Power Plan aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said Monday. "The war on coal is over," he said, per the New York Times . Speaking in Kentucky coal country, Pruitt said he will sign a proposed rule...

EPA Quietly Pulls Waste From Superfund Sites Hit by Harvey

Removed 517 containers of 'unidentified, potentially hazardous material'

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency says it has recovered 517 containers of "unidentified, potentially hazardous material" from highly contaminated toxic waste sites in Texas that flooded last month during Hurricane Harvey. The agency has not said which Superfund sites the material came from, why the contaminants at issue have not...

Report: Houston Superfund Sites Are Under Water

EPA confirms 13 of 41 'experiencing possible damage' due to Harvey

(Newser) - The flooding of Superfund sites in and around Houston caused by Harvey has raised concerns about whether floodwaters had also washed in pollution from the sites, reports the AP , which visited several highly toxic waste sites in and around Houston. All had been inundated with water, in some cases many...

Major Federal Climate Change Report Leaked

Report from 13 different agencies warns of drastic effects

(Newser) - A report on climate change from scientists at 13 federal agencies has been leaked to the New York Times and the Washington Post —and it's firmly at odds with President Trump and Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt's stated positions on the issue. The draft seen by...

Court: EPA Can't Delay Obama-Era Methane Rule

Pruitt overstepped authority, DC court says

(Newser) - A federal appeals court ruled Monday that the head of the Environmental Protection Agency overstepped his authority in trying to delay implementation of an Obama administration rule requiring oil and gas companies to monitor and reduce methane leaks. In a split decision, the three-judge panel from the US Court of...

Study's Message to Americans: 'Our Air Is Contaminated'

Relaxing standards will 'kill a lot of people,' experts warn

(Newser) - Just because air pollution falls below legal limits does not mean you're safe. Indeed, there is no "safe" level of air pollution as pollutants cause an increased risk of premature death even when detected at a fraction of the legal limit set by the EPA, a new study...

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