Records show EPA’s Pruitt used private email, despite denial

Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt occasionally used private email to communicate with staff while serving as Oklahoma's attorney general, despite telling Congress that he had always used a state email account for government business. A review of Pruitt emails obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request showed a 2014 exchange where the Republican emailed a member of his staff using a personal Apple email account.

Two Views: Supreme Court Nomination – Gorsuch could make it harder to address climate change

Judge Neil Gorsuch was not on President Donald Trump's first list of potential Supreme Court nominees. Judge Gorsuch did, however, appear on a revised list just weeks after he wrote a controversial manifesto arguing that it should be easier for corporations and individuals suing federal agencies to have courts strike down regulations and overrule decisions by experts at agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Latest: Trump to order review of Obama rule on waterways

President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Tuesday mandating a review of an Obama-era rule aimed at protecting small streams and wetlands from development and pollution. A senior White House official says the order will instruct the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers to review a rule that redefined "waters of the United States" protected under the Clean Water Act to include smaller creeks and wetlands.

The Latest: White House to seek big boost in defense dollars

Host President Donald Trump, makes a toast during a dinner reception for the annual National Governors Association winter meeting Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017, at the State Dining Room of the White House, in Washington. The White House is preparing to propose boosting defense spending and slashing funding for longtime Republican targets like the Environmental Protection Agency.

Federal lawyer urges colleagues to resist a indefensiblea Trump policies

In the latest sign of defiance to President Donald Trump among federal environmental employees, a retiring Interior Department lawyer sent an email to hundreds of colleagues this month, urging them to "stand your ground" and resist being pressured into signing off on legally indefensible environmental decisions. Eric W. Nagle, a 22-year veteran of the Interior Department's solicitor's office, sent the email on Feb. 16, just before he departed his office to attend his retirement party.

Automakers ask EPA to overturn recent review of fuel-efficiency standards

The world's biggest automakers have asked Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt to reconsider a recent decision to lock in strict fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks to be produced in model years 2022 to 2025. The requests by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of Global Automakers to relax the standards, which the Obama administration finalized Jan. 13, could provide the first indication of how the Trump administration will reshape the government's approach to addressing climate change.

Big Corn courts old foe Big Oil to combat electric car threat

A U.S. biofuels lobbying group on Tuesday said it is seeking to work with longtime rival the oil industry to fight the threat to both from subsidies for electric vehicles. The two industries have been at loggerheads for years as they seek sway with Washington over how much biofuel should be included in gasoline and diesel.

Executive actions

President Trump signs an executive order while surrounded by small-business leaders in the Oval Office on Jan. 30. President Trump is preparing executive orders aimed at curtailing Obama-era policies on climate and water pollution, according to individuals briefed on the measures. While both directives will take time to implement, they will send an unmistakable signal that the new administration is determined to promote fossil-fuel production and economic activity even when those activities collide with some environmental safeguards.

Pruitt OK’d as EPA chief over environmentalists’ objections

Over the strong objections of environmental groups, the Senate confirmed Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday, giving President Donald Trump an eager partner to fulfill his campaign pledge to increase the use of planet-warming fossil fuels. In six years as Oklahoma's attorney general, Pruitt filed 14 lawsuits challenging EPA regulations that included limits on carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants.

Climate doubter Pruitt takes EPA reins

Director of Environmental Protection Agency Scott Pruitt is sworn in by Justice Samuel Alito at the Executive Office in Washington, US February 17, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria The US Senate confirmed President Donald Trump's pick to run the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday over the objections of Democrats and environmentalists worried he will gut the agency, as the administration readies executive orders to ease regulation on drillers and miners.

EPA criticizes EPA in news release hailing Pruitt’s confirmation

The Environmental Protection Agency welcomed its new leader with an unusual news release Friday that occasionally took aim at itself. Scott Pruitt, who has questioned human connectivity to climate change, was confirmed by the Senate Friday in a partisan vote.

Senate confirms Trumpa s EPA pick as White House targets regulation

The U.S. Senate confirmed President Donald Trump's pick to run the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday over the objections of Democrats and green groups worried he will gut the agency, as the administration readies executive orders to ease regulation on drillers and miners. Senators voted 52-46 to approve Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, who Senator John Barrasso, a Republican and the head of the chamber's environment committee, said would reform and modernize the EPA.

The Latest: Commerce nominee Ross moves closer to approval

Pruitt served six years as Oklahoma's attorney general and was closely aligned with oil and gas companies in his home state, whose executives backed his political campaigns. He filed 14 lawsuits as attorney general challenging EPA regulations, including President Barack Obama's plan to limit planet-warming carbon emissions.

Pruitt Confirmed to Lead EPA, Alarming Environmentalists

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt was confirmed as the new administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, in a vote by the Senate Friday. The move is seen by many as a key step by the Trump administration to roll back the Obama administration's rules to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and other sources.

Senate confirms Scott Pruitt to lead EPA

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt today won Senate confirmation to head the Environmental Protection Agency, a federal agency he repeatedly sued to rein in its reach during the Obama administration. The vote was 52-46 as Republican leaders used their party's narrow Senate majority to push Pruitt's confirmation despite calls from Democrats to delay the vote until requested emails are released next week.

Scott Pruitt may sound reasonable on TV – but Trump’s EPA …

Trump's pick to safeguard the environment may seem more normal than his boss but he still holds anti-science views With the nonstop drama regarding President Donald Trump's Russia connections hogging the headlines, it's easy to overlook the fact that Senate Republicans are still rubber-stamping the den of crooks and conspiracy theorists Trump is drawing from to stock his Cabinet. Early nominees like Betsy DeVos and Jeff Sessions, who managed to sneak in before stories about secret phone calls to Russia took over the headlines, encountered some pushback and protest, and were confirmed by narrow party-line votes.

Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.: The Pebble Deposit Isn’t Commercially Viable

Northern Dynasty's key asset, the low-grade Pebble deposit, is not commercially viable: mining it would require so much upfront investment that it would actually destroy value. Kerrisdale believes Northern Dynasty's former partners concluded that the Pebble project had a negative present value - an assessment that Northern Dynasty has spent years trying to conceal from public.

Lawsuit: Trump Cabinet nominee has not turned over records

Attorney Blake Lawrence, left, answers a question about a lawsuit against Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt over public access to official emails, in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. Looking on are Brady Henderson, center, and Ryan Kiesel, both of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma.