Category: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

In 1st budget, Trump to push conservative view of government

President Donald Trump sends Congress a proposed budget this week that will sharply test Republicans’ ability to keep long-standing promises to bolster the military, making politically painful cuts to a lengthy list of popular domestic programs. The Republican president will ask his adopted political party, which runs Capitol Hill, to cut domestic agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development, along with grants to state and local governments and community development projects.

Strict standards needed for contaminants in drinking water

Two U.S. senators from New York have introduced legislation that would require federal environmental regulators to clamp down on potentially harmful chemicals in drinking water. The bill, cosponsored by democrats Kristin Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer, would require the Environmental Protection Agency to set “strong and enforceable safety standards” for chemicals like PFOA in public water systems.

EPA chief unconvinced on CO2 link to global warming

The Senate confirmed Scott Pruitt to run the Environmental Protection Agency 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. Photo: Reuters/Carlos Barria The new head of the Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday he is not convinced that carbon dioxide from human activity is the main driver of climate change and said he wants Congress to weigh in on whether CO2 is a harmful pollutant that should be regulated.

EPA head stacks agency with climate change skeptics

Days after the Senate confirmed him as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference and was asked about addressing a group that probably wanted to eliminate his agency. “I think it’s justified,” he responded, to cheers.

Climate, other programs get deep cuts in EPA budget proposal

The Trump administration would slash programs aimed at slowing climate change and improving water safety and air quality, while eliminating thousands of jobs, according to a draft of the Environmental Protection Agency budget proposal obtained by The Associated Press. Under the tentative plan from the Office of Management and Budget, the agency’s funding would be reduced by roughly 25 percent and about 3,000 jobs would be cut, about 19 percent of the agency’s staff.

Environmental programs face deep cuts under budget proposal

The Trump administration would slash programs aimed at slowing climate change and improving water safety and air quality, while eliminating thousands of jobs, according to a draft of the Environmental Protection Agency budget proposal obtained by The Associated Press. Under the tentative plan from the Office of Management and Budget, the agency’s funding would be reduced by roughly 25 percent and about 3,000 jobs would be cut, about 19 percent of the agency’s staff.

Backlash greets Trump proposal to gut Great Lakes cleanup funding

A hydraulic dredge gathers mill debris from Muskegon Lake, a Great Lakes Area of Concern watershed cleanup project funded through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Drastic proposed cuts to Environmental Protection Agency funding that pays for Great Lakes pollution cleanup are not sitting well with environmental groups, Great Lakes mayors and members of both parties on Capitol Hill.

Ohio 29 mins ago 10:17 p.m.Great Lakes restoration would be gutted in early White House plan

With reports swirling that President Donald Trump intends sharp cutbacks at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Free Press has learned that a drastic reduction may be under consideration for Great Lakes restoration efforts, which in the past have received bipartisan support. The National Association of Clean Air Agencies confirmed for the Free Press late Thursday that an initial proposal from the White House Office of Management and Budget calls for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to be cut from $300 million a year to about $10 million.

White House Debates Icahn Plan Revamping Ethanol Rule

White House officials have spent the past two days in deliberations with billionaire refinery owner Carl Icahn about his proposal to modify federal policy on renewable fuels and with ethanol producers who oppose it, according to three people familiar with the talks. reported Monday that Icahn had helped broker a compromise with a leading biofuel group on reworking the program.

House urges EPA to rescind veto on Alaskan mine, despite local opposition

Workers with the Pebble Mine project test drill in the Bristol Bay region near the village of Iliamma. Some Republican lawmakers and mining executives are hoping that the appointment of Scott Pruitt as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency will reverse the agency’s veto of a controversial mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, despite widespread local opposition to the project and a dearth of investors.

Emails: EPA chief Pruitt cozy with fossil fuel industry

In this Tuesday photo, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt speaks in Washington. While Oklahoma’s attorney general, emails show that new Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt was in frequent contact with fossil fuel companies and special interest groups working to undermine federal efforts to curb planet-warming carbon emissions.

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.

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Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has appointed Secretary of State Mike Hunter to replace former Attorney General Scott Pruitt, who was tapped by President Donald Trump as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Fallin appointed Hunter on Monday, four days after Pruitt resigned following his confirmation by the U.S. Senate as EPA administrator.

Trump set to hold campaign rally in Florida Saturday

At least 4 people have died after a powerful storm caused flash flooding in southern California.Two people were killed in two separate car accidents in San Di… — Mike Pence affirmed the United States’ support for NATO and urged Russia to deescalate violence in eastern Ukraine while speaking Saturday at the Munich Secu… “We were very pleased to see the Senate finally confirm Scott Pruitt as the new administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency . Our thanks go out to Nebraska Se… Final Day Of State Wrestling Is Underway.

Sound Off for Saturday, Feb. 18: Get to work

The Capitol is seen at sunup, Friday, Feb. 17, 2017, as Senate Republicans are poised to use their majority to confirm President Donald Trump’s controversial nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, despite calls from Democrats for a delay as both houses of Congress prepare to leave Washington for the Presidents Day weekend and return to their home districts. The Senate remains tied up with delays in confirming Trump’s cabinet picks, while the House is spending most of its time reversing regulations from the close of President Obama’s term, including the GOP’s promised swift repeal of Obamacare.

Sparking ‘The Fight of a Lifetime,’ Senate Puts Fossil Fuel Ally at Helm of EPA

Portending risks to “the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the planet we love,” the U.S. Senate on Friday confirmed Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency . The 52-46 vote comes a day after an Oklahoma judge said Pruitt was in violation of the state’s Open Records Act and ordered the release of thousands of emails between his office and fossil fuel companies.

Senate confirms Trump’s EPA pick

The US Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump’s pick to run the Environmental Protection Agency over the objections of Democrats and environmentalists worried he will gut the agency. Senators voted 52-46 on Friday to approve Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt.

Trumpa s EPA pick, Scott Pruitt, expected to be confirmed Friday

In this Jan. 18, 2017, file photo,Environmental Protection Agency Administrator nominee, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Senate Republicans are poised to use their majority to confirm Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, despite calls from Democrats for a delay.

Senate on track to confirm Scott Pruitt as EPA administrator

In this Jan. 18, 2017, file photo, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator-designate, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. On inauguration eve, five law professors filed a brief in support of a 2015 regulation giving EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers discretion to regulate tributaries and wetlands far upstream from navigable lakes and rivers to protect water quality.

ARMAGEDDON. Legislation Introduced To Reduce EPA Power

Representative Sam Johnson has had enough of the EPA attempting to insinuate itself into every aspect of American life. Rather than taking the radical route of simply doing away with it, which is how Representative Matt Gaetz would deal with the issue , Johnson proposes shuttering EPA’s most wasteful and intrusive programs which, oddly enough, comprises most of what that agency does.

GOP senators suspend committee rules, move Trump EPA pick ahead as Democrats boycott vote

In this Jan. 18, 2017, file photo, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Republicans voted Feb. 2, 2017, to send to the full Senate the nomination of Pruitt to lead the EPA.

Senate delays vote on Trump EPA pick after Democrats boycott

“Republican U.S. senators on Wednesday delayed a committee vote on President Donald Trump’s pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency after the panel’s Democrats boycotted the meeting, saying that nominee Scott Pruitt doubts the science of climate change. The boycott in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee delayed the transition to a new administrator for the agency.

GOP Pushes 2 Top Cabinet Picks Through to Full Senate

Republicans jammed two of President Donald Trump’s top Cabinet picks through the Senate Finance Committee with no Democrats in the room Wednesday after suspending a rule that would have otherwise barred them from taking the vote. The tactic seemed a warning shot that they might deploy brute political muscle in the upcoming fight over the Supreme Court vacancy.

Environmentalists Dispute Republican Claims Over “Job-Killing” Regulations

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, President Donald Trump’s choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency, testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on Capitol Hill on January 18, 2017 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump is focused on fossil fuels to buoy the economy, but a report out this month found that solar energy companies employed more workers to generate electric power last year than coal, oil and natural gas combined.

Uncertain future for Californiaa s anti-smog efforts: Thomas Elias

Cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are down about three percent over the last 40 years in California, even as state population is up by well over one-third, better than 15 million, and far more smog-belching vehicles than ever clog the roads. This is a major public health achievement, and the single biggest reason behind it is the 45-year-old federal Clean Air Act and its provisions for California waivers.

Official: Trump wants to slash EPA workforce, budget

The former head of President Donald Trump’s transition team at the Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday he expects the new administration to seek significant budget and staff cuts. Myron Ebell said in an interview with The Associated Press that Trump is likely to seek significant reductions to the agency’s workforce – currently about 15,000 employees nationwide.

How Reporters And Civil Servants Can Thwart Trump’s Anti-Transparency Agenda

On January 24, two anonymous sources at the Environmental Protection Agency told Reuters that the Trump administration had instructed EPA officials to remove the data-heavy climate change page from the agency’s website, and that the page could be taken down as soon as the following day. A public backlash quickly ensued, and the Trump administration at least temporarily backed away from its plan to shut down the website on January 25, as E&E News reported .

A National Park Deleted Tweets On Climate Change After Trump Silenced …

Trump administration tells EPA to cut climate page from website: sources – U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to remove the climate change page from its website, two agency employees told Reuters, the latest move by the newly minted leadership A National Park Deleted Tweets On Climate Change After Trump Silenced Federal Scientists – Badlands National Park on Tuesday posted several facts about climate change on its official Twitter account, then deleted them.

Guam governor orders EPA to test for traces of Agent Orange

Guam’s Environmental Protection Agency has been ordered to test sites around the tiny U.S. island territory for traces of the toxic Vietnam-era defoliant Agent Orange. In a letter dated Jan. 19, Gov. Eddie Calvo instructed the agency’s on-island administrator, Walter Leon Guerrero, to examine “drinking water sources and soils,” where U.S. military veterans who served there in the 1960s and ’70s claimed the toxic-chemical mixture had been sprayed.