Donald Trump and Scott Pruitt have turned the Environmental Protection Agency over to corporate polluters. Pruitt meets frequently with mining and fossil fuel industry executives, but hardly takes any meetings with environmental groups, according to a new report by the Washington Post. The corporate meetings also appear to be influencing the agency's decisions:
1) Less than two weeks after Pruitt met with an Alaskan mining company, the agency approved a controversial mine that could contaminate nearby streams.
2) In April, Pruitt met with representatives of the American Gas Association. Two weeks later the agency announced it would reconsider Obama-era regulations on harmful methane leaks at drilling sites.
3) After Pruitt's meeting with a truck manufacturer, the agency halted new standards for the trucking industry.
The EPA has a duty to protect the public from harmful pollution, not cater to the needs of corporate interests. Clean air and safe water should always come before corporate profits.
By Steven Mufson and Juliet Eilperin
