Sierra Club Responds to Steven Gardner as Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

Cumberland, KY - Yesterday, media reports showed that Steven Gardner was the frontrunner for the nomination of becoming the Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. 

 

In response Tom Morris, Chair of the Cumberland, Kentucky Chapter of the Sierra Club, released the following statement: 

 

"Steven Gardner is a horrible choice for Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, and we strongly reject his appointment to a position that will literally mean the difference between life and death to communities living near coal mining sites. 

 

"Gardner has shown time and again that he will try and fight anything that gets in the way of profits for coal executives - even if it means sacrificing the health of the families and communities in Kentucky. Throughout his career he has shown nothing but contempt for science-based clean air and water protections for working people, and dutifully pandered to corporate polluters instead of the advice of doctors and public health professionals."