Lauren Lantry (202) 548-6599 or lauren.lantry@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Tomorrow, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a full committee hearing on Michael Dourson, Matthew Leopold, David Ross, and William Wehrum, Trump’s nominees to be Assistant Administrators of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as Jeffery Baran, Trump’s nominee to be a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Wehrum, who is nominated to head the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, the office in charge of enforcing the Clean Air Act was nominated for this position once before, in 2006, and rejected by the Senate. Wehrum, ironically has said that the Clean Air Act shouldn't apply to the carbon pollution that contributes to climate change.
Dourson, who is nominated to head the EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution, the division that oversees the chemical industry, has spent much of his professional career writing studies that undermine existing science and concerns about toxic chemicals, and call for weaker regulations on chemicals like pesticides. Dourson was paid by Dow Agrosciences to downplay safety concerns about a toxic pesticide that is dangerous to kids. The EPA recently reversed restrictions on the use of this pesticide, called chlorpyrifos, shortly after meeting with officials from Dow.
In response, Sierra Club Legislative Director Melinda Pierce released the following statement:
"With this latest slate of nominations, Donald Trump and Scott Pruitt may as well change the Environmental Protection Agency’s name to the Corporate Polluter Protection Agency. While the EPA is already led by a climate denier who formerly sued the agency 14 times to fight public health protections, Trump and Pruitt’s latest nominees’ polluter ties will surely add to the toxic sludge of decisions the EPA is currently pumping out. We urge the Senate to protect our public health and environment by rejecting Wehrum, Dourson and all of Trump’s toxic nominees.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.