Lauren Lantry, lauren.lantry@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, in a 52-47 vote, the Senate confirmed Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler to be EPA Administrator.
In his first 100 days as Acting EPA Administrator, Andrew Wheeler took numerous actions to harm public health and the environment on average every three days. Using documents produced by a recent Sierra Club FOIA request CNN and Reuters reported that Wheeler is heavily preferring meetings with industry, attending more than 50 meetings with companies or industry groups the EPA regulates between April and August of last year, including Darling Ingredients, a company he previously lobbied for.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:
"Senate Republicans have officially put a coal lobbyist in charge of protecting our children from the dirty air and toxic water created by his corporate polluting clients. With each rollback, Wheeler is stacking the deck in favor of the polluting corporations who formerly employed him, leaving our families to pay the price of more toxic pollution with their health. This is a shameful vote by Senate Republicans who have turned their backs on the health of their constituents by backing Wheeler.”
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.