Tomorrow, the Senate Energy and Public Works Committee will vote on advancing Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler’s nomination to the full Senate. But putting a coal lobbyist like Andrew Wheeler in charge of the EPA is like giving a bank robber the keys to the vault, making Tony Soprano the head of the FBI, hiring Palpatine to run the Galactic Senate, or putting the Hamburglar in charge of McDonalds.
A recent Sierra Club FOIA request of Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler’s emails and calendars show’s he is all too friendly with the industries he is supposed to be regulating. Here is a sampling of the findings from the first batch of newly-released documents:
This week, Politico reported that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler will not consider federal limits on per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals that are fueling a water contamination crisis in hundreds of communities across the country, including in North Carolina. According to the article, “EPA's decision means the chemicals will remain unregulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, according to sources familiar with a still-unreleased draft plan that acting administrator Andrew Wheeler signed off on in late December.” Wheeler also failed to answer questions from Democratic leadership about his plans for regulating the chemical, which is in the bloodstream of an estimated 98% of Americans, and is linked to thyroid and kidney damages, pregnancy complications, as well as cancer.
Today, the Huffington Post reported that Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler’s old lobbying firm, Faegre Baker Daniels Consulting, was fired by Murray Energy shortly after Trump announced his plans to nominate Wheeler to head the EPA.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler will not consider federal limits on per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals that are fueling a water contamination crisis in hundreds of communities across the country, including in Colorado. PFAS chemicals have been detected in water supplies for more than 100,000 Colorado residents.
The Trump shutdown may be (temporarily) over, but the damage done to our communities, our national parks, and our environment will be felt for centuries. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the shutdown cost the economy $11 billion, with $3 billion of that permanently lost.
Yesterday, the Environmental Protection Agency released their 2018 year in review report. While this year’s report featured far fewer pictures of disgraced EPA administrator Scott Pruitt (0) than the 2017 wrap-up, the same anti-environmental agenda is heavily touted.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing to examine the nomination of Acting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler to be EPA Administrator.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is holding a hearing to examine the nomination of Acting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler to be EPA Administrator.
Putting a coal lobbyist like Andrew Wheeler in charge of the EPA is like giving a bank robber the keys to the vault, making Tony Soprano the head of the FBI, hiring Palpatine to run the Galactic Senate, or putting the Hamburglar in charge of McDonalds. The fox in the hen house analogies are endless here, but so is Wheeler’s ability to rollback vital safeguards to our air, water, and climate and put our environment and health at risk should he remain in the top spot at the EPA. Wheeler isn’t just friendly with corporate polluters; he’s been on their team for years.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the House passed HR 266 which would fund the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of the Interior (DOI) through September 30, 2019. During Donald Trump’s government shutdown the EPA has stopped drinking water system inspection, power plant inspection, chemical facility inspection, superfund cleanup , inspections of hazardous waste management sites and chemical facilities, reviews of pesticides, and processing Freedom of Information Act requests (FOIA).
Yesterday, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman John Barrasso announced the hearing for coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler’s nomination for Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency would be held on January 16, likely landing amid the continued government shutdown. Wheeler is angling for a promotion while his employees at the EPA aren’t even getting paid.