EPA Chief Scott Pruitt’s Long List of Controversies
From: KITV “A steady stream of negative headlines involving Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt in recent weeks and months has official Washington wondering whether the embattled agency chief can hold on to his job. Pruitt came to Washington already a ...
Grand Teton Chief is Trump’s Pick to Lead NPS
From: E&E News “Jeff Ruch, executive director of the nonprofit watchdog Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said Vela’s record suggests he won’t be a “change agent” for the Park Service. Despite all of the talk about the need to change the ...
Appeals Backlog at MSPB Tops 1,100, Group Says
From: FedWeek “A group that advocates for federal employees involved in environmental matters has reported that the appeals backlog at MSPB now exceeds 1,100, with some of the cases dating to 2014. Data compiled by the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility show that more ...
The Energy 202: Interior Lacks Permanent Leaders for Key Agencies Controlling Roughly 500 Million Acres of Public Land
From: The Washington Post “To not run afoul of that vacancies law, Zinke gave 10 acting directors the power to carry out duties “not required by statute or regulation to be performed only by the Senate-confirmed official,” according to a Jan. 12 order obtained by the nonprofit ...
More Tumult at America’s Chemical Safety Agency
From: Chemistry World “The managing director of the embattled US Chemical Safety Board (CSB), who had been on paid administrative leave since June 2015 over accusations of mismanagement and leadership deficiencies, has just been officially terminated by the outgoing chairwoman of the ...
EPA Given More Time on Climate Comments
From: Politico “EPA has until August to hand over scientific information to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility under a previous court order related to its FOIA request on comments Pruitt made during an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” where he said human ...
More Bayview, Hunters Point Residents Added To $27 Billion Suit Against Tetra Tech
From: SF Gate “Attorneys representing 38,000 residents of San Francisco’s Hunters Point and Bayview neighborhoods in a lawsuit against Tetra Tech, the firm hired by the U.S. Navy to rid the area’s former shipyard of toxic waste, said today they’ve added more than 2, ...
Judge gives EPA deadline for studies backing Pruitt’s claims
From: Greenwire “In her decision Friday rejecting EPA’s full request for additional time, Chief Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia admonished the agency for rehashing “already-rejected arguments” and dragging its feet on ...
Internal Watchdog Just Dinged The Park Service Director For ‘Inappropriate’ Workplace Conduct
From: HufF Post “The Interior Department’s internal watchdog released a report Thursday describing an inappropriate gesture made by the National Park Service director in department headquarters. While Paul Daniel Smith is unlikely to be punished over the incident, the case ...
OpEd – EPA Head Must Ignore the Flak and Continue to Drop More Bombs”
From: Moultrie News / OpEd “One of the reasons for the increase in the attacks against Pruitt is his April 30 introduction of “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science,” a new EPA rule saying that no scientific research study may be used for environment and energy policy ...
Wildlife Protection Groups File Federal Suit Over Endangered Black Bear
From: Jurist/em> “Environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit Thursday in the US District Court for the District of Columbia against the US Department of the Interior for its removal of the Louisiana black bear from the endangered species list. The groups argue the move is a ...
Southern Environmentalists Sue Over Black Bear
From: Courthouse News Service “A group of Southern environmental groups claims the Louisiana black bear is in danger after the U.S. Department of the Interior booted it from the endangered species list. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, The Sierra Club Delta Chapter ...
Pruitt Proposes Weakening EPA’s Power Over Water Polluters
From: Eco-Watch “In a memo dated June 26 but released June 27, Pruitt asked the EPA’s Office of Water and Regional Administrators to draft a proposal that would restrict the agency’s ability to revoke permits issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) allowing ...
Environmental Groups File Lawsuit to Protect La. Black Bear
From: WBRZ “Multiple organizations have filed a lawsuit in an effort to protect the Louisiana black bear. According to a release, the lawsuit was filed Thursday by a coalition of conservation groups led by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility with co-counsel Atchafalaya ...
Internal Watchdog Just Dinged the Park Service Director for “Inappropriate” Workplace Conduct
From: Mother Jones “The Interior Department’s internal watchdog released a report Thursday describing an inappropriate gesture made by the National Park Service director in department headquarters. While Paul Daniel Smith is unlikely to be punished over the incident, the case ...
Pruitt Acts to Yield Some EPA Power Over Mining
From: WBAL “In a memo released Wednesday by the EPA, Pruitt directs the agency to study renouncing part of its authority under the half-century-old Clean Water Act to veto permits that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or states grant to allow dumping waste into waterways. Pruitt&# ...
Meet the Government Chemist Who Spent 36 Months on Paid Leave Before He Was Fired
From: Government Executive “In terms of his profession, Daniel Horowitz has been a political prisoner these past three years but rather than being released he was executed,” said Ruch, arguing that Sutherland wasted several hundred thousand dollars of taxpayer funds by her fear of ...
Pruitt Acts to Yield Some EPA Power Over Mining, Development
From: Sun Herald “Kyla Bennett, a former EPA official now with the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility nonprofit, said the proposal would weaken one of the few tools the agency has when it comes to limiting environmental harm from mining and other development around ...
EPA Requests More Time to Find Backing for Pruitt’s Claims
From: E&E News “EPA wants more time to comply with a court order requiring it to hand over scientific records backing Administrator Scott Pruitt’s claims about climate change. The agency yesterday filed a motion seeking to extend the court’s deadline by more than a ...
Labor Groups Seek Quick Ruling Requiring CSB Reporting Regulation
From: Inside OSHA Online “The promulgation of a reporting regulation is a discrete action required by law. In addition to the plain language of the statute confirming this non-discretionary duty, there have been four independent reviews from three different oversight bodies declaring ...
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