Adam Beitman, adam.beitman@sierraclub.org or 202-670-5585
*** Read the full filing online here ***
WASHINGTON, DC - The Sierra Club has filed a formal complaint with the Inspector General of the Environmental Protection Agency demonstrating that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has violated the Agency’s Scientific Integrity Policy in multiple ways. The filing calls for an investigation into and resolution of Pruitt’s comments on carbon dioxide’s role in fueling the climate crisis.
“Pruitt clearly violated the Environmental Protection Agency’s Scientific Integrity Policy by publicly denying that carbon pollution is driving the climate crisis” said Senior Sierra Club Attorney Elena Saxonhouse. “If the EPA’s Scientific Integrity Policy is to have any meaning then this type of clear violation must be strictly enforced and resolved.”
Pruitt’s false statements violate each of the following principles set forth by EPA’s Scientific Integrity Policy:
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"When dealing with science, it is the responsibility of every EPA employee to conduct, utilize, and communicate science with honesty, integrity, and transparency, both within and outside the Agency." (p. 1)
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“[P]olicy makers shall not knowingly misrepresent, exaggerate, or downplay areas of scientific uncertainty associated with policy decisions." (p. 5)
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“To operate an effective science and regulatory agency like the EPA, it is also essential that political or other officials not suppress or alter scientific findings.” (p. 1)
The complaint alerts the Inspector General that “Administrator Pruitt undermines the agency’s mission and its integrity by contradicting basic facts that EPA scientists have studied, verified, and communicated for years. The Scientific Integrity Policy aims not only to protect sound decision-making, but also to engender public trust in the Agency. By misrepresenting his own agency’s science, Administrator Pruitt severely threatens that trust. …. His comments cannot be dismissed as mere error when (a) they concern a basic scientific fact that underlies a widely discussed and publicized policy of his own agency, and (b) there is evidence of political motivation.”
*** Read the full filing online here ***
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