Lauren Lantry, lauren.lantry@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- After keeping Americans in the dark on a number of deadly chemicals contaminating our water, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt is now violently barring The Associated Press, CNN and E&E news from a national summit on harmful water contaminants. The event is being held after Politico exposed that Pruitt’s EPA and White House staff helped hide a report on several chemicals contaminating water supplies. Yesterday, it was reported that one day after this report, a senior EPA aide met with the chemical industry. According to the Associated Press, after guards barred a reporter from the summit, she asked to speak to an EPA public-affairs person. Security guards then grabbed her by the shoulders and forcibly shoved her out of the building.
In response, Sierra Club Resist Campaign Director Maura Cowley released the following statement:
"Scott Pruitt is incapable of running the EPA without trampling on the health of American families and the freedom of the press in the process. If Pruitt truly has nothing to hide he should be welcoming reporters with open arms, not ejecting them for trying to do their jobs.”
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.