WASHINGTON, D.C. -- It may be spring, but Scott Pruitt’s scandals continue to snowball, as ABC News reported today that Pruitt worked directly with fossil fuel industry lobbyist Steven Hart to secure living arrangements in a townhouse owned by the same lobbyist’s wife. According to ABC, Pruitt paid for just one room in an otherwise unoccupied townhouse and experts on government ethics are raising questions as to whether this was a fair market transaction. Meanwhile, former White House Ethics Czar Norm Eisen said Pruitt likely secured the property below market value, categorizing the deal as a major ethics violation.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, ABC News reported that for much of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s first year in DC, he lived in the townhouse co-owned by the wife of fossil fuel lobbyist Steven Hart. Hart’s lobbying firm reportedly represents fossil fuel companies pushing “liquid natural gas” -- a dirty fuel that Pruitt has openly advocated for, including on a taxpayer funded trip to Morocco.
FirstEnergy Solutions (FES), a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corporation, formally requested that Energy Secretary Rick Perry use an extraordinary emergency order (Section 202c of the Federal Power Act) to force electricity customers to prop up all coal and nuclear plants in the PJM electricity market, something senior staff at DOE have unequivocally said they will not do. PJM, which stretches from the East Coast to the Midwest, has record surplus electric generating capacity and has expressed no immediate reliability concerns.
Today, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced it will begin the process for an offshore drilling lease sale in Alaska’s Beaufort Sea.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Donald Trump fired VA Secretary David Shulkin via tweet following reporting about scandals in Shulkin’s department, including the abuse of taxpayer dollars for luxury travel. Shulkin’s removal leaves far less cover for Scott Pruitt and Ryan Zinke, as they continue to be dogged by scandals, investigations, and negative headlines. Just today, a coalition of environmental groups launched the #BootPruitt campaign to demand the ouster of Pruitt amid the mounting cost to taxpayers of his own luxury travel and the mounting negative effects of his cozy relationship with corporate polluters as he pushes to gut clean air and water standards.
Today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rejected a request from the builder of the fracked gas Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) for more time to cut trees used by migrating birds and threatened and endangered bat species.
Last night, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a proposal to cancel an increase in civil penalties for automakers whose vehicles fail to meet fuel-economy standards required under the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) program.
Today, a leaked memo from Scott Pruitt’s EPA to its staff contained eight “talking points” on climate change that downplay the human impact on the climate crisis. Perhaps Pruitt believes if he can get off the hot seat if he turns his focus back to climate denial and attacking our clean air and water rather than his abuse of taxpayer funds. Just to be safe, we’ve fixed Pruitt’s memo.
Concord, NH -Massachusetts electric companies formally ended contract negotiations with Eversource’s Northern Pass transmission project for Canadian hydro today. The New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee had already unanimously rejected the project with an oral decision earlier in the month, and is expected to issue a written order confirming that action this week.
One year ago, Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at exploiting our public lands for fossil fuel development and rolling back Obama-era safeguards. In the year since, Ryan Zinke has made it his mission to be a “partner” with industry while pushing their agenda, ignoring the cost to America’s health, safety, and wild places.