Tomorrow, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will vote on advancing acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler’s nomination. On top of being cozy with polluters and rolling back our biggest protections against climate pollution, Wheeler is in the hot seat for his refusal to address toxic emissions and clean up polluted communities from per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals. These toxic chemicals are fueling a water contamination crisis in hundreds of communities across the country. As many as 110 million Americans could be drinking PFAS contaminated water.
Arizona/ Texas-- Last night, AP reported that the Trump Administration began preparation for the construction of concrete border walls in the Texas’ Rio Grande Valley and deployed miles of razor wire to place on border barriers in Nogales, Arizona.
Today, Donald Trump announced that he will nominate David Bernhardt to be the Secretary of the Department of the Interior.
Oakland, Calif., -- Today, community, labor and environmental organizations in cities across the U.S. are taking action for transit equity. The second Transit Equity Day commemorates civil rights icon Rosa Parks on her birthday. Her act of resistance by refusing to give up her seat on the bus in 1955 was a catalyst for the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the civil rights movement.
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:
Baltimore, MD-- Baltimore City Councilmember Kristerfer Burnett (District 8), in partnership with the Sierra Club, introduced a resolution today calling for the Maryland General Assembly to pass, and Governor Hogan to sign, legislation establishing a clear and enforceable commitment to move Maryland beyond coal-fired power and create a Coal Community Transition Fund to support impacted communities and workers. The fund would support investments in job retraining and assistance for those affected, as well as increased investments in clean energy sources that will provide good-paying, local jobs.
WASHINGTON, D.C. --Today, the Trump Administration announced it would withdraw the United States from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia. The INF Treaty is one of the most successful nuclear weapons treaties, achieving the destruction of more than 2, 690 short and medium range missiles. As recently as 2017 the U.S. Department of Defense advised that the U.S. “should not unilaterally withdraw from the INF.”
Las Vegas, NV-- Late yesterday, Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez-Masto introduced legislation to protect the state’s Ruby Mountains from potential oil and gas development. According to her staff, the bill would prohibit oil and gas leasing anywhere within the Ruby Mountains Ranger District of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The bill marks the first piece of federal legislation to safeguard the Rubies-- a unique landscape that is under threat of leasing to fossil fuel development.
Albuquerque, NM -- Today, New Mexico Senators Heinrich and Udall introduced a three-bill package addressing environmental and community concerns related to the border wall. Included in the legislation aimed to protect wildlife, Native American sites and people, one bill would amend the Real ID Act to prohibit the federal government’s ability to waive environmental, health and safety laws to build more border wall.