What’s Pruitt screwing up you ask? Let’s count the ways.
1. PRUITT ENDANGERED FIRST RESPONDERS IN HOUSTON BY DELAYING A TOXICS DISCLOSURE SAFEGUARD
Harvey’s destruction and flooding caused the Arkema chemical manufacturing and storage facility outside of Houston to explode and burst into flames. Fifteen sheriff's deputies were taken to the hospital for inhaling the irritants and a mandatory evacuation is in place for all residents living within 1.5 miles of the chemical plant in southeast Texas.”
Remarkably, Pruitt falsely claimed that there were "no concentrations of concern for toxic materials" from the plant. Clearly, Pruitt was trying to cover up the fact that he had endangered first responders by delaying a safeguard that could have required greater disclosure of the types of hazardous chemicals at sites like Arkema. EPA’s Risk Management Plan rule was specifically designed to protect first responders and help them in responses to these types of disasters.
2. PRUITT IS CLOSING AN EPA LAB IN HOUSTON THAT’S CRUCIAL FOR RECOVERY
The Houston Chronicle reported that Pruitt is set to close EPA’s Region 6 Environmental Services Laboratory. The majority of the lab’s work has been concentrated on the dozens of Superfund sites in the region, 13 of which flooded and released toxic chemicals when Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston. The lab has doubled in an important role as a staging area for EPA staff. The closure is slated for 2020, far earlier than when the recovery from Hurricane Harvey is expected to conclude.
As Texas communities are trying to assess the destruction caused by Hurricane Harvey and figure out a way forward as we rebuild, Scott Pruitt is trying to close down the offices that help evaluate risk and protect them by testing water and soil samples. Later reports indicate that Pruitt may be feeling the heat of public exposure and may be considering keeping the facility open.
3. PRUITT IS FAILING TO INFORM THE PUBLIC OF UNLIMITED POLLUTION HE’S PERMITTING IN HARVEY-AFFECTED COMMUNITIES
The Texas Tribune reports, meanwhile, that Scott Pruitt’s EPA is refusing to publicly share the levels of Benzene pollution throughout the region affected by Hurricane Harvey, while his agency continues to waive environmental safeguards. There are 449 chemical and toxic facilities and refineries in the 25 counties most affected by the hurricane, and residents have personally smelled and detected dangerous concentrations of the pollutant. Put differently, Pruitt is putting people who have just lost their homes and loved ones in even greater harm while refusing to tell them what dangers they face. In the wake of Harvey, Donald Trump promised the people of Texas he was with them. Pruitt is making it clear that was just more pollution dumped in their air.
