The letter, sent yesterday, argues that Pruitt is “openly hostile” to the EPA’s mission of working with state, local and tribal governments to protect human health and the environment, and as attorney general, has made attacking the regulations that the EPA is charged with enforcing a key priority.
“This is not just a matter of policy difference; Mr. Pruitt has sought to tear apart the very notion of cooperative federalism that forms the foundation of our federal environmental laws,” the Attorneys General wrote. “That cooperation makes it possible for states and the federal government, working together, to protect the health of the American people and the resources on which we depend.”
The letter notes that Pruitt has filed a number of lawsuits seeking to block the EPA from fulfilling its obligations under the Clean Air Act. He has also been a vocal critic of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, and was part of a group of states that challenged the rule and obtained a stay of its implementation last year.
The letter is signed by the attorneys general of Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawai’i, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Click here to read the letter.
New York Attorney General Schneiderman has made clear that he stands ready to use the full power of his office to compel enforcement of our nation’s environmental laws if the EPA fails to uphold them. Schneiderman also led a coalition of 19 states and localities calling on President-Elect Trump to continue the federal government’s defense of the Clean Power Plan and reject the “misguided” advice to discard the plan.
