The EPA's Weekly Round-Up ...
From announcing TSCA framework chemical rules, saving the taxpayers $1 million a year by ending the lucrative subsidy for EPA gyms, to a must-read editorial from the Oklahoman that sets the record straight about EPA Administrator Pruitt, it was another winning week at the EPA.
NATIONAL COVERAGE …
The Wall Street Journal reports that the EPA released new chemical testing rules that will protect the environment and provide certainty to businesses.
“The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday released rules enabling the agency to prioritize the testing of certain chemicals used in consumer goods and other products while forgoing the testing of others, overturning more sweeping Obama-era procedures that the chemicals industry deemed overly burdensome. Under the new rules, the agency will have more discretion to determine which chemicals and uses are evaluated for environmental and public health risks and which aren’t.”
The San Francisco Chronicle reports these rules will regulate toxic chemicals found in everyday products. “The rules, issued on the one-year anniversary of the law's signature by President Barack Obama, set standards for how the EPA will identify and evaluate high-priority chemicals and impose reporting requirements for industry. The new law regulates tens of thousands of toxic chemicals found in everyday products, from household cleaners to clothing and furniture.”
CNN reports that the EPA has ended the taxpayer subsidy for gym memberships for employees. “The Trump administration is ending a program which subsidizes gym memberships for Environmental Protection Agency employees.”
Additionally, the Washington Free Beacon reports that this move will save taxpayers $1 million. “The Environmental Protection Agency has ended a nearly $1 million program that provided gym memberships for employees. The new administration under EPA administrator Scott Pruitt identified the gym memberships as an abuse of taxpayer dollars. Examples of the program's misuse included $15,000 for gym memberships for 37 EPA scientists in Las Vegas last year.”
TO THE STATES …
In Oklahoma, the editorial board at the Oklahoman
writes that despite an effort by some to sensationalize, there is nothing nefarious about Pruitt dealing with the No. 1 industry in his state.
“The disdain that some in the media have for President Trump and members of his administration is evident regularly. Recent coverage related to EPA administrator Scott Pruitt provides an example of interest to locals because of Pruitt's Oklahoma ties. … An Associated Press story from Washington last week about emails Pruitt sent and received as attorney general did what it could to further establish Pruitt as a minion for the oil and gas industry — which environmentalists see as dead set on ruining the earth as we know it. The AP, a wire service used by media outlets around the world including The Oklahoman, said the emails ‘underscore just how closely’ Pruitt ‘coordinated with fossil fuel companies’ as Oklahoma's AG, ‘a position in which he frequently sued to block federal efforts to curb
planet-warming carbon emissions.’ That's quite an opening paragraph. Pruitt didn't just work with energy companies while attorney general — he worked ‘closely’ with ‘fossil fuel companies’ (the ultimate bogey men) to essentially keep global warming from abating. … The fact Pruitt regularly corresponded and dealt with energy industry officials as attorney general of a state where energy is the No. 1 industry should not be surprising nor should it, by itself, be considered nefarious.”
In Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Tribune reports that the EPA is working to clean-up communities in the Keystone State. “Monroeville, Penn Hills, Plum and other east suburban communities may benefit from a federal grant designed to identify and analyze brownfields. The Turtle Creek Valley Council of Governments recently was awarded $300,000 from the federal Environmental Protection Agency to continue its site assessments, develop clean-up plans and support community outreach as part of a partnership with Steel Rivers Council of Governments.
In Vermont, Vermont Public Radio reports that the EPA is working to clean-up three communities in the southern part of the state. “Brattleboro, Bellows Falls and Bennington will share $700,000 in Environmental Protection Agency cleanup funding to redevelop former industrial properties. The EPA Brownfields Program supports the first stages of hazardous cleanup on former industrial sites.”
In Wisconsin, WQOW-TV reports that the EPA is working to cleanup an area near UW-Eau Claire’s campus. “On Wednesday, News 18 reported on the $500,000 EPA grant the Sonnentag Complex Project was set to receive from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. On Thursday, officials behind the project revealed how that money will be spent.”
TWEETS ...
