Showing posts with label National Resources Defense Council. Show all posts
Showing posts with label National Resources Defense Council. Show all posts

Monday, March 26, 2018

Pruitt touts ‘transparency’ and ‘professionalism’ while practicing neither



Pruitt is doing nothing to hide his corruption, will stoop to any level necessary and spout lies and half-truths to further his own disastrous policies.  And when his lies are so blatant and obvious, the ass-kissers at the Oklahoma Editorial Board fawn over every word he speaks, like a teen-aged girl glued to the radio when her favorite boy band releases a new song.

Pruitt could say the sky is green (he might have already said it), the OEB will jump on that story and say what a great guy he is for finally setting the record straight, after years and years of fake science telling us it is blue.  Last week, in a move that surprised no one except for Trumpsters, Pruitt announced that the TEPA will no longer use “secret science” on which to base regulations.  The OEB says it is “a sound move in line with basic scientific transparency and professionalism”. 

Only the OEB would buy a load of crap like that.  Pruitt has never been transparent during his regime at the TEPA, even going as far to spend over $40,000 on a phone booth so his phone calls could be private.  The NRDC has to sue just to get access to documents that are meant for public consumption.  Doesn’t sound like transparency or professionalism.

There’s no “secret science”. Pruitt is lying.

The OEB quoted Lamar Smith, chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, and major opponent of science, and climate-change denier, Smith said the EPA had “routinely relied on questionable science based on nonpublic information that could not be reproduced, a basic requirement of the scientific method.”  Smith actually filed suit against the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, claiming the all the data supporting global warming, published in Science in 2015 was fake.  After a year of reviewing all the data, the independent firm hired to investigate concluded that the data was real. 

When scientists were at the helm of the EPA (the old ways), they would not base any policy if the scientific data could not be reproduced. 

That’s the basic requirement of the scientific method.

http://newsok.com/ban-on-secret-science-in-epa-regulation-makes-sense/article/5588210

Monday, July 3, 2017

Pruitt's EPA plan to ease methane releases gets shut down by DC Court


In another set-back to Scott Pruitt's EPA, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled 2-1 in favor of a lawsuit filed by the National Resources Defense Council and other agencies concerned with global and atmospheric pollution.  The EPA issued a "stay" of federal standards to reduce leaks of methane as well as other air pollutants from oil and gas wells and facilities.

Like the issue with the mercury releases, the stay was issued without any advance public notice, nor any opportunity for public comment, as required by law.  He also proposed to extend the stay for two years.  Methane and the other air pollutants can produce smog, cause cancer and can trigger asthma attacks.

The Clean Air Council, Earthworks, Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Integrity Project and Sierra Club joined NRDC in bringing the lawsuit against the EPA.

What justification could Pruitt have for suspending these poisons? Oh, right.

https://www.nrdc.org/media/2017/170703?utm_source=tw&utm_medium=tweet&utm_campaign=socialmedia


Monday, June 12, 2017

The Donald's EPA caught illegally rescinding Mercury rule

One of The Donald's first acts after purchasing the White House in January was:
"to “immediately withdraw” final rules sent to the Office of the Federal Register but not yet published in the Federal Register."
Although not yet under Pruitt's despotism, the TEPA (Trump's EPA) rescinded the Mercury Effluent Rule, which had been finalized December 15, 2016.  The EPA is required to give public notice and an opportunity to comment, but did not.

The National Resources Defense Council acted quickly and sued the EPA for acting illegally and potentially putting millions at risk.  Mercury is a neurotoxin and dental offices are the main source of mercury discharges to municipal wastewater treatment plants, since excess amalgam from new cavitgy fillings or old amalgam fillings being replaced are flushed down the drain.   However, coal-fired power plants (quelle surprise!) industrial boilers, and cement plants and mining sites can discharge mercury into the environment.

Mercury is especially dangerous to pregnant women, babies and toddlers.  Even tiny amounts of exposure can disrupt brain function and harm the nervous system.  The Mercury Effluent Rule reduces the annual discharge of mercury by 5.1 tons to publicly owned WWTPs.  And dental offices are in support of this rule.  Mercury is hard to remove from wastewater streams so this is why it is so important to stem the discharge of the metal to the environment.

What part of this does The Donald and Pruitt not understand?

Fortunately, the NRDC was successful and June 9, the EPA restored the rule.


https://www.nrdc.org/experts/mae-wu/factsheet-limiting-mercury-pollution
 https://www.nrdc.org/media/2017/170609-1&s_src=FBNews&utm_source=fb&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=mercury
https://www.nrdc.org/trump-watch/epa-restores-mercury-protection-rule-thanks-nrdc-lawsuit?utm_source=tw&utm_medium=tweet&utm_content=socialmedia
https://www.nrdc.org/trump-watch/epa-illegally-rolls-back-protections-mercury-pollution