{"id":18184,"date":"2017-10-19T12:52:52","date_gmt":"2017-10-19T17:52:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/?p=18184"},"modified":"2017-10-23T14:27:38","modified_gmt":"2017-10-23T19:27:38","slug":"yes-administrator-pruitt-epa-does-have-the-obligation-to-protect-america-from-climate-pollution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2017\/10\/19\/yes-administrator-pruitt-epa-does-have-the-obligation-to-protect-america-from-climate-pollution\/","title":{"rendered":"Yes, Administrator Pruitt, EPA does have the obligation to protect America from climate pollution"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/7\/files\/2017\/05\/Gavel_iStock000003633182Medium1-300x199-300x199-300x199.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-16842 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/7\/files\/2017\/05\/Gavel_iStock000003633182Medium1-300x199-300x199-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" \/><\/a>(<em>This post was co-authored by EDF\u2019s <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.edf.org\/people\/ben-levitan\"><em>Ben Levitan<\/em><\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>The head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is once again misleading the American people in an effort to avoid doing his job.<\/p>\n<p>EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt was <a href=\"http:\/\/video.foxnews.com\/v\/5614917163001\/?#sp=show-clips\">interviewed on Fox News<\/a> this week, and questioned his legal authority and responsibility to protect the public from the pollution that causes climate change.<\/p>\n<p>During that interview, <a href=\"http:\/\/video.foxnews.com\/v\/5614917163001\/?#sp=show-clips\">Pruitt asked<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>[W]hat authority has Congress given the EPA to engage in rulemaking to reduce [carbon dioxide]?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Pruitt made similar remarks <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/heritagefoundation\/videos\/10155780088559481\/?notif_id=1508245661437880&amp;notif_t=live_video_schedule_broadcaster\">at the Heritage Foundation<\/a> earlier this week \u2013 peddling the discredited notion that the \u201cClean Air Act was set up to address local and regional air pollutants, not the global phenomena of [climate pollution].\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2017\/05\/04\/scott-pruitt-wants-to-end-his-own-clean-power-plan-lawsuit-but-cant-set-aside-epas-duty-to-protect-the-public-from-climate-pollution\/\">We\u2019ve written<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2016\/09\/26\/the-legal-case-for-the-clean-power-plan-in-a-nutshell\/\">about this extensively<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2017\/03\/10\/scott-pruitt-peddles-junk-science-to-serve-trumps-anti-climate-agenda\/\">at EDF<\/a>. We\u2019re happy to go over it one more time to help Administrator Pruitt, since he seems to be having trouble understanding it.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>That authority is in the Clean Air Act, which is a law that was passed by Congress.<\/li>\n<li>We know that authority is in the Clean Air Act because the Supreme Court told us so.<\/li>\n<li>The Supreme Court then said so again \u2013 and again after that.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>So to sum up, we\u2019ve been told by the High Court <em>three times<\/em> that the authority is indeed in the law that was passed by Congress.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Pruitt\u2019s remarks come just over a week after he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.edf.org\/media\/clean-power-plan-repeal-would-be-retreat-race-our-lives?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=edf_default-feedburner_upd_web&amp;utm_term=1487349812\">signed a proposed rule<\/a> to abolish the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.edf.org\/climate\/a-new-federal-clean-power-plan\">Clean Power Plan<\/a> \u2014 America\u2019s only nationwide limit on climate pollution from fossil fuel power plants.<\/p>\n<p>EPA is legally obligated to protect Americans from harmful climate pollution, but Pruitt\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/news\/cpprepeal.pdf\">destructive proposal<\/a> would leave American communities exposed to greater climate risks, and cost thousands of American lives by increasing dangerous air pollution.<\/p>\n<p>Pruitt\u2019s words on Fox News, and even more so his actions, are appalling. The official who is charged with administering our nation\u2019s clean air laws for the benefit of the American people \u2013 laws that the Supreme Court has now held on three separate occasions clearly apply to pollutants that are driving destructive climate change \u2013 should not be questioning his basic job description.<\/p>\n<p>Communities and families across the country are already feeling the impacts of climate change through stronger hurricanes, increased flooding, more damaging wildfires, rising sea levels, worsened air quality, and more intense heat waves.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2017\/03\/21\/climate\/how-americans-think-about-climate-change-in-six-maps.html?_r=0\">Americans overwhelmingly want<\/a> swift action to address this clear and urgent threat \u2013 not Pruitt\u2019s distortions and delay.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Here\u2019s more detail about Pruitt\u2019s legal responsibilities:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Contrary to Pruitt\u2019s claims, the Supreme Court has <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2017\/02\/24\/epa-has-the-responsibility-and-the-tools-to-address-climate-pollution-under-the-clean-air-act\/\">repeatedly and unequivocally affirmed<\/a> that Congress gave EPA authority to regulate climate pollution:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/06pdf\/05-1120.pdf\"><em>Massachusetts v. EPA<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(549 U.S. 497, 2007), the Supreme Court found \u201cwithout a doubt\u201d that climate pollution falls within the broad definition of \u201cair pollutants\u201d covered by the Clean Air Act. The Court ordered EPA to make a science-based determination as to whether those pollutants endanger public health and welfare. EPA finalized its determination 2009. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cadc.uscourts.gov\/internet\/opinions.nsf\/52AC9DC9471D374685257A290052ACF6\/$file\/09-1322-1380690.pdf\">categorically rejected<\/a> a barrage of legal challenges to the determination, including one brought by Scott Pruitt when he was attorney general of Oklahoma.<\/li>\n<li>In\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/10pdf\/10-174.pdf\"><em>American Electric Power v. Connecticut<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0<\/em>(564 U.S. 410, 2011), the Supreme Court unanimously held that the Clean Air Act \u201cspeaks directly\u201d to the problem of climate pollution from power plants \u2013 a point that even opponents of the Clean Power Plan conceded at oral argument in the case.<\/li>\n<li>In\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/13pdf\/12-1146_4g18.pdf\"><em>Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(134 S. Ct. 2427, 2014), the Supreme Court held that the Clean Air Act obligated EPA to ensure that new and modified industrial facilities apply the best available control technology to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Scott Pruitt\u2019s latest statement questioning EPA\u2019s authority not only contradicts the rulings of the Supreme Court, it departs from the views of former EPA Administrators who have served in administrations of both political parties.<\/p>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eenews.net\/stories\/1060051196\">Christine Todd Whitman<\/a>, EPA Administrator under George W. Bush, put it:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I think, as a matter of law, that carbon is a pollutant has been settled.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Pruitt\u2019s comments to Fox News also contradict his own previous statements to Congress. During his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c-span.org\/video\/?421719-1\/epa-nominee-scott-pruitt-testifies-confirmation-hearing\">confirmation hearing<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c-span.org\/video\/?421719-101\/epa-nominee-scott-pruitt-testifies-confirmation-hearing\">become EPA Administrator<\/a>, Pruitt told United States Senators that the Supreme Court rulings were the \u201claw of the land\u201d and needed to be \u201cenforced and respected.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the <a href=\"http:\/\/video.foxnews.com\/v\/5614917163001\/?#sp=show-clips\">Fox News interview<\/a>, Pruitt also took aim at the Clean Power Plan, repeating his false claim that the Supreme Court held the plan to be unlawful.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, the Supreme Court never issued an opinion on the merits of the Clean Power Plan. It never even heard the case.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court simply put the Clean Power Plan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.edf.org\/media\/supreme-court-puts-clean-power-plan-pause\">on hold until legal challenges played out<\/a> in the courts. And since then, Pruitt\u2019s EPA has gone to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.edf.org\/media\/edf-calls-court-reject-indefinite-delay-clean-power-plan-litigation\">extraordinary lengths to prevent<\/a> <em>any<\/em> court from ruling on the legal merits of the Clean Power Plan.<\/p>\n<p>Just as Pruitt glosses over Supreme Court precedent he doesn\u2019t like, he also seems to have invented a Supreme Court ruling that he desires.<\/p>\n<p>Pruitt\u2019s continued claims that the Clean Power Plan is unlawful are also at odds with the views <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2016\/04\/25\/experts-agree-the-clean-power-plan-has-a-rock-solid-legal-and-technical-foundation\/\">of leading legal experts<\/a> \u2013 including the Attorneys General of eighteen states, former Republican Administrators of EPA under Presidents Nixon, Reagan, and Bush, and leading drafters of the Clean Air Act. They have all stood up in federal court to defend the fundamental legality of this vital climate and health safeguard.<\/p>\n<p>Pruitt also took a moment in his interview with Fox News to question the health benefits associated with the Clean Power Plan \u2013 which include as many as 3,600 avoided deaths each year and thousands of avoided heart attacks and asthma attacks.<\/p>\n<p>As many <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2017\/10\/09\/underhanded-maneuvers-to-repeal-the-clean-power-plan-put-americans-lives-and-health-at-risk\/?_ga=2.58390829.625109979.1507908320-326409683.1487194880\">experts have documented<\/a>, Pruitt\u2019s EPA has deployed deceptive gimmicks to hide the consequences to human health of repealing the Clean Power Plan. Those gimmicks include assuming, contrary to the conclusions of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/20458016\">American Heart Association<\/a>, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.who.int\/mediacentre\/factsheets\/fs313\/en\/\">World Health Organization,<\/a> the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nap.edu\/catalog\/10511\/estimating-the-public-health-benefits-of-proposed-air-pollution-regulations\">National Research Council<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nap.edu\/catalog\/10511\/estimating-the-public-health-benefits-of-proposed-air-pollution-regulations\">EPA\u2019s own scientific advisors<\/a>, that there are <em>zero benefits<\/em> to reducing air pollution beyond certain levels.<\/p>\n<p>Pruitt made those claims even though EPA <a href=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/news\/cpprepeal.pdf\">acknowledged in its proposed repeal<\/a> that the Clean Power Plan would achieve pollution reductions that would protect the health of our children.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2017\/09\/12\/fighting-back-against-scott-pruitts-relentless-distortions-of-climate-science-and-law\/?_ga=2.257668555.1571744291.1507298542-326409683.1487194880\">This isn\u2019t the first time<\/a> Scott Pruitt has distorted the law and science in order to dismantle key climate and public health protections. Along with the Clean Power Plan, Pruitt has attacked pollution standards for oil and natural gas facilities, climate pollution standards for cars, and standards for heavy-duty trucks.<\/p>\n<p>Americans should be outraged at Scott Pruitt\u2019s repeated misleading statements on settled questions of law and science.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(This post was co-authored by EDF\u2019s Ben Levitan) The head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is once again misleading the American people in an effort to avoid doing his job. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt was interviewed on Fox News this week, and questioned his legal authority and responsibility to protect the public from the &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11203,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4017,4025,4024,8,20,44,397],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-18184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-clean-air-act","category-carbon-pollution-standards","category-epa-litgation","category-health","category-news","category-policy","category-truth-squad"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Yes, Administrator Pruitt, EPA does have the obligation to protect America from climate pollution - Climate 411<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2017\/10\/19\/yes-administrator-pruitt-epa-does-have-the-obligation-to-protect-america-from-climate-pollution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Yes, Administrator Pruitt, EPA does have the obligation to protect America from climate pollution - Climate 411\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"(This post was co-authored by EDF\u2019s Ben Levitan) The head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is once again misleading the American people in an effort to avoid doing his job. 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