Scott Pruitt, Under Fire, Plans to Initiate a Big Environmental Rollback

The New York Times cited Myron Ebell on Scott Pruitt’s role as director of EPA and recent legal proposals. Pruitt has been under heavy criticism lately for his handling of water regulation.

The Trump Organization, the Trump family’s real estate conglomerate, itself owns more than a dozen golf resorts in the United States. White House officials did not respond to a request for comment on the potential for Mr. Trump’s business interests to benefit from the potential changes.

“It perhaps helps Pruitt show the White House that he’s still very effective, even while he’s under fire,” said Myron Ebell, who led Mr. Trump’s E.P.A. transition team and works for the industry-funded Competitive Enterprise Institute, a conservative Washington organization. “The water rule was front and center in the president’s campaign promises.”

While both the proposed water and tailpipe plans represent major steps toward weakening those regulations, the proposals are still in draft form, and could still be changed during a public comment period. The final versions of the regulatory rollbacks are to be published this year. The E.P.A. official who described the filing plans for both requested anonymity to discuss internal agency planning.

Click here to read more.