EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, whose aggressive relaxing of environmental regulations has seemingly trumped his bevy of ethical quandaries in the eyes of the administration, is seeing many of his major changes stalled by procedural and legal problems, according to a Sunday Washington Post report.
In March, Pruitt reportedly tried to ease standards for storing possibly toxic waste on site of coal-burning plants by citing a study that environmentalists later determined to be sourced not by scientific research, but by the trade association for electric companies.
Similarly, Pruitt’s attempts to roll back emissions standards for cars and refurbished trucks have reportedly been held up by the EPA’s science advisors and the OMB, both of which question the environmental benefits of the move.
Pruitt has also been stymied in court. According to the Washington Post, over 70 lawsuits have been filed against various deregulatory actions, the agency having lost the majority of those so far heard in court.
