CEO DATELINE - EPA chief's appearance at American Chemistry Council event raises eyebrows
CEO DATELINE - EPA chief's appearance at American Chemistry Council event raises eyebrows
- November 3, 2017 |
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Walt Williams
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Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt will address the American Chemistry Council's board of directors Nov. 9 in a trip that is generating media attention because the event will be held at a luxury resort in South Carolina.
Pruitt and eight EPA staff will travel to the Kiawah Island Golf Resort, where rooms for the event are $389 per night, the Washington Post reported. EPA officials will pay $135 a night for lodging.
In a statement, an EPA spokesman told the newspaper that Pruitt's appearance at the event was part of a tour "to meet with as many stakeholders as possible."
Pruitt has met with at least two other business groups since becoming EPA administrator earlier this year. He met with the National Mining Association's board of directors in April in a move that was controversial because he reportedly urged board members to vote in favor of supporting President Donald Trump's plan to have the U.S. pull out of the Paris climate accord. He also met with the National Association of Manufacturers.
ACC frequently clashed with the Obama administration over environmental regulations. The group declined the Post's request for comment about Pruitt's invitation to its board event. http://wapo.st/2xXvmgy
Pruitt has been a target of criticism from environmentalists and some Democrats because he has long opposed many environmental regulations and is a climate change skeptic. He has also made many critics among groups representing scientists, particularly with his recent decision to prevent scientists who have received EPA grants from serving on the agency's advisory panels.
"EPA's decisions have real implications for the health and well-being of Americans and in some cases people worldwide," Chris McEntee, CEO of the American Geophysical Union, said in a statement. "By curtailing the input of some of the most respected minds in science, Pruitt's decision robs the agency, and by extension Americans, of a critically important resource." http://bit.ly/2zv7qFx
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