Winners and Losers at Trump’s EPA

Regulatory rollback at the Environmental Protection Agency has favored industry interest, while leaving communities at risk.

A view of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency headquarters on March 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Investigations

The federal government may ignore the environment, but we can’t afford to.

Sharon LernerThe New York TimesApril 21, 2018

Peter Wright has worked for companies responsible for Superfund sites of their own.

Sharon LernerThe InterceptMarch 29, 2018

Before Albert Kelly was banned from banking, his bank made generous loans to Pruitt. In need of a new job, he found one at the EPA.

Sharon LernerThe InterceptDecember 28, 2017

Internal documents offer no evidence that the agency considered chlorypyrifos’ damaging effects on children’s brains.

Sharon LernerThe InterceptAugust 18, 2017

President Trump should follow the EPA’s lead and get the pesticide chlorpyrifos out of our food.

Sharon LernerThe New York TimesFebruary 3, 2017

Dow Chemical wants farmers to keep using a pesticide linked to autism and ADHD.

Sharon LernerThe InterceptJanuary 16, 2017

Seven attorneys general announced they were filing legal objections against President Trump’s EPA for failing to ban the pesticide chlorpyrifos.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to Albert Kelly, questioning his banking history and qualifications. Read about the letter here.
At an environmental hearing, Congressman Frank Pallone spoke out about Albert Kelly’s banking history. “Is that really the type of person we should trust to run the Superfund Program?” asked Pallone.
Lerner’s reporting sparked interest in Albert Kelly’s banking career among members of Congress and other media. Kelly then resigned amid ethics inquiries on May 1, 2018.

The Houston Chronicle and NJ.com published editorials on Albert Kelly’s banking ban and relationship to Pruitt.

Washington State has banned a class of chemicals that could be dangerous, underscoring the problem with the EPA's slower process which requires specific studies for each compound.
Peter Wright — Trump’s Superfund nominee — worked for Dow Chemical for more than 18 years and at Monsanto for seven years before that.
Before Albert Kelly's appointment to head the EPA's Superfund task force, he had been fined $125,000 by the FDIC — he was later banned from banking.
As the EPA mulled whether to reverse a proposed ban on the pesticide chlorpyrifos, industry input was prioritized.
In 2016, an EPA report laid out potential dangers of chlorpyrifos: intelligence deficits and attention, memory, and motor problems in children. But a ban never came.