Washington, DC — Andrew Wheeler should reverse restrictions by Scott Pruitt that hobble the ability of Environmental Protection Agency regional offices to function, urges Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) in a letter sent today. In a series of moves, Pruitt had removed delegation to EPA regional offices for making decisions concerning enforcement, program administration, and even scientific research, requiring all such matters to be funneled through the Office of the Administrator.
In June 2017, taking charge of decision-making in all new Superfund cases and seizing control over all existing major cases ("sites with remedies estimated to cost $50 million or more").
A key example of Pruitt control was his requiring that a political aide approve every EPA grant, including those for scientific research. Consequently, scientific work in areas such as climate change and pesticide effects on pollinators got axed.
In a letter to Wheeler today, PEER urges him to undo Pruitt strictures on regional offices and to return to a traditional division of labor where the Administrator sets policy while allowing the regions to implement policy and administer programs in the field.