CATF Statement on Pruitt Recusal Letter on CPP Rulemaking

Groups’ Letter Seeks Disqualification of Pruitt from Clean Power Plan Repeal Proceeding

The U.S. Constitution and statutes give Americans a voice in lawmaking. This is why every agency administrator must consider public comment on regulatory actions and approach rulemaking with an open mind. Public health and environmental groups today filed a letter saying Scott Pruitt acts to the contrary, as the groups demonstrate that Pruitt’s actions show he has a closed mind about the Clean Power Plan Repeal. Although Pruitt has only proposed to repeal the first-ever carbon limits on power plants, his statements to the media and elsewhere make clear that, in his view, the repeal is a done deal. In the face of the Administrator’s repeated conclusory statements saying that the rule will be rolled back, the public comment period (which does not end until late April) has become an empty and pro forma exercise. Clean Air Task Force, along with 10 other organizations, including its clients — Appalachian Mountain Club, Clean Air Council, Clean Wisconsin, Conservation Law Foundation and National Parks Conservation Association — followed on the heels of 19 states and cities today, calling for Administrator Pruitt to recuse himself from the rulemaking process and for EPA to reevaluate repealing this urgently-needed carbon rule.