There has been a lot of worry surrounding President Trump’s Cabinet nominations, but as an avid outdoorsman and a lifelong Maine resident, none are as troubling to me as his pick for the head of the Environmental Protection Agency – Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt.
Pruitt’s weak stance on climate change, championing of polluters’ interests and opposition to environment regulation make him a dangerous pick to head the agency tasked with protecting our natural spaces.
It is with this in mind that I was delighted to learn that Sen. Angus King plans to vote against Pruitt’s nomination. I worked in 2015 to make sure Sen. King voted to support the Clean Water Rule, and I am happy to see him continue his record as a champion for environmental protection.
However, we need both our senators to come out strong on this issue. Sen. Susan Collins has supported the Clean Power Plan and the authority of the EPA to regulate toxic pollutants. The Maine people need an EPA administrator who puts the environment and public health before polluters’ special interests, and I hope to see Sen. Collins continue her track record and follow Sen. King’s lead in voting against the Pruitt nomination.
Ryan Tartre
Falmouth
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.