The Natural Resources Defense Council, the Nevada Conservation League and several conservation and social justice groups are urging Nevada's Senators Dean Heller and Catherine Cortez Masto to oppose the nomination of Scott Pruitt to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Nominated by President-Elect Donald J. Trump, Pruitt has used his position as Oklahoma Attorney General to attempt to block the EPA's essential mission of protecting the nation's air and water from dangerous pollution. He is also a science denier.
Member groups and allies of the RenewNV partnership, which is working to support Nevada's clean energy economy, signed onto the letter to Senators Heller and Cortez Masto. Among them:
Andy Maggi, Executive Director, Nevada Conservation League:
"Scott Pruitt has repeatedly sued the EPA to block clean air and clean water standards that will protect the health and well-being of Nevadans. For example, he has sued the EPA to overturn standards to curb mercury and other toxic air pollutants that will prevent up to 11,000 premature deaths and 130,000 asthma attacks per year. The health of our families should come before the profits of fossil fuel companies."
David VonSeggern, Toiyabe Chapter Chair, Sierra Club:
"Nevada is dealing with the very real impacts of climate change, including drought threatening the Colorado River that supplies Las Vegas with drinking water and, in Reno, wild swings of drought and flooding. It is essential that the administrator of the EPA put science before oil company propaganda and protect the health of our communities and the natural world."
Dylan Sullivan, Natural Resources Defense Council:
"Nevadans deserve an EPA Administrator who will enforce America's bedrock environmental laws. Scott Pruitt has instead spent his career advocating for polluters. Nevada's Senators should oppose his nomination."
The U.S. Senate is scheduled to hear testimony on the nomination on Wednesday, Jan. 18. The partners and allies of RenewNV urge our Senators to oppose the nomination. A letter to Heller and Cortez Masto, attached, has been signed by the following RenewNV partners and allies: Natural Resources Defense Council, Nevada Conservation League, Battle Born Progress, CHISPA Nevada, Toiyabe Chapter of Sierra Club, Friends of Nevada Wilderness, Climate Parents, Voces Verdes and Mi Familia Vota.
RenewNV is a partnership of organizations working to build and enhance Nevada’s clean energy economy. Renewable energy means reliable power, clean air, and good jobs for Nevada, and smart energy policies can make the Silver State an economic powerhouse. RenewNV supports policies that will expand our use and export of renewable energy, increase opportunities for energy efficiency and ensure that all Nevadans have access to the new energy economy.