Senator Says Trump's EPA Chief Nominee Would Fail to Keep US Air, Water Clean

US President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Scott Pruitt will weaken legal standards to keep air and water clean and safe, Senator Bob Casey said in a press release.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Casey pointed out that in the past Pruitt tried to strip the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, anti-pollution programs that target ozone and mercury in the air, and denied the science of climate change.

"If Oklahoma Attorney General Pruitt is confirmed [as EPA Secretary]… I am concerned that the standards that protect the quality of the water Pennsylvanians drink and the air Pennsylvanians breath will be weakened and our Commonwealth’s children will pay the price," Casey stated on Wednesday.

The Senator concluded his statement by staying that he would oppose the nomination of Pruitt.

Earlier on Wednesday, Pruitt pledged during his confirmation hearing before the US Senate to work with individual states on air and water quality.

Numerous environmental groups sharply criticized Trump’s selection Pruitt, saying his anti-EPA litigation and rejection of the scientific consensus about climate change make him unfit to serve as the agency’s administrator.

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