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Pruitt says EPA overreach and “war on fossil fuels” are over

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt says the days of EPA overreach are over. That was one of his messages Thursday during a visit to rural Missouri, “It was very important, I think, to send a message to folks here in Missouri, as we did last week in Pennsylvania that the days of the EPA using regulations to pick winners and losers, to declare a war on any sector of our economy like fossil fuels and coal, is over. The message received in Pennsylvania last week was celebratory and it was celebratory here as well.” President Trump has issued an executive order stopping the EPA’s controversial Waters of the U.S. rule from going into effect, a move supported by most of agriculture.

Pruitt was joined by Missouri U.S. Senator Roy Blunt and other state leaders at a coal-fired power station in north central Missouri, the Thomas Hill Energy Center near Clifton Hill. Pruitt also made a stop in Indiana this week.

Pruitt said “the war on fossil fuels” under the Obama administration is over, that America burns energy in a way that is “far cleaner than any other country.” Pruitt’s critics, including the Sierra Club, say his plans to cut EPA jobs and regulations will undo all the hard work that’s been done to protect the environment.