At his confirmation hearing today, the man chosen by president-elect Donald Trump to lead the Environmental Protection Agency says the EPA should have responded faster to the Flint water crisis.
Scott Pruitt has not been a fan of EPA action in the past.
As Oklahoma’s attorney general, Pruitt has fought many EPA regulations opposed by the state’s oil industry and agricultural leaders.
But at his confirmation hearing, Pruitt said Flint’s water crisis is something different.
“EPA should have acted more expeditiously in responding to Flint. And did not,” Pruitt told senators. “There was indication at the regional level that there were concerns. And there was not a response.”
Pruitt told senators at his confirmation hearing that he would expect regional EPA administrators, along with states and cities, would be more proactive to ensure the quality of drinking water.
It’s not the first time someone blamed the EPA for Flint’s water crisis.
Congressional Republicans have criticized the EPA’s response to the Flint water crisis. Congressional Democrats blame the Snyder administration for the crisis.
