Senate Should Reject Dirty Energy Lobbyist for EPA Deputy Post

WASHINGTON  – The Senate is expected to vote today on the nomination of Andrew Wheeler, President Trump’s pick for deputy administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

The following is a statement from Scott Slesinger, legislative director at the Natural Resources Defense Council:

“Wheeler is a former coal lobbyist who has a track record of promoting the dirty-energy industry, and climate science deniers, at the expense of public health and safety. Like Scott Pruitt, the man he might replace, Wheeler would work to weaken environmental protections, and shrink the agency’s reach – rather than uphold its mission. The Senate should reject him.”

The American Petroleum Institute supports Wheeler’s nomination. He has lobbied for fossil fuel clients, including Murray Energy, the country’s largest, privately-owned coal company; and for Energy Fuels Resources, a uranium mining group that launched a campaign to scale back Bears Ears National Monument. Wheeler has also fought to weaken bedrock environmental laws like the Clean Air Act, vowed to roll back climate reviews embedded in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and denounced the Paris Climate Agreement as a ‘sweetheart deal’ for China.

A coalition letter opposing Wheeler’s nomination is here.

# # #

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.​