Trump Wants to Put Lobbyist for Polluters in Charge of Enforcing Anti-Pollution Laws

According to reporting from The Intercept, Susan Bodine, whom Donald Trump nominated on May 12 to be assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, is a longtime lobbyist on behalf of Superfund polluters who would be responsible for managing that program.

More from The Intercept: “According to her LinkedIn account, from 2009 until 2015, Bodine was a partner at Barnes & Thornburg LLP, the same firm that is representing FRRC, the group of industries directly affected by EPA cleanup rules. While at Barnes & Thornburg, Bodine represented the American Forest and Paper Association from 2011 to 2014. Member companies in that industry group have hundreds of EPA enforcement actions against them, including violations of the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act.

… Seven of the companies that belong to the American Forest and Paper Association are named as responsible parties in dozens of Superfund sites, according to the EPA website. International Paper, one member of the group Bodine represented — whose CEO met with Pruitt last week to discuss jobs, according to a tweet from Pruitt — is a responsible party in 12 Superfund sites.”

In Response, Sierra Club Global Climate Policy Director John Coequyt Released the Following Statement

“Donald Trump’s move to put a corporate polluter’s lobbyist in charge of enforcing environmental laws is like picking the Marlboro Man to be in charge of cancer research. The agenda of this administration could not be any more transparent: it seeks to put the profits of polluters before the health of the public.

“Beyond that, this appointment combined with the administration’s deep cuts to the Superfund program expose the fraud behind Scott Pruitt’s feigned concern for cleaning up these toxic sites. Pruitt is in this position solely to benefit corporate polluters, and anything he says to the contrary cannot be trusted.”