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Dravis, Samantha[dravis.samantha@epa.gov] POLITICO Pro Energy Whiteboard Tue 12/5/2017 3:40:49 PM New York Times suing EPA for Pruitt schedules
By Emily Holden
12/05/2017 10:39 AM EDT
The New York Times is suing EPA to try to force the agency to regularly release Administrator Scott Pruitt's full daily schedule and details on who he meets with.
In a lawsuit filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for D.C., the Times and Washington-based reporter Eric Lipton allege EPA is violating public records laws by failing to routinely release those records.
Since joining EPA, Pruitt has met with automobile, chemical, fossil fuel and steel executives, and with lobbyists who worked with him when he was Oklahoma Attorney General to challenge federal environmental rules, according to records released in response to an earlier Freedom of Information Act request from the nonprofit group American Oversight. The Times says FOIA requires EPA to release that level of information for other Pruitt meetings, and to regularly respond to requests for updated copies of Pruitt's schedule.
EPA chiefs under previous presidents have routinely released detailed calendars in response to regular records requests from reporters and public interest groups. Pruitt's EPA has been intermittently updating a vague list of appointments, which the lawsuit called insufficient.
"Agency heads' daily schedules have long provided a valuable way for the public to be knowledgeable about important agency decisions, including those that affect the health and safety of their families and themselves," the suit says. "When the public knows who has the ear of an agency head and for how long, and what interests they represent, the public is better equipped to ensure that agencies remain accountable and free from undue and undisclosed influence."
To view online'. https://www.politicopro.com/energy/whiteboard/2017/12/new-yorkttimes-suing-epa-for-pruittschedules-196727
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Sierra Club v. EPA, 1:17-cv-01906
ED_001523_00005964-00001
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ED_001523_00005964-00002