Document k6ra0RDKaVdRyQodMKEGXn6MO

Message From: Sent: To: Subject: Attachments: Garrison, Jessica [jgarrison@balch.com] 3/16 /2 0 1 7 8:10:49 PM Haie, Michelle [/o=ExchangeLabs/ou=Exchange Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT)/cn=Recipients/cn=cb99f5247ab8412fa017133839301fee-Hale, Miche] Fwd: Schnare Resigns Balch_Logo_17db8ea2-760c-49c3-b0ff-19f80bb6al79.jpg DAILY NEWS Top EPA T r a n s it io n A d v is e r R e s ig n s , C it in g F r u s t r a t io n Over P r u i t t , I n f ig h t i n g March 16, 2017 Davi d S c h n a re , who had been s e r v i ng as a se n i o r t r a n s i t i on ad vi s e r a t EPA and had been e x p ecte d to s ta y a t th e agency p e rm a n e n t!y , re s ig n e d a b r u p t ly from th e agency March 15 o v e r co n ce rn s about i n f i g h t i ng among admi ni s t r a t i on appoi n te e s and Admi ni s t r a t o r S c o t t P r u i t t ' s a l 1eged 1ack o f engagem ent. S c h n a re , who worked as an EPA s t a f f a t t o r n e y f o r 33 y e a rs bu t most r e c e n t ly was g e n e ra l cou n se l f o r th e fre e - m a rk e t Energy & Envi ronm ental Legal I n s t i t u t e , c o n f i rmed to I n s id e EPA t h a t he re s ig n e d 1a te March 15, e f f e c t i v e March 17. "T ra n s i t i ons b e g in and th e y e n d , " Schnare s a i d in a March 15 em ai1 t o to p EPA and admi ni s t r a t i on o f f i c i a l s . " I have been honored to have had th e o p p o rtu n i t y t o se rv e th e Trump Admi n i s t r a t i o n , bu t I have com pleted as much as I am a b le . Thus i t i s t i me f o r me t o move o n . " EPA d e c li ned to comment on S c h n a re ' s d e p a rtu re o r th e a l 1e g a ti ons he r a i s e d . Schnare i ndi ca te d in re c e n t days t h a t he was gro w ing i n c r e a s in g l y f r u s t r a t e d w ith what he d e s c r ib e d as e n d le s s i n f i g h t i ng a t th e agency and w ith an u n w i l l i ngness by P r u i t t to engage w ith him and many o th e r " b e a ch h e a d e rs" p ia c e d a t th e agency by th e Trump t r a n s i t i o n . " I t h i nk I ' m g o i ng to r e s i g n , " he s a id March 14, r e f e r e n c i ng hi s grow i ng unease and con ce rn t h a t P r u i t t has never met w ith th e beachhead team members - - most o f whom came from th e Trump campaign - - f o r a su bstan tive di scu ss io n . He added t h a t P r u i t t never r e c e i ved a copy o f th e " a c t i on p i an " t h a t t r a n s i t i on team 1ead er Myron E b e l1 o f th e fre e - m a rk e t Competi t i v e E n t e r p r i se I n s t i t u t e 1e f t f o r him. T h a t r e v e l a t i on c o u ld be s ig n i f i c a n t because th e pi an r e p o r t e d ly c a l 1s f o r sweepi ng changes t o E P A 's s t r u c t u r e to c u r t a i 1 i t s scope and s ta ffin g . P r u i t t a ls o r e p o r t e d ly e x c lu d e d beachhead members from h is d a i l y m orning m eeting and a l 1 but one member from h i s w e e k ly t e le c o n f e r e n c e w ith a c t i ng o f f i ce heads and a c t i ng re g i onal admi ni s t r a t o r s , Schnare s a i d . H ow ever, one s o u rce f a m i l i a r w ith th e s i t u a t i o n re b u ts S c h n a re ' s c la i m s , a rg u i ng th e re are " many members o f th e beachhead team who have come on board w ith th e P r u i t t admi ni s t r a t i o n , " i n c lu d i ng Hoi 1y G re a v e s , D avid K r e u t z e r , George Sugiyama and John K onkus. "To d e s c r i be an i mosi t y between th e admi ni s t r a t i on and th e beachhead team i s n o t a c c u r a t e , " th e so u rce s a y s . "They are a c t iv e members o f th e admi ni s t r a t o r s ' o f f i c e , " i n c lu d i ng in th e budget and p o l i cy o ffic e s . T h i s s o u rce su g g e sts t h a t Schnare may have been " sh u t o u t from v e ry s e n io r m eeti n g s , but he was c e r t a i n ly n ot sh u t o u t from bei ng a member o f th e te a m ." ' Last Chance' Schnare i ntended t o s ta y on a t th e agency - - he 1e f t w it h th e t i t l e o f a s s i s t a n t de pu ty admi ni s t r a t o r - to ta k e what he saw as th e " 1a s t ch a n ce " f o r maki ng im p o rta n t and s u b s t a n t iv e changes to 1o n g - s ta n d i ng EPA p o l i c i es t h a t he b e li eved needed u p d a ti n g . Fo r ex am p le, he c i te d fundam ental s c i ence pol i cy q u e s t io n s , i n c lu d i ng th e a g e n c y 's d e f a u lt use o f a 1in e a r c a n c e r r i s k model t h a t assumes no s a fe 1e v e l o f exp osure f o r chemi c a ls whose mode o f a c t i on i s unknown o r are mutageni c. " I f you a l t e r t h a t p o l i c y , th e need to r e g u la te a 1o t o f chemi c a ls d i s a p p e a r s , " he t o ld I n s i de EPA e a r l i e r t h i s week, addi ng i t has been " around f o r decades and under c o n s ta n t a t t a c k by th e s c i ence community" because o f th e need f o r more p r a c t ic a l t h r e s h o ld s . He a ls o ad vocated re v o k i ng E P A 's greenhouse gas r u le s because th e y " w ould have v i r t u a l l y no e f f e c t on c l i mate ch a n g e . " The money sp e n t on th e c l i mate ru l es w ould be b e t t e r used hi r i ng more s t a f f to r e v i ew and approve p e s t i c i d e s , a c c o r d i ng t o S c h n a re . "T here a re s e r io u s problem s t h a t have t o be a d d re s s e d , " he s a i d . " But th e r e a re so many o th e rs t h a t are on th e margi ns and i r r e l e v a n t . And i f we d o n ' t re c o g n i ze th e i r r e le v a n c e s , then we c a n ' t c o n c e n tra te on th e r e le v a n t o n e s , " he s a i d . He b e lie v e s EPA has f a l 1en in t o a p a tte r n o f o v e r s t a t i ng some r i s k s , such as i n d u s t r i a l carbon d io x id e emi s s i o n s , w h i1e f a i l i n g t o pay enough a t t e n t i on to o t h e r s , such as p re v e n ti ng th e sp read o f th e Zi ka v i rus in P u e rto R ic o , where babi es born a f t e r bei ng exposed t o Zi ka w i l l now c o s t th e government mi 11i ons fo r thei r care. "T h i s i s n ' t about r o l l i n g back r e g u la t i ons bu t ab ou t changi ng th e way we w ri t e them, changi ng th e s c i ence p o l i c y used to d e c id e how s a fe i s s a fe enough, " Schnare s a i d . He a ls o e x p re sse d f r u s t r a t i on about bei ng one o f th e o n ly members o f th e beachhead team w ith s i gni f i c a n t EPA e x p e ri e n c e , as w e ll as w ith P r u i t t ' s a l 1eged 1a ck o f i n t e r e s t in m ajor p o l i cy m a t t e r s . He s a i d P r u i t t has y e t t o ta k e a meeti ng to i nform a d e c i s i on on a m ajor pol i cy is s u e and 1acks u n d e rs ta n d i ng o f how the agency o p e ra te s. For ex am p le, when P r u i t t agreed March 2 to suspend an in fo r m a t io n c o l 1e c t io n re q u e s t f o r methane em issions< h ttp s : / / u r ld e fe n s e . p r o o fp o in t.com /v2/url?u= https3A__i n s i d e e p a . com_node_199596&d=DwMFAg&c=aBdhyoZIYdu02RKIi touCNP8RLVZN4_IgMDcVKb9PPk&r=V5VvDUQh3exPvRKvoE rkL8WRGul9FlfF0epWYIlX_m8&m=IGUGUUw6P-ugOLZYzae6NH9unmdDLw2ZW4VBrYlpDyU&s=9b616KEwP0PE6q7g0lASrpRVaFdg_En2B827g7XYuI&e=>from th e o i 1 and gas s e c t o r imposed by th e Obama EPA, Schnare s a id Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 3/4 ED 002061 00110333-00001 th e a d m in is t r a t o r b e lie v e d he c o u ld do so by se n d in g a 1e t t e r approved by th e g e n e ra l c o u n s e l' s o f f i c e , r a th e r than advance a form al ru lem ak in g to undo th e a c t io n taken in th e F e d e ra l R e g is t e r u si ng a u t h o r it y in C lean A i r A c t s e c t io n 114. One fo rm e r EPA 1awyer adds t h a t P r u i t t 1i k e ly 1acks knowledge o f p u b lic engagement p ro c e s s e s re q u i red under th e Admi ni s t r a t i v e P ro ce d u re A c t , based on hi s p r i o r p o l i t i c a l e x p e ri ence as Oklahoma a t t o r n e y g e n e ra l c h a l1engi ng EPA r u l e s , s u g g e s ti ng a d i f f i c u l t 1e a rn i ng c u r v e . R e sci nd D e le g a tio n In one o f S c h n a re ' s f i n a l a c t s a t EPA, he s e n t an i n te r n a l em ai1, o b t a i ned by I n s id e EPA, in fo r m in g s t a f f t h a t P r u i t t was r e s c i ndi ng d e le g a t i on a u th o r i t y c h t t p s :/ / u r ld e f e n s e . p r o o fp o i n t . c o m /v 2 /u rl? u = h ttp s 3A__i n s i d e e p a . com_node_200001&d=DwMFAg&c=aBdhyoZJYdu02RKJi touCNP8RLVZN4_JgMDcVKb9PPk&r=V5WDUQh3exPvRKvoE rkL8WRGul9FlfF0epWYJlX_m8&m=JGUGUUw6P-ugOLZYzae6NH9unmdDLw2ZW4VBrYlpDyll&s=qIKJs0XIEClBQ6fO0lEDdKJoD0x1j U E V Ig ti VCmaIM&e=> f o r a c t i ng a s s i s t a n t admi ni s t r a t o r s (AAs) and a c t i ng re g i onal admi n i s t r a t o r s ( R A s ) , b a r r in g them from t a k in g " s i g n i f i c a n t " a c t io n s on h is b e h a l f . The March 2 emai1 from Schnare sa i d th a t because permanent p o li t i cal appoi ntees are not yet in pi a c e , " f o r th e n ex t 30 d a y s , th e Admi n i s t r a t o r wi shes to r e t a i n a p p ro v a l a u th o r i t y f o r Agency a c t i ons havi ng s i gni f i c a n t r e g u la t o r y and e n force m e n t e f f e c t . The Admi ni s t r a t o r w i l l r e l y on th e A c t i ng R A 's and A A 's to i d e n ti f y and send upward any proposed d e c i s i ons o r f i nal agency a c t i ons o r th e Admi ni s t r a t o r ' s r e v i ew whi c h , in th e j udgement ( s i c) o f th e A c t i ng R A 's and A A 's w ould 1i mi t th e f l e x i b i 1i t y o f th e S t a t e s , 1i mi t en e rgy re s o u rc e u s e , i mpose s i gni f i c a n t c o s t s on i n d u s try o r commerce, o r o th e rw i se 1i k e ly r e s u l t in s i gni f i c a n t p u b lic a t t e n t i on on th e proposed d e c i s i ons o r f i nal agency a c t i o n s . " S c h n a re ' s d e p a rtu re a ls o comes as P r u i t t ' s s u p p o rte rs in s id e and o u t s id e th e agency w o rry t h a t he w i l l have t o wai t months t o g e t hi s p o l i t i c a l 1e a d e rs h i p team in pi ace w h ile runni ng a 1arg e f e d e r a l agency he does not u n de rstan dch t t p s :/ / u r ld e f e n s e . p r o o fp o in t . com /v 2 /u rl?u = h ttp s3A__ in sid e e p a .co m _ n o d e _ 1 9 9 3 7 5 & d = D w M F A g & c = a B d h y o Z J Y d u 0 2 R K Jito u C N P 8 R L V Z N 4 _ J g M D c V K b 9 P P k & r= V 5 W D U Q h 3 e x P v R K v o E rkL8 W R G ul9FlfF0 e pWYJlx_m 8&m=0GUGUUw6PugOLZYzae6NH9unmdDLw2ZW4VBrYlpDyU&s=tlqlAL_7DnHFlMQMitVKtISnBh9oTgW_r_JnddsafpA&e=>and d id not attem pt to d u r i ng th e t r a n s i t i o n . They a ls o f e a r he i s s u rro u n d i ng hi msel f wi th peopl e s i m i l a r l y 1a c k i ng in exp erien ce. For ex am p le, P r u t t ' s c h i e f o f s t a f f Ryan Ja ck so n comes from S en. James I n h o f e ' s (R-OK) o f f i c e , w h ile h is p o l i cy c h ie f , Samantha D ra v i s , worked wi th hi m and o th e r GOP a t t o r n e y g e n e r a ls in 1i t i g a t i ng ag ai n s t EPA ru le s . I n s id e EPA re p o rte d in December t h a t Schnare had re tu rn e d to EPA<h t t p s : / / u r ld e f e n s e . p r o o f p o in t . c o m /v 2 /u rl? u = h ttp s 3A__ in s id e e p a .co m _ n o d e _ 1 9 6 8 8 0 & d = D w M F A g & c= a B d h y o Z J Y d u O 2 R K Jito u C N P 8 R L V Z N 4 _ Jg M D cV K b 9 P P k & r= V 5 W D U Q h 3 e x P v R K v o E rkL8WRGul9FlfF0epWYJlX_m8&m=JGUGUUw6P-ugOLZYzae6NH9unmdDLw2ZW4VBrYlpDyU&s=zJx8DLHH2SeJRY34NTMCE4C3tkHf0bo9Y6etdmMCIg&e=> as p a r t o f th e Trump t r a n s i t i on team and t h a t he appeared to be under c o n s i d e r a t i on f o r a permanent appoi n tm en t. - - Dawn Reeves (d reevesO iw pnew s. comcmai1t o :d reeves@i wpnews. com>) R e la te d News | Mid Day E -m ai1c h t t p s :/ / u r ld e f e n s e . p r o o fp o i n t . c o m /v 2 /u rl? u = h ttp s 3A__in s id e e p a . com _topic_M id-2D Day-2DE2Dmail&d=DwMFAg&c=aBdhyoZJYdu02RKJi touCNP8RLVZN4_JgMDcVKb9PPk&r=V5WDUQh3exPvRKvoErkL8WRGul9FlfF0epWYJlX_ m8&m=JGUGUUw6P-ugOLZYzae6NH9unmdDLw2ZW4VBrYlpDyll&s=i QkR4RvcoEusjk9z4xfyU 2PkH n5tFvA3tH 0l6U dJtso&e= > | T r a n s i t i on 2016-2017<h t t p s : / / u r ld e f e n s e . p r o o f p o in t . co m /v 2 /u rl? u = h ttp s -3 A __i n s i d e e p a .c o m _ to p ic _ T r a n s iti on2D20162D2017&d=DwMFAg&c=aBdhyoZJYduO2RKJi touCNP8RLVZN4_JgMDcVKb9PPk&r=V5WDUQh3exPvRKvoErkL8WRGul9FlfF0epWYJlX_ m8&m=JGUGUUw6P-ugOLZYzae6NH9unmdDLw2ZW4VBrYlpDyU&s=CqcpMZ0Wl clSfsvRlyJNb5VQ 84qM sJoEcHP-hDcCblQ&e= > | 200015 [[im age]] J e s s ic a M. G a r r is o n , O f C ounsel , B a lch & Bingham LLP 1901 S ix t h Avenue N orth Sui te 1500 Bi rmi ngham, AL 35203-4642 t : L I I I I I I 'x-a I I I I I 'J f : (205) 488-5669 e : jg a rris o n @ b a lc h .c o m www. bal ch . com chttp ://m m . bal c h . com> CONFIDENTIALITY: T h is em ai1 and any atta ch m e n ts may be c o n f i d e n ti a l a n d /o r p r i v i 1eged and a re t h e r e fo r e p ro te cte d agai n st copyi n g, u se , di s c lo s u re or di s t r i b u ti o n . I f you are not the i ntended re c i pi e n t , pi ease n o ti f y us im m e d ia te ly by r e p ly i ng t o th e send er and doubl e d e l e t i ng t h i s copy and th e r e p ly from your system. Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 3/4 ED 002061 00110333-00002