EPA Chief Battled Agency Armed With Industry Talking Points

Advocacy group released 7,564 pages of internal documents
E-mails show Pruitt siding with industry on fracking, climate

Senate Confirms Scott Pruitt as EPA Administrator

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By Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Todd Shields and Andrew M Harris

February 22, 2017 at 8:29 PM UTC

Updated on

February 22, 2017 at 11:32 PM UTC

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After linking arms with oil companies, refiners and utilities to coordinate attacks on environmental regulations, newly installed EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is now positioned to reflect their views on an array of issues, from climate change to fracking.

Thousands of pages of e-mails released Wednesday show that Pruitt’s staff collaborated with energy companies, trade associations and groups linked to the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch during his time as Oklahoma attorney general. The documents, released under court order to the Center for Media and Democracy follow a pitched battle over whether Pruitt should lead the Environmental Protection Agency, culminating in a narrow 52-46 vote Friday to confirm him.