WASHINGTON – An internal memo by President Donald Trump’s top environmental policy adviser reveals the new administration's plans to dismantle key air and water protection programs, and slash the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency.
First reported by the news site Axios, the internal memo from Myron Ebell lays out more than $800 million in cuts to the EPA's budget – including hundreds of millions in aid to states – makes calls to roll back the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan and Waters of the United States rule, and targets how the EPA conducts scientific research.
“The carnage President Trump is about to unleash on the environment, public health and the integrity of science itself should shake every American,” said EWG President Ken Cook. “This memo is a roadmap detailing how Trump and EPA chief Scott Pruitt – if he’s confirmed by the Senate – will push to undo important safeguards that in many cases literally save lives. Dirtier air and more contamination in our drinking water sources, among other assaults on human health, are certainly on the horizon as we are thrust into the Trump era where ‘alternative facts’ replace reality.”
