Gulf Restoration Groups to Congressional Leaders: Scott Pruitt’s EPA Cuts are a Nightmare for Coastal Communities

06.15.2017 | In Press Releases
Pruitt to testify Thursday before House Appropriations Panel on EPA’s budget proposal, which seeks to cut roughly one third of the EPA’s programmatic spending

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(New Orleans, LA – June 15, 2017) Today, U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt appears before the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee.  Pruitt will face questions on the proposed EPA budget, which will cut the agency’s spending by roughly 30 percent. National and local organizations working on Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi River Delta restoration – Environmental Defense Fund, the National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, Ocean Conservancy, and The Nature Conservancy – released the following statement about the hearing:

“Cutting EPA programs that are restoring the Gulf environment is a direct threat to the businesses, communities and families who call the region home.

“We call on the Gulf delegation — including leaders who have lived through storms like Katrina, Matthew, Gustav and Ike — to stand up for coastal communities.

“Time and again, Congressional leaders have made  promises to the people of the Gulf that restoration is a priority.  These budget cuts threaten  the progress that is being made.  We urge Congress to reject these cuts and to continue their support for Gulf restoration.”

The proposed budget would cut funding to regionally-based programs such as the EPA Gulf of Mexico Program, the EPA National Estuary Program and the EPA Lake Pontchartrain Restoration Program.


Contact:

Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, schatzele@nwf.org
Jacques Hebert, National Audubon Society, 504.264.6849, jhebert@audubon.org
Elizabeth Van Cleve, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.553.2543, evancleve@edf.org  
Trishna Gurung, Ocean Conservancy, 202.280.6243, tgurung@oceanconservancy.org  
Andrew Blejwas, The Nature Conservancy, 617.785.7047, ablejwas@tnc.org