DUSTIN MCDANIEL
He says Pruitt honorable in ’13 Illinois River watershed deal
defends environmental agency nominee in letter to senators.
WASHINGTON — Former Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, a Democrat, defended the record of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a Republican who is President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
In a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, McDaniel praised Pruitt and responded to what he said are “unfair criticisms” concerning Pruitt’s handling of a water-pollution dispute between the two neighboring states.
Committee Chairman John Barrasso, R-Wyo., quoted from McDaniel’s letter during Pruitt’s confirmation hearing Wednesday, using the Arkansan’s words to counter criticism of the nominee.
The two attorneys general have known each other for six years, and McDaniel calls Pruitt a friend. They represented two states that had fought for decades over phosphorus in the Illinois River watershed, which runs from Northwest Arkansas into northeast Oklahoma.
Between 1998 and 2013, the levels of phosphorus in the water dropped sharply, but not enough to meet the limits sought by Oklahoma.
With a deadline approaching for lowering the pollution levels, McDaniel and Pruitt met and reached a compromise.
Rather than pursuing additional litigation over acceptable phosphorus levels, McDaniel and Pruitt in February 2013 agreed to conduct a three-year study and to abide by its findings.
Critics have argued that the move was done to benefit the poultry industry; chicken manure is one of the key causes of the pollution, and Oklahoma was battling several chicken producers in federal court at the time.
But McDaniel said the deal made sense and that Pruitt acted honorably.
“He was a staunch defender of sound science and good policy as appropriate tools to protect the environment of his state,” Mc Da n i e l wrote. “General Pruitt was able to bridge political div id e s and manage multiple agency agendas to reach an outcome that was heralded by most credible observers as both positive and historic.”
“The resulting agreement reflects that Oklahoma enhanced, not relaxed, its enforcement of environmental protections. Scientists were appointed to establish the proper water quality metrics, establish a binding standard, and at no time were [phosphorus] abatement measures relaxed,” McDaniel wrote. “It was an historic moment that demonstrated that cooperation in pursuit of environmental protection yielded better results than litigation.”
Although the letter didn’t explicitly endorse Pruitt’s nomination, it helped Republicans bolster their case for the nominee.
Although Barrasso only read excerpts, another committee member, U.S. Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas, also referenced McDaniel’s letter.
Noting that McDaniel’s statement had been “very, very complimentary,” the Republican from Rogers asked that the letter be included, in its entirety, as part of the official record.
McDaniel, an attorney and a committeeman for the Democratic National Committee, was driving to Little Rock after a duck hunting trip, so he wasn’t watching when his name was raised by committee members.
Asked about the nomination, McDaniel portrayed Pruitt as a decent, but not necessarily ideal, pick.
“If I were president, would I have appointed Scott to run the EPA? Probably not. If I were in the Senate, would I vote to confirm this man, assuming that there were no surprises in his confirmation hearing? The answer is yes,” McDaniel said during a telephone interview.
“I do know him. He is a man of integrity. And the one personal experience that I have with him working on very complicated environmental protection issues in our states, he was a strong advocate for protecting the environment and for working together instead of forcing more expensive and fruitless litigation,” McDaniel said. “I do believe that the EPA would be wellserved to focus its efforts in those directions in the future instead of continuing with such adversarial relationships with the American business community and states.”
In an interview, Boozman said Pruitt fared well during Wednesday’s hearing and predicted he would be a successful EPA administrator.
“I think that he’s a person that will do an excellent job of listening to all of the different stakeholders, particularly the states, making sure that the rules and regulations that we come up with are … not just heavy-handed [mandates] coming from Washington,” he said.
“[Pruitt] was a staunch defender of sound science and good policy as appropriate tools to protect the environment of his state,” McDaniel wrote.