San Francisco Chronicle

Industry insider picked for EPA

- By Micheal Biesecker Micheal Biesecker is an Associated Press writer.

WASHINGTON — President Trump has tapped a chemical industry insider to run the Environmen­tal Protection Agency office that oversees emergency response to hazardous spills and cleanups of the nation’s most toxic sites.

The White House announced Friday that Trump has nominated Peter Wright to serve as the EPA’s assistant administra­tor for Land and Emergency Management. Wright has worked as a corporate lawyer at Dow Chemical Co. since 1999.

Despite Trump’s campaign pledges to “drain the swamp” in Washington, Wright’s nomination is the latest example of the president appointing corporate lawyers or lobbyists to supervise federal offices that directly regulate their former employers.

EPA Administra­tor Scott Pruitt said Wright is “exceptiona­lly qualified” to lead the Office of Land and Emergency Management.

“He has the expertise and experience necessary to implement our ambitious goals for cleaning up the nation’s contaminat­ed lands quickly and thoroughly,” Pruitt said.

If confirmed by the Senate, Wright would oversee the EPA office that responds to such large-scale national emergencie­s as oil spills and unauthoriz­ed releases of chemicals or radioactiv­e materials. Wright would also oversee the Superfund hazardous waste cleanup program.

Dow merged with rival DuPont last year, creating the world’s largest chemical maker. The companies are also financiall­y responsibl­e for cleaning up toxic sites where they caused pollution.

At Dow, Wright has served as managing counsel for environmen­tal health and safety, as well as the company’s principle counsel for mergers and acquisitio­ns. Wright also advised Dow on Superfund cleanups.

An analysis of EPA data by the Associated Press shows Dow and DuPont are listed as responsibl­e parties for more than 100 of the toxic sites currently undergoing or slated for cleanup across the nation.

Dow also provided a $1 million check to Trump’s inaugural committee.

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