EPA’s new acting chief signals more inclusive approach

WASHINGTON» Andrew Wheeler, the new acting chief of the Environmental Protection Agency, signaled a more inclusive approach at the agency, telling staffers roiled by months of ethics allegations against his predecessor, “You will find me and my team ready to listen.”

In his first remarks to agency staffers since Scott Pruitt’s resignation last week, Wheeler said he recognized the stress that many might be feeling about the change at the top and sought to reassure them. “I value your input and your feedback,” he said.

Wheeler made no mention of the allegations that led to Pruitt’s departure, including Pruitt’s lavish spending on travel and security and his alleged misuse of office for personal gains. But he did address concerns raised by environmentalists and some critics in Congress about his own lobbying work for the coal industry, invoking his grandfather, who worked in the coal mines.

The term coal lobbyist “has been used by some people in a derogatory manner, but I am actually proud of the work I did,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler, who had served as Pruitt’s deputy, has expressed conservative political views on environmental issues, including on climatechanging fossil fuel emissions.

When President Donald Trump called him last week about the job change, Trump told him to “clean up the air, clean up the water, and provide regulatory relief,” Wheeler said. “I think we can do all three of these things at the same time.”

Speaking to agency staff members in a wood-paneled hall at EPA headquarters, Wheeler outlined priorities that included many of Pruitt’s, including cleaning up Superfund sites.