Rep. Velazquez calls on colleagues to stop chemical company lawyer’s nomination to oversee EPA Superfund program
Velazquez , a Democrat representing parts of
"This is yet one more example of
If confirmed by the
There are three heavily polluted Superfund sites in Velazquez's district: the
"This is an issue of social justice," Velazquez said. "I've got three Superfund sites in my district, and we had more than 17,000 cases of pediatric asthma in a single year. New Yorkers deserve a Superfund chief who cares about families and kids, not big polluters and Trump's corporate pals."
At Dow, Wright has served as managing counsel for environmental health and safety while advising the company on Superfund cleanups.
Wright described himself in a court deposition as "the company's dioxin lawyer" while fighting the EPA over a 2003 cleanup in
He was in a lead role organizing Dow's legal strategy and negotiating the cleanup when the EPA openly criticized the company for delays, testing lapses and presenting misleading information to the public.
Wright once argued that dioxins are not harmful to humans despite the
In 2007, the EPA charged that Dow "has frequently provided information to the public that contradicts agency positions, and generally accepted scientific information."
Dow merged with rival
Wright has already spent time serving as a "special counsel" to Acting EPA Administrator
Wheeler, who began his career working for the EPA before becoming a lobbyist for coal companies, took over the beleaguered agency in July following the resignation of disgraced agency head
Echoing the President, Wheeler complained recently that
An EPA spokesman declined to answer questions about Velazquez's opposition, referring instead to the agency's March press release touting Wright's time at Dow.
The Trump administration's industry-friendly approach to environmental issues and promises to cut funds to the EPA have experts concerned about the future of sites such as the 1.8-mile-long sewage-strewn stretch of water that is the
"Wright's nomination is emblematic of the Trump administration's approach to these issues," said
The
The task force was led by
Wheeler, while visiting a pair of contaminated mining sites in
"Superfund is a priority for the administration, for
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