Pruitt spoke to EPA staff on Feb. 21, stating that “Regulators exist to give certainty to those that they regulate,” and, “Those that we regulate ought to know what we expect of them so that they can plan and allocate resources to comply. That’s really the job of the regulator, and the process that we engage in in adopting regulation is very, very important because it sends a message.”
Pruitt added, “I believe that we as an agency, and we as a nation, can be both pro-energy and jobs and pro-environment, that we don’t have to choose between the two.”
Pruitt also spoke about the importance of avoiding political partisanship, stating, “We have jerseys that we put on both politically and otherwise. And that's something, I think, is damaging to finding results and answers.” He also spoke about how important it is for EPA to not reach beyond the authority given to it by Congress.
On EPA litigation, Pruitt recently told The Wall Street Journal, “We need to end this practice of issuing guidance, to get around the rule-making procedure. Or rushing things through, playing games on the timing.” Pruitt will seek to end the “sue and settle” process, where organizations have sued the EPA just to reach a settlement made behind closed doors, instead of a decision reached by a court of law.
Pruitt’s speech was poignant, but marks a clear shift away from President Obama’s EPA, which was oftentimes sued for reaching beyond congressional directives and did not focus on regulatory certainty for businesses.
