Under the Trump administration and the leadership of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, the Environmental Protection Agency has transformed. Most recently, Pruitt is moving to replace the 2015 Clean Water Rule — an Obama-Era regulation that defined the bodies of water and wetlands under federal protection and, in doing so, extended protection to sources of safe drinking water for many communities. With accusations of corruption shrouding Pruitt, and with fast-paced rollbacks to EPA regulations, environmental justice advocates are concerned that a changing EPA could impact communities susceptible to environmental hazards, especially those residing near industrial sites or landfills.
Talia Buford, environmental justice reporter from ProPublica, joined WGBH’s Stephanie Leydon to discuss the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice, the reason climate change affects populations differently, and the role of state and local actors in protecting communities.
“I think any change you’re going to see is going to start at the local level,” says Buford, referencing California’s fight to keep a special emission waiver and stressing the role of the state in maintaining environmental regulations. “Scott Pruitt … has been very adamant about making sure the states have flexibility to do what they feel is right for their communities, and so in theory, it seems that should also extend to stronger protections than the federal government thinks are necessary.”
Buford covers the environment and civil rights issues at ProPublica and previously worked at The Center of Public Integrity investigating the EPA’s enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
» MORE: Listen to Buford’s lunchtime talk with fellows of the Shorenstein Center at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, recorded by WGBH's Forum Network.
