By Alan J. Steinberg

The greatest honor and privilege of my career was to serve in the administration of President George W. Bush as a regional administrator of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

As the leader of the EPA's Region 2 -- New York and New Jersey, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and eight federally recognized Indian nations -- I worked with the most competent people I encountered at any agency of federal or state government. Since its founding by former President Nixon in 1970, EPA at both the Washington headquarters and regional levels has consistently employed a staff of superbly professional scientists, engineers, lawyers, fiscal management, and administrative personnel. Utilizing the highest and best science, EPA has achieved monumental improvements in the quality of our nation's air, water and land.

Contrary to public perception, President Bush was a strong supporter of the mission of EPA. He defined this mission to us members of the national EPA senior staff as "the acceleration of the pace of environmental protection while maintaining our nation's economic competitiveness."

Most significantly, unlike Donald Trump, Bush believed that human activity was a significant factor in the warming global temperatures. Our administration did have differences with leading environmental organizations as to what policies should be enacted to deal with the issue, but we never denied the soundness and validity of climate science.

As Region 2 EPA administrator, I had a most robust agenda. This included the remediation of the Passaic River and the Hudson River General Electric Superfund Site, the first-time closure of leaking landfills in Puerto Rico, renewal and amendment of the New York City Water Filtration Avoidance Determination, the reopening and restoration of the Upper Ringwood Superfund Site, and the closure and/or cleanup of dirty coal fired plants in New Jersey. In implementing this agenda, I had the complete support and encouragement of both the Bush White House and Washington EPA Headquarters.

Scott Pruitt (Photo by Behar Anthony)

All this has changed with the election of climate-science denier Trump. He has nominated as his EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma's attorney general. Pruitt is a climate science denier and an ally of the oil, gas, and coal industries. The appointment of Pruitt is a fire ball in the night to all us former EPA officials of both parties who sought to diminish the presence of coal fired power plants that create major damage to the health of millions of Americans.

With Pruitt at the EPA helm, the state of American public health is truly imperiled.

This Pruitt appointment should have surprised nobody. Early in his campaign, Trump began his war against the EPA by vowing to abolish it, but he later retreated from this pledge due to adverse media and political reaction. In appointing Pruitt, however, Trump has found another way to eviscerate the EPA.

Given Pruitt's record, one can reasonably expect him to embark on a course of major non-enforcement of cases impacting coal, oil, and natural gas companies and the abandonment of ongoing climate change research.

Yet EPA is not the only theater of the Trump War on the Environment. Trump has appointed another climate change denier as Energy secretary, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who as a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 vowed to abolish the same Department of Energy.

Trump is engaged in an anti-science McCarthyism at the Energy Department, as well. Trump's transition team wants the names of any employees who have worked on President Obama's climate initiatives. This is an obvious effort to lay the foundation for the downgrading of these professionals.

Given that he didn't win the popular vote, he cannot claim a mandate for anything -- let alone such a radical departure from past bipartisan environmental policies.

Mainstream Republicans in the Senate must block Pruitt's confirmation. Trump is attempting to use his fluke Electoral College victory to circumvent the public majority view and enact a reactionary agenda.

Alan J. Steinberg served as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency's Region 2 in President George W. Bush's administration and as executive director of the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission under Gov. Christie Whitman.

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