The Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Inspector General plans to take a look at the recent travels of the agency’s administrator, Scott Pruitt.
The IG announced today that it will be examining “adherence to policies, procedures and oversight controls pertaining to the Administrator’s travel to Oklahoma.”
The investigation is being launched in response to congressional requests as well as a hotline complaint, all of which raised concerns about taxpayer funded trips to Pruitt’s home state of Oklahoma.
The IG hopes to determine the following:
- The frequency, cost and extent of the Administrator’s travel that included trips to Oklahoma, through July 31, 2017.
- Whether applicable EPA travel policies and procedures were followed for Administrator Pruitt’s travel that included trips to Oklahoma, as well as other EPA staff and security personal traveling with or in advance of Administrator Pruitt.
- Whether EPA policies and procedures are sufficiently designed to prevent fraud, waste and abuse with the Administrator’s travel that included trips to Oklahoma.
The Environmental Integrity Project requested an investigation last month at the same time it published records it obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request which showed that Pruitt’s trips to Oklahoma cost taxpayers $12,000 while spending 43 out of 92 days traveling to or from Oklahoma over a three month period.
The Environmental Integrity Project describes itself as “a nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog organization that advocates for effective enforcement of environmental laws.”
EPA IG Investigation Announcement Re: Pruitt’s Travel
