The chief of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Scott Pruitt, seems to be courting controversy. He is engulfed in a scandal over his use of taxpayer money and closeness to lobbyists. He is being investigated for possible federal ethics violations including use of first-class plane tickets. It is also reported that the EPA and White House have been involved in blocking the publication of a federal health study on nationwide water contaminants that could cause developmental birth defects. Now, just recently, he has taken on the news media. In a summit he convened on harmful water contaminants attended by many of the stakeholders and groups in the water industry, journalists from important news agencies like the Associated Press (AP), CNN and E&E, an environmental focused news organization, were barred from attending. One was also reportedly manhandled. A spokesperson for the EPA said that they were not invited and there was no space for them at the event. The summit was convened because Scott Pruitt considers contaminants in water “a national priority.”

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