Waterkeeper Alliance Responds to Lee Zeldin Confirmation as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
By: Waterkeeper Alliance
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Today, in response to the U.S. Senate’s confirmation of former Congressman Lee Zeldin as the next Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Marc Yaggi, CEO of Waterkeeper Alliance, issued the following statement:
“This is a make-or-break moment for clean water, and the American people deserve leadership that puts their needs above the influence of corporate polluters. Lee Zeldin’s past rejection of offshore oil drilling and his support for sensible policies to address PFAS pollution demonstrate that he recognizes how indispensable clean water is to our communities and local economies.
However, his history of voting against critical infrastructure and environmental funding and opposing clean water and air protections raises serious concerns about his commitment to effectively leading the Environmental Protection Agency. Administrator Zeldin must resist pressure to align with industry interests and a dangerous agenda that seeks to gut the agency and systematically strip the nation of essential clean water and environmental protections that were established under the law. Clean water is a fundamental right for all, not a privileged few. Waterkeeper Alliance will hold him accountable if he fails to defend and advance policies that protect clean water, safeguard public health, and foster economic prosperity for all.”
Waterkeeper Alliance’s clean water policy agenda calls on the Trump administration to invest in America’s future and a stronger economy by strengthening clean water protections, preventing our communities from being further harmed by pollution, responding to increasingly frequent extreme weather, safeguarding public health, and securing economic prosperity. Waterkeeper Alliance and its global movement of more than 300 Waterkeeper groups worldwide remain steadfast in our commitment to fighting for clean, accessible water—grounded in sound science and the belief that clean water is a fundamental right for all people.