WASHINGTON(Sputnik) — Senior Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official Elizabeth Southerland said in a letter on Tuesday she resigned because the administration of President Donald Trump has chosen myth over facts at the agency.
"Today, the environmental field is suffering from the temporary triumph of myth over truth," Southerland wrote. "The truth is there is no war on coal, there is no economic crisis caused by environmental protection and climate change is caused by man’s activities."
Southerland said she is confident Congress and the US courts will eventually restore the environmental protections that have been undone by the Trump administration.
She claimed Trump’s proposed 2018 budget cuts to state, tribal and federal environmental programs will lead to a loss of thousands of jobs in the EPA as well as state and tribal governments.
Trump has made as part of his agenda rolling back Obama-era regulations that limited economic development. The US president has repeatedly said he is devoted to creating energy independence for the United States as a means to strengthen national security and to improve the US economy.
