Watchdog group again sues for Tar Creek documents
By: Justin Wingerter, The Oklahoman, April 7, 2018
A national watchdog group embroiled in a legal battle with the Oklahoma attorney general’s office over a state audit into the Tar Creek Superfund site has now sued the Environmental Protection Agency for more Tar Creek documents.
Campaign for Accountability filed an open records lawsuit Thursday to compel the EPA, led by former Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, to release all communications between Pruitt’s EPA staff and the state attorney general’s office; all communications between Pruitt’s staff and several news outlets, including The Oklahoman, involving Tar Creek; and other communications between EPA staffers that mention Tar Creek.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington, where Campaign for Accountability and the EPA are both located.
“First, Scott Pruitt and his cronies covered up evidence of potential criminal wrongdoing at a Superfund site, and now they’re trying to cover their tracks,” said Daniel Stevens, executive director of Campaign for Accountability. “Oklahomans deserve to learn who profited from the Tar Creek cleanup process. What are Scott Pruitt and Mike Hunter so desperate to hide?”