Dive Brief:

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt traveled to New Hampshire Feb. 13, according to the agency. In a statement through the EPA, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said Pruitt agreed to expedite bedrock water table testing at the Coakley Landfill Superfund Site. 
• Pruitt also visited the Mohawk Tannery Superfund site in Nashua, as reported by WMUR, but did not appear to make any policy or action commitments like at Coakley, which he said was "urgent to address."
• Pruitt came under some fire for his trip, with certain groups saying they would have liked the opportunity to meet with the administrator. According to the Concord Monitor, Chris Pappas, a Democrat running for Congress in the same district as the Coakley site, subsequently accused Pruitt of "gutting" the EPA and using taxpayer money for "self-promotion and elaborate trips."

Dive Insight:

Given the commitments Pruitt reportedly made to Sununu, it is significant that the Coakley site is not on the EPA's list of Superfund sites for "immediate, intense" action — but the Mohawk Tannery site is. EPA says the site has "great" potential for redevelopment after remediation. On the EPA Superfund Task Force website, the Mohawk Tannery site's "upcoming issue" is to finalize critical removal action and to facilitate redevelopment with "interested developers." 

Recently, the Coakley site made headlines because a potentially responsible party hired a lobbyist who critics say would push against state-level legislation that protects drinking water. The latest community update on the site indicated more bedrock water testing was necessary, and it appears Pruitt is taking steps within the agency to move that forward.

The circumstances around Pruitt's travel, however, come at a politically complicated time for the administrator. Pruitt told WMUR that he flew first-class and his trip was not advertised as matter of security; critics say it is a waste of money. Other Trump administration officials have come under fire for their traveling practices, and one cabinet official resigned over it.

It is yet unclear if Pruitt will continue to face outside and political pressure for his travel habits, and there has also been speculation that he could leave his position at EPA to run for the U.S. Senate or take another cabinet position. Political agendas in Washington are dynamic, so it is difficult to speculate how Superfund cleanup would be prioritized under a different EPA administrator.