Pruitt’s New Toxic-Site List Creates Uncertainty for Companies

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is applying pressure to severely contaminated sites where the agency and companies responsible for cleanup have reached an impasse.

The list of sites, which the Environmental Protection Agency released Dec. 8, highlights which sites need “immediate and intense attention,” potentially accelerating cleanup progress and agency decisions.

While companies welcome an accelerated cleanup process, Pruitt’s track record doesn’t necessarily indicate what those agency decisions will be, Bart Seitz, a partner in the Washington office of Baker Botts LLP, told Bloomberg Environment.

“I think it ...