Oklahoma auditor seeks release of Tar Creek audit

Oklahoma Auditor and Inspector Gary Jones.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Oklahoma’s auditor is requesting that a court order him to release a 2011 audit concerning alleged unlawful contracting in the cleanup of the Environmental Protection Agency’s heavily polluted Tar Creek Superfund site.

The Tulsa World reports that Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector Gary Jones conducted the audit into unlawful contracting practices of the Lead-Impacted Communities Relocation Trust at the request of former Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt.

Pruitt, who’s now head of the EPA, ordered that the audit not to be released after its completion. Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter has upheld the order.

A nonprofit, Campaign for Accountability, filed a lawsuit in November against Hunter and Jones seeking for the audit’s release. In response, Jones has asked the court to declare the public’s right to access the requested records.