Pruitt defends work with energy companies

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The Oklahoma attorney general is defending his work with energy companies and denying that he participated in a "secretive alliance" with them.

Over the weekend, The New York Times reported that Attorney General Scott Pruitt was among attorneys general working with energy producers in pushing back against federal attempts to regulate the oil and gas industry.

The newspaper cited a letter Pruitt sent to the Environmental Protection Agency. It claimed federal regulators overestimated the amount of air pollution caused by energy companies drilling new natural gas wells in Oklahoma.

Emails show the letter was actually written by attorneys for an Oklahoma City-based energy company. It was signed by Pruitt with few word changes.

Pruitt said in a statement it shouldn’t be a surprise that he is working with Oklahoma energy companies to fight what he says is an unlawful overreach of federal agencies.