Banned Tulsa banker Albert Kelly resigns from EPA Superfund role

Albert “Kell” Kelly, a former Tulsa banker, resigned Tuesday from the Environmental Protection Agency, where he had been hired to bring business acumen to the Superfund cleanup program but faced questions about his banking past.

“Kell Kelly's service at EPA will be sorely missed,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in a prepared statement. “In just over a year he has made a tremendous impact on EPA's Superfund program, serving as chair of the Superfund Task Force and presiding over the development of the steps necessary to implement the recommendations in the report.”

Last May, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation fined Kelly $125,000, believing he “violated a law or regulation.” The undisclosed incident involved a loan by SpiritBank — which Kelly's family has owned for generations — that was allegedly made without FDIC approval. That July, Kelly was banned from banking for life by the FDIC.

Between those two punishments, Kelly was appointed to revamp Superfund, the EPA's cleanup effort for America's most contaminated lands. He traveled to dozens of Superfund sites across the country, Pruitt said.

“He has helped EPA professionals find solutions to moving languished sites down the path to cleanup, including San Jacinto in Texas, Portland Harbor in Oregon and West Lake in St. Louis,” the EPA administrator said. “Additionally, Kell has been instrumental in organizing EPA's effort to eradicate lead poisoning across the country within the decade.”

Pruitt and Kelly have known each other for many years. SpiritBank loaned Pruitt and other partners money to purchase the Oklahoma City RedHawks, a minor league baseball team, in 2004, according to prior media reports. The bank also gave Pruitt a mortgage.

Kelly has said he did nothing deserving of a lifetime banking ban but ran out of resources to fight the legal battle.

“My problem with the FDIC emanated from one singular transaction in 2010. They didn't like it,” Kelly told a Montana newspaper last month. “The bank didn't lose any money. The bank made money. There was nothing untoward about it.”

Former Gov. Frank Keating defended Kelly in a statement released by the EPA on Tuesday.

“Kell Kelly is a man of high integrity,” Keating said. “During my time as CEO of the American Bankers Association, Mr. Kelly served as my chairman and helped lead the association through a difficult period following (the) 2008 financial crisis.”

Critics of Pruitt in Congress have sought an investigation into Kelly and his qualifications for the Superfund job. Pruitt said during congressional testimony Thursday that he has not stopped Kelly from testifying before Congress.

“I think Mr. Kelly, if he's willing to share that with you, he should do that and I would encourage him to do so,” Pruitt told Rep. Scott Peters, a California Democrat.

Kelly's resignation was one of two at the EPA on Tuesday. Pasquale Perrotta, the head of Pruitt's security detail, also announced he was leaving the agency.