AIBS Urges EPA Administrator to Extend Comment Period for Proposed " Secret Science " Rule

The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) has sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt requesting an extension on the deadline to submit comments on the proposed rule “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science” by at least 60 days. The proposed rule, which was published in the Federal Register on April 30, 2018, would limit the use of scientific studies that have underlying data that are not publicly available when crafting regulations. AIBS expressed concerns that the 30-day comment period would not allow sufficient time for the scientific community to fully analyze the proposed rule. “It is thus not possible to submit detailed and substantive comments on a complex proposal that has such far-reaching and long-lasting impacts on public and environmental health.” The letter stressed that all scientific data cannot be made public due to issues of patient privacy and industry confidentiality. “The data transparency requirement is also likely to impose a significant new cost on the taxpayer as new systems will be required to manage, store, present, and track down data, as well as redact sensitive personal information.” Read the letter here.      
Source: Public Policy Reports - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: news