EPA ' s Science Advisory Board Rebukes Proposed Transparency, WOTUS Rules

In a draft report dated October 16, 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Science Advisory Board (SAB) criticized the agency’s proposed rule “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science,” also referred to as the “secret science” rule. The regulation, first proposed by former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt in April 2018, would bar the use of scientific studies in crafting regulations unless the underlying data “are publicly available in a manner sufficient for independent validation.” E&E News reported that the SAB released draft commentaries on four key regulatory initiatives by the agency last week. In addition to rebuking the transparency rule, the board also offered criticisms of the Trump administration’s proposed Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, the planned rollback of clean car standards, and the agency’s December 2018 proposal to determine that it is not “appropriate and necessary” to regulate mercury and other toxic pollutants released from coal- and oil-fired power plants. Smaller working groups within the 44-member board prepared the draft commentaries, which will now be considered by the full board. The board concluded that the transparency rule “may not add transparency, and even may make some kinds of research more difficult.” The draft report raised concerns about several “key considerations” that the proposed rule failed to adequatel...
Source: Public Policy Reports - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: news