EPA’s new rule: Less science in policies
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency announced a new regulation Tuesday that would restrict the kinds of scientific studies the agency can use when it develops policies, a move critics say will permanently weaken the agency’s ability to protect public health.
Under the measure, the EPA will require that the underlying data for all scientific studies used by the agency to formulate air and water regulations be publicly available. That would sharply limit the number of studies available for consideration because much research relies on confidential health data from study subjects.
Scott Pruitt, the EPA administrator, announced the proposed regulation Tuesday at agency headquarters, flanked by Republican lawmakers who sponsored legislation designed to achieve the same ends as the new regulation.
“The science that we use is going to be transparent, it’s going to be reproducible,” Pruitt said.
Supporters and critics alike say the policy will have far-reaching consequences that could limit the EPA’s ability to regulate carbon emissions, air pollution and pesticides.
The new regulation means that some research of the past decades — for example, studies linking air pollution to premature deaths — would not be available to policymakers if scientists were unwilling to break the confidentiality agreements they struck with study subjects to collect sensitive personal information.
Enacting the policy as a regulation, as the EPA intends to do, will involve accepting comments from the public and going through a lengthy bureaucratic process. But, if finalized, the measure would be difficult for a future administration to unravel.
Public health and environmental groups have vowed to challenge the move in court.
Supporters of the plan, say the regulation will ensure that future EPA policies are based on science that can be independently verified.
The public will be given 30 days to offer comments on the proposal before a final rule is issued, according to the draft.