The Biden administration says it needs to restore trust in the agency by “resetting” membership on two key science advisory panels
EPA Administrator Michael Regan is purging two scientific advisory committees of outside experts appointed by President Donald Trump. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
By Dino Grandoni Washington Post
March 31, 2021 at 11:33 a.m. EDT
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan will purge more than 40 outside experts appointed by President Donald Trump from two key advisory panels, a move he says will help restore the role of science at the agency and reduce the heavy influence of industry over environmental regulations.
The unusual decision, announced Wednesday, will sweep away outside researchers picked under the previous administration whose expert advice helped the agency craft regulations related to air pollution, fracking and other issues.
Critics say that, under Trump, membership of the two panels — the EPA’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) and Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) — tilted too heavily toward regulated industries, and their positions sometimes contradicted scientific consensus.
“Science is back,” new EPA administrator says
The Biden administration said the move is one of several to reestablish scientific integrity across the federal government after what it characterizes as a concerted effort under the previous president to sideline or interfere with research on climate change, the novel coronavirus, and other issues.
“Resetting these two scientific advisory committees will ensure the agency receives the best possible scientific insight to support our work to protect human health and the environment,” Regan said in a statement.
Environmental advocates cheered the decision, saying thatremaking the composition of the panels is necessary after the Trump administration illegally barred academics who received EPA grants from serving on them.
Under Trump, the EPA had argued scientists who received research funding from the agency would not be able to offer impartial advice. But environmental and public health advocates, along with some former career officials within the agency, said the policy effectively elevated experts from industry while muzzling independent scientists.
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