The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator, Scott Pruitt, has signed a proposed rule to strengthen the science used in regulations issued by the EPA.
According to an EPA press note, the rule will ensure that the ‘regulatory science underlying Agency actions’ is fully transparent, and that underlying scientific information is publicly available in a manner sufficient for independent validation.
“The era of secret science at EPA is coming to an end,” said Pruitt. “The ability to test, authenticate, and reproduce scientific findings is vital for the integrity of rulemaking process. Americans deserve to assess the legitimacy of the science underpinning EPA decisions that may impact their lives.”
‘This proposed rule is in line with the scientific community’s moves toward increased data sharing to address the “replication crisis” – a growing recognition that a significant proportion of published research may not be reproducible,’ the note said.
‘The proposal is consistent with data access requirements for major scientific journals like Science, Nature, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences as well as recommendations from the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Science for Policy Project and the Administrative Conference of the United States’ Science in the Administrative Process Project.’
The proposed rule is said to build upon President Donald Trump’s executive orders on regulatory reform and energy independence.
Meanwhile, the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee chairman, Lamar Smith, said that Pruitt’s announcement ensured that data would be secret no more.
“For too long, the EPA has issued rules and regulations based on data that has been withheld from the American people,” he said. “It’s likely that in the past, the data did not justify all regulations. Today, Administrator Pruitt rightfully is changing business as usual and putting a stop to hidden agendas.”
Secretive science deposed
