The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is dropping plans to issue a final version this year of its divisive plan to limit the agency’s use of scientific studies in crafting major new regulations, Administrator Andrew Wheeler indicated at a congressional hearing this morning.
Instead, the agency will issue a supplemental proposal early next year, Wheeler told members of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, adding that it will apply only to future rulemakings.
He again defended, however, the agency’s initial rationale for requiring only studies for which underlying data are available for “independent validation.”
“I fundamentally believe that the more information we provide to the public, the better our regulations will be and more they will trust our decisions,” Wheeler said.
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Additional Hearing Coverage
The Proposal to Restrict Science at EPA Is Dying a Slow Death (via Union of Concerned Scientists)
EPA Head Dodges Questions About Environmental Action Against San Francisco (via The Hill)
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