Sixteen AGs Submitted Comments Opposing EPA’s Proposed Anti-Science Rule

AUGUST 17, 2018

New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood and New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal led a coalition of 16 attorneys general in submitting comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) demanding the agency pull back a proposed rule that would undermine the use of science in EPA rulemaking. The proposed rule would limit EPA reliance on scientific studies that do not provide public access to all underlying data and methodologies, a move that would prevent the agency from using peer-reviewed research into the health effects of pollution and human exposure to harmful substances. The attorneys general noted that it is common practice to keep the medical histories of individuals participating in such studies confidential, and argued that the EPA’s proposal has less to do with improving “transparency” than excluding “the science underpinning EPA action to protect the environment and our citizens from harm.” The attorneys general also argued that the EPA’s proposed rule runs contrary to existing federal law requiring the agency to consider the best science available in the development of new rules.