Former EPA advisor SUES the Biden administration for ‘purging’ 45
Former EPA advisor SUES the Biden administration for ‘purging’ 45 Trump-appointed board members because they were ‘too focused on industry’
- EPA head Michael Regan last spring said that advisors appointed under Trump were overly friendly to business and said he would ‘reset’ the advisory boards
- Regan’s overhaul removed 45 members of the two boards, which provide recommendations for air quality standards and other regulations
- Stanley Young, who served on the SAB under Trump, said the advisory boards are now stacked with science advisors who favor Biden’s policies
A Trump-era advisor of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is suing the agency over the Biden administration’s ‘purge’ of industry representatives.
EPA head Michael Regan last spring said that advisors appointed under Trump were overly friendly to business and said he would ‘reset’ the Science Advisory Board (SAB) and Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee to include more scientific experts.
Regan’s overhaul removed 45 members of the two boards, which provide recommendations for air quality standards and other regulations to protect the environment and public health.
Stanley Young, who served on the SAB under Trump, said the advisory boards are now stacked with science advisors who favor President Biden’s policies.
‘The committees are now unfairly balanced – both in terms of points of view and the functions the committees are required to perform – because they lack a single member affiliated with regulated industries,’ the suit, first reported by Fox News, read.
The EPA ‘has a problem with dissent,’ according to Young, represented by Jones Day law office.
Regan at the time told the Associated Press the reset of the two boards ‘are indicative of how serious we are about repairing the scientific integrity at EPA.’
Young contends in the suit that Regan violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) by removing all industry-focused officials from the boards.
The 1972 act stipulates that advisory committees be ‘objective’ and accessible to the public.
According to the suit, FACA is meant to ensure members of the EPA advisory boards are ‘fairly balanced’ and the advice of committees is not ‘inappropriately influenced by the appointing authority.’
EPA head Michael Regan last spring said that advisors appointed under Trump were overly friendly to business and said he would ‘reset’ the Science Advisory Board (SAB) and Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee to include more scientific experts
The EPA under the Biden administration has shifted to a focus on mitigating the effects of climate change, in May publishing the agency’s first…
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