

Dempsey said he doesn’t see any major change in the way EPA will approach science under Wheeler. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and now works with a consulting firm representing the oil and gas industry.

Wheeler is likely to support a variety of SAB candidates, said Matt Dempsey, who worked with Wheeler in the office of Sen. Observers say there is no indication that Wheeler, who has long criticized established climate science, will take a dramatically different approach from his predecessor. The public comment period on that rule closes this week. Critics say that rule is tailored to discount major human health studies where participants were granted anonymity. Wheeler will also have an opportunity to reshape Pruitt’s proposed rule to require that science used in EPA regulations have open and reproducible data. Although independent academic researchers still make up the bulk of the chartered Science Advisory Board and the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, the newest round of appointments could tip the balance of those boards toward industry.

When Pruitt reworked those boards last year, he forced off academic researchers who received EPA grants and replaced them with researchers funded by industries the agency is tasked with regulating. One early test will be Wheeler’s picks for EPA science advisory boards, which are expected in the next month or so.
Scott pruitt safety forcing his drivers series#
A rule was proposed that would restrict which science could be used in regulations.īut since Pruitt resigned under a cloud of ethics scandals last month, attention has turned to Wheeler and whether he will continue some of Pruitt’s more controversial moves on science.Ī series of key decisions in the coming weeks will offer some clues. Researchers on EPA science advisory boards who received agency grants were deemed to have conflicts of interest, while industry researchers were framed as independent.
Scott pruitt safety forcing his drivers drivers#
Pruitt contradicted scientists by claiming that humans aren’t the primary drivers of climate change. Web pages explaining climate science disappeared. Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler is about to get a science test.ĭuring Scott Pruitt’s tenure as EPA chief, the agency’s science was sidelined.
