Decks cleared: Regan fires science board members

摘要

This story was updated at 6:58 p.m. EDT. EPA Administrator Michael Regan today ousted all members of two premier advisory panels, saying that a "reset" was needed as part of a broader campaign to restore scientific integrity at the agency. Via email this morning sent by a career EPA employee, all 49 sitting members of the Science Advisory Board and Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee were fired, in some cases years before their current terms were scheduled to end. Tomorrow, EPA will open a new round of nominations to restock both panels; while the former members are free to reapply, there is no guarantee Regan will reappoint them. His move is unusual. In a news release today, EPA said the purge was intended to "reverse deficiencies" stemming from Trump administration policies such as a now-discarded ban on service by EPA grant recipients. Under those policies, the composition of both panels-traditionally made up mostly of academic researchers-came to include more members with ties to industry and views outside the scientific mainstream on climate change and other issues.