Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson Thursday announced the agency is reversing controversial changes to how science is used to set air pollution standards.
The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for harmful pollutants using the best available science. For decades, EPA staff scientists worked with the independent Clean Air Science Advisory Committee to review the latest studies and recommend appropriate standards.
The Bush administration changed this process, eliminating the independent assessment by scientific experts and injecting political determinations much earlier in the decision-making process.
Under the Bush rules, high-level political appointees were involved from the start, working with staff scientists to draft a document containing "policy-relevant science" that replaced the independent staff paper agency scientists had previously produced.
“It’s essential that the best science and the greatest transparency inform air quality standards that prevent illness and save lives,” Jackson said. “These changes will help us bring a greater rigor and openness to our standard-setting process and improve the scientific basis for our standards.”
EPA sets NAAQS for six key pollutants known as “criteria pollutants” that are commonly found across the United States. They are ozone, particle pollution (particulate matter), lead, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide.
EPA is reinstating the role of a key policy document created by agency scientists that contains staff analyses of options for the administrator to consider when setting air quality standards. This document, known as a “staff paper,” will be made available to the agency’s science advisors and the public prior to the initiation of formal rulemaking.
In addition to restoring the policy document, Administrator Jackson is retaining previous changes that are thought to improve the review process. Those include a public workshop early in the NAAQS review, and the restructuring of key science and risks documents so they are more concise and focused on key scientific and policy issues.
Jackson also asked staff to consult with scientific experts in other federal agencies that have responsibility for public health and environmental protection early in the review of each air quality standard.
Francesca Grifo, senior scientist and director of the Scientific Integrity Program for the Union of Concerned Scientists praised the EPA decision.
"Now the EPA once again will fully utilize its scientists in setting air pollution standards. It’s heartening to see that the Obama administration is taking concrete steps to back its strong rhetoric about restoring scientific integrity to federal agencies," she said.
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