Proposed EPA Loopholes Must Be Withdrawn After Science Advisors Find Major Flaws

“Reports withheld from the public until New Year’s Eve show that members of a top EPA advisory board – many of whom were appointed by the Trump administration – found serious scientific flaws in Trump EPA proposals to unravel life-saving pollution limits.

“EPA’s Science Advisory Board looked at proposed rule changes that would undermine safeguards limiting toxic pollution from coal plant smokestacks, weaken protections against pollution from cars and light-duty trucks, and block the best science from being used to protect the American people. The board’s reviews show that the proposed rule changes are not based on rigorous science, as required by law, but rather are designed to serve the interests of a few while ignoring the interests of most Americans – and particularly the most vulnerable among us.

“The administration delayed releasing those Science Advisory Board reviews for months, and made them public only today – on New Year’s Eve. It’s clear that 2019 is ending as it began, with the Trump administration sidelining science and attacking the safeguards that protect American families from pollution.

“EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler must immediately withdraw these unlawful proposals that threaten the health and well-being of all Americans.”

- Vickie Patton, EDF General Counsel