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Contentious Trump-era ‘secret science’ rule struck down | News
The most recent in a series of regulatory reversals since Joe Biden took the White House helm is a highly contentious rule, put forward by the Trump administration years ago, that hindered the US Environmental Protection Agency’s use of non-public data in policymaking. A federal judge vacated this infamous EPA ‘secret science’ rule, opponents of which argued that it would undermine the use of public health studies in the agency’s rulemaking by requiring the disclosure of all data underlying any research upon which regulatory actions were based. Often such data is anonymised to safeguard study subject privacy. Trump’s EPA had defended the rule as an effort to increase the transparency…
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OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Court tosses Trump EPA’s ‘secret science’ rule | Biden signals major shift on regulations | Exxon, Chevron discussed merger last year: report
HAPPY MONDAY! Welcome to Overnight Energy, The Hill’s roundup of the latest energy and environment news. Please send tips and comments to Rebecca Beitsch at [email protected] Follow her on Twitter: @rebeccabeitsch. Reach Rachel Frazin at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter: @RachelFrazin. Signup for our newsletter and others HERE. CAN’T KEEP A SECRET (SCIENCE RULE): A federal court has vacated the Trump administration’s “secret science” Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule, which critics had said would undermine the use of public health studies in agency rulemaking. The decision comes after the Biden administration asked the court to throw out the rule restricting the EPA’s use of studies that don’t make their…
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At Biden’s request, Montana judge vacates Trump EPA’s ‘secret science’ rule
The rule, which was made effective immediately, would assign less weight to studies built on medical histories and other confidential data from human subjects where the underlying information was not revealed. That sort of research — including dose-response studies, which evaluate how much a person’s exposure to a substance increases the risk of harm — have been used for decades to justify EPA regulations. Trump officials, including then-EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler, argued that the new rule would provide the public with greater insight on the scientific basis for new regulations. But critics argued that the Trump administration aimed to impede or block access to the best available science, weakening the…
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EPA asks court to toss ‘secret science’ rule
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is asking a court to throw out a Trump administration rule that critics say will undermine the use of public health studies in agency rulemaking. The agency asked a federal district court in Montana to vacate the rule following a prior ruling against the Trump administration’s move to fast-track it, arguing that there was no legal basis left for it. “Based on the Court’s conclusion that the Final Rule is a substantive rule, the sole source of authority for the rule’s promulgation cannot support the rulemaking,” government lawyers said in court. The Trump EPA classified the rule as procedural, rather than substantive, which allowed it to become…
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Judge Gives Biden Path to Quickly Repeal Trump’s ‘Secret Science’ Rule
The Biden administration can now quickly do away with a controversial rule that limited the research some federal employees can use when conducting their work, after a federal judge ruled Trump officials improperly rushed it through. The controversial Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science rule, colloquially referred to as the “secret science” rule by its supporters, was finalized by the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency just two weeks before it left office. A federal judge in Montana issued a summary judgment on Wednesday evening finding the administration did not sufficiently justify why the rule merited a rushed implementation timeline. First proposed in 2018, the rule was met with significant pushback from…
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Court rules against fast-track of Trump EPA’s ‘secret science’ rule
A federal judge in Montana late Wednesday ruled against the Trump administration’s attempt to fast-track a controversial rule about how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers scientific evidence, endangering its future under the Biden administration. The Trump EPA had characterized the rule, which would restrict the use of studies that don’t make their underlying data publicly available, as procedural, allowing it to go into effect immediately. Judge Brian Morris, an Obama appointee, disagreed, determining that the rule was substantive and ordering that it can’t go into effect until Feb. 5. Delaying the rule could jeopardize it, as it would now be subject to a new White House memo that freezes pending…
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3 London mums have discovered the secret to homeschooling during lockdown
Before lockdown, Amanda Frolich kept her work life – running physical development classes for babies and toddlers in South and West London as her alter-ego ” Action Amanda ” – separate from her home life. But with school closures for lockdown dragging on seemingly indefinitely, Amanda decided that what her 15-yr-old daughter Bibi needed to shake up her homeschool routine was the input of Action Amanda. “I sort of conned her,” joked Amanda, 51, describing how she persuaded Bibi to get active by first letting her choose “a really nice top and pair of leggings” online, so that she’d feel good working out at home. Amanda encouraged Bibi to download…
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