E.P.A. to Eliminate Office That Advises Agency Chief on Science

After Scott Pruitt's disgraceful period destroying the Environmental Protection Agency came to an end, his right-hand-man Andrew Wheeler took his position and has been doing the same work but more quietly, quickly, and effectively.   Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist, is overseeing a "reorganization" of the agency according to the EPA.  We know the truth - he's destroying it just like Pruitt was.

The Environmental Protection Agency plans to dissolve its Office of the Science Advisor, a senior post to counsel the E.P.A. administrator on the scientific research underpinning health and environmental regulations.... The science adviser works across the agency to ensure that the highest quality science is integrated into the agency’s policies and decisions, according to the E.P.A.’s website.

The move is the latest among several steps taken by the Trump administration that appear to have diminished the role of scientific research in policymaking while the administration pursues an agenda of rolling back regulations.

After dissolving the office of the scientific adviser, Wheeler plans to merge the position into an office that reports to the E.P.A.’s Deputy Assistant Administrator for Science, a demotion that would put at least two more managerial layers between the E.P.A.’s chief scientist and its top decision maker.

“It’s certainly a pretty big demotion, a pretty big burying of this office,” said Michael Halpern, the deputy director of the Center for Science and Democracy with the Union of Concerned Scientists.... “Everything from research on chemicals and health, to peer-review testing to data analysis would inevitably suffer,” he said.

The Republican-led EPA is actively eliminating science from the agency.  SCIENCE.

... leaders of the E.P.A. have systematically changed how the E.P.A. treats science..... Pruitt.... proposed a regulation that would limit the types of scientific research that E.P.A. officials could take into account when writing new public health policies, a change that could weaken the agency’s ability to protect public health.

Last year, Pruitt significantly altered two major scientific panels that advise the E.P.A. on writing public health rules, restricting academic researchers from joining the boards while appointing several scientists who work for industries regulated by the E.P.A.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/27/climate/epa-science-adviser.html