“A decision has been made to reset the Science Advisory Board (SAB) and Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) and reestablish its current membership,” then-acting administrator James Payne said in a Tuesday evening email that was obtained by The Hill on Thursday. (The Senate confirmed Lee Zeldin to be EPA administrator on Wednesday.)
“This action emphasizes the importance of SAB and CASAC to EPA’s mission of protecting human health and the environment,” Payne added.
He said that the EPA would “update” the advisory committees to make sure that the agency “receives scientific advice consistent with its legal obligations to advance our core mission.”
He added that a request for nominations to the two science committees would be announced in the weeks ahead.
Asked about the email, an EPA spokesperson similarly described it as a “reset.”
The spokesperson accused the Biden administration of “politicization” of the advisory boards and said the move was being made to reverse it.
During President Trump’s first term, his first EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt, dismissed 12 SAB members in 2017.
His successor, Andrew Wheeler, appointed eight replacement members the following year.
President Biden’s EPA chief, Michael Regan, dismissed several Trump appointees to the boards.
Read more at TheHill.com.
