"Environmental groups on Thursday appealed a court decision in their attempt to end the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) policy of excluding certain scientists from serving on its advisory boards.
“The Trump administration is simply trying to payback its polluter cronies by gutting sound science that our health and environmental protections rely on,” Neil Gormley, an attorney with Earthjustice, wrote in a statement announcing the appeal filed in the D.C. Circuit Court.
The appeal stems from a controversial policy enacted in 2017 under former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who argued that scientists who receive agency grants would have a conflict of interest and shouldn’t be allowed to serve on various scientific panels that advise the EPA.
The move outraged science and environmental advocates who countered that the policy would sideline some of the nation’s top researchers while paving the way for industry-funded scientists to gain more influence at the EPA.
A July report from the Government Accountability Office found the EPA increased the number of industry representatives and consultants on its top scientific board and failed to ensure the appointees met ethics requirements."
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