Attorney General Letitia James Condemns EPA’s Adoption of Anti-Science Rule  

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today issued the following statement on the Trump Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final so-called Science Transparency Rule, a regulation that hamstrings EPA’s ability to use the best available science in ensuring the protection of public health and the environment: 

“For the past four years, Trump’s EPA has unrelentingly sought to undercut the use of scientific evidence, which serves as the foundation of our federal environmental and public health laws. The so-called Science Transparency Rule serves as a capstone to this cynical, dangerous, and illegal campaign. The only thing ‘transparent’ about this rule is its clear intent to censor, exclude, and undermine science at the expense of our health and environment. This anti-science rule arbitrarily restricts the use of the best available science in agency decision-making, which is blatantly illegal, and I am committed to working with states, counties, and cities across the county to overturn it in the courts.”  

In May 2020, Attorney General James led a 26-member coalition of states, counties, and cities in comments blasting the proposed version of the rule as a “damaging and unsound” proposal that “would lead to a decrease in protections afforded to public health, safety, and the environment.” Echoing comments the Office of the Attorney General and a similar coalition of states, counties, and cities made on a prior iteration of the proposal, the coalition further charged that the proposed rule “violates controlling federal law, is arbitrary and capricious, contains clear errors in reasoning, and is contrary to best scientific practices.”