EPA administrator draws criticism over “secret science”

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) said on Monday that EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy’s decision to base agency policies on undisclosed scientific data is “disappointing.”

McCarthy said during a speech at the National Academy of Sciences on Monday that critics who discredit the “sound science” used by the EPA are playing a dangerous game.

Smith, the chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, expressed disappointment in McCarthy’s defense of “secret science.”

“Relying on undisclosed data is not good science and not good policy,” Smith said. “Ms. McCarthy admitted that the EPA has never even seen much of the underlying data it uses to justify new multi-million dollar air regulations. She also admitted that the limited data provided to Congress is not sufficient to replicate the studies, which means it cannot be independently evaluated. Any sensitive information can be protected.”

Smith said taxpayers who fund the scientific studies have a right to access the information to determine whether EPA regulations are based on sound scientific findings.

“In the coming weeks the (House Science, Space and Technology Committee) will consider the Secret Science Reform Act of 2014 to prohibit the EPA from proposing regulations based upon data that has not been publicly disclosed,” Smith said.