"One is a senior-level retiree from a power company that has battled stricter environmental regulations for decades. Two are industry consultants who helped co-author a 2015 paper questioning the approach that led EPA to tighten its national ozone standards later that year. A fourth, on the advisory board of a conservative nonprofit, questions evidence of the long-term health risks posed by exposure to fine particulates.
All have now been named EPA consultants, charged with furnishing technical advice in high-stakes reviews of the agency's ambient air quality standards for both ozone and particulate matter.
EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced the consultant pool's formation Friday (E&E News PM, Sept. 13). A spokeswoman yesterday described the members, numbering a dozen in all, as 'highly regarded experts in their fields.'
But critics see the untested approach as yet another Trump administration ploy to skew the course of the legally required assessments, which can carry big repercussions for public health and businesses' bottom line."
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