Three separate lawsuits have been brought against EPA Administrator Pruitt in the past month; all three ask their respective judges to remove the policy barring scientists serving on EPA’s federal advisory committees (FACs) from holding EPA grants. The directive in question, issued October 31 by Administrator Pruitt, requires all FAC members to choose between serving on a committee or maintaining their EPA grants. The mandate affects all 22 advisory committees, among them the National Drinking Water Advisory Council.
The first of the three suits was filed December 21 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by three university professors who have each formerly served on advisory committees, along with three environmental and public health organizations: Physicians for Social Responsibility; the National Hispanic Medical Association; and the International Society for Children’s Health and the Environment.
The second suit was filed January 23 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts by The Union of Concerned Scientists and Elizabeth Anne Sheppard, a professor at the University of Washington and a member of EPA's Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee. The most recent suit was filed January 25 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
EPA’s October 31 press release about the directive argued that the move is intended to ensure the “independence, geographic diversity & integrity” of the agency’s science committees. According to the agency, members of these committees have received upwards of $77 million in EPA grants over the last three years.