EPA’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) released a consultation report September 30 regarding the proposed rule, "Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science" (83 FR 18768). If promulgated as drafted, the rule will require EPA to clearly identify all scientific studies and data underlying the development of regulations, including dose-response data and models, and to make those studies available to the public to the extent feasible.
The SAB held a call this past August with EPA staff to discuss the transparency rule and were given two charge questions specifically related to mechanisms for secure access to personally identifying information and confidential business information under the proposed rule. In the group’s response, written by the chair of the SAB Dr. Michael Honeycutt, it is stated that there was no consensus report provided to EPA because there was no consensus advice given. Instead, the report holds individual responses to EPA’s charge questions from singular members of the SAB, though only half of the full membership included any response.
According to the Trump administration’s most recent Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, the rule was to be finalized by December of this year. However, at a hearing for the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology September 19, EPA Administrator Wheeler stated the agency intends to propose a supplemental rule in 2020 and made no mention of a timeline for a final rule.