by Amena H. Saiyid
Bloomberg BNA

Scientists who have received EPA grants to the “tune of literally tens of millions of dollars” won’t be allowed to serve on the agency’s advisory boards, Administrator Scott Pruitt announced Oct. 17.

The goal of this directive, which Pruitt will issue next week, is to ensure that the scientific advice the Environmental Protection Agency receives is independent, transparent, and objective, Pruitt said at an event hosted by the Heritage Foundation in Washington…

Steve Milloy, senior fellow at E&E Legal Inc., said Pruitt’s announcement is “huge” because it will allow the agency to get a more diverse group of people to serve on the clean air committee. Right now, he said most of the members are EPA grantees who dominate the panel’s proceedings and are “all bought and paid” to do the agency’s bidding.

Milloy is part of the E&E Legal team that sued the EPA for allegedly forming the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee Particulate Matter Review Panel, a challenge that was later voluntarily dropped.

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