EPA cedes to watchdog on political interference in science

By Ellie Borst | 01/13/2025 01:53 PM EST

The agency’s yet-to-be-finalized policy updates would specify that political interference concerns be reported to the inspector general’s office.

EPA's building in Washington.

The EPA building is seen in Washington on Dec. 7, 2024. Jose Luis Magana/AP

EPA agreed to update its guidelines on reporting political interference concerns, resolving a two-plus-year dispute with the agency’s internal watchdog office just days before the incoming Trump administration takes the helm.

EPA said it will modify its draft Scientific Integrity Policy to include language that says the chief or deputy scientific integrity official “will promptly report any scientific integrity concern of political interference by senior Agency employees to the EPA OIG [Office of Inspector General] Hotline,” according to a Jan. 7 letter posted on the IG’s website.

Inspector General Sean O’Donnell recommended EPA include political interference among the listed reporting categories after his office’s investigation concluded top officials in the first Trump administration meddled in a toxicity assessment to make PFBS, a compound in the “forever chemicals” or PFAS family, appear safer at higher doses.

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Biden administration officials have pushed back against O’Donnell’s recommendation since before the IG report was published in March 2023, insisting the suggested policy changes would do little to prevent future political interference attempts.

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