{"id":29283,"date":"2021-05-28T00:01:22","date_gmt":"2021-05-28T04:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=29283"},"modified":"2021-05-27T20:35:25","modified_gmt":"2021-05-28T00:35:25","slug":"inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/","title":{"rendered":"Inspector General Blasts Trump\u2019s Politicized EPA, No Announced Plans to Reverse Unscientific Decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

(Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, May 28, 2021)\u00a0A report by the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concludes that scientific analyses by the agency were altered so as to favor top Trump administration officials\u2019 policy choices in the 2018 reapproval of the highly toxic and problematic pesticide, dicamba<\/a>. The report, \u201cEPA Deviated from its Typical Procedures in Its 2018 Dicamba Pesticide Registration Decision<\/a>,\u201d was publicly released on May 24. It confirms aspects of what Beyond Pesticides and many others in the science, advocacy, public health, and environmental communities have been saying and reporting since 2016: the Trump administration executed a wholesale assault on scientific integrity<\/a> in federal decision making.<\/p>\r\n

In its research on the matter, the Inspector General\u2019s office (OIG) reviewed EPA\u2019s 2016<\/a> and 2018<\/a> decisions on dicamba\u2019s registration, documentation that purported to support those decisions, and the concerns forwarded in the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit<\/a> and by many stakeholders. (See more in figure below.) It also reviewed EPA internal procedures and guidance on pesticide registration, and agency scientific integrity materials; interviewed career scientists and other agency staff; and communicated with EPA\u2019s Scientific Integrity (Science Advisor) program staff.<\/p>\r\n

As reported by The Hill<\/em><\/a>, interviews and emails with multiple agency scientists and staff members reveal a host of concerning behaviors. One is that after a senior management review of the 2018 re-approval of dicamba (for use on genetically engineered cotton and soybeans), the assistant administrator\u2019s office instructed scientists to use an outline it provided to them for rewriting an impact analysis document, including removal of several sections of the original document. One scientist asserted that senior management in OCSPP (EPA\u2019s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention) told them to use industry-provided data \u2014 rather than EPA\u2019s own data \u2014 for reported damage from dicamba. Yet another was a staff scientist\u2019s claim that senior management and policymakers instructed that plant height (rather than the academic standard of \u201cvisual signs of plant injury\u201d) should be used to measure dicamba\u2019s effects. The OIG report concluded that such behaviors ultimately changed the scientific conclusions about dicamba\u2019s use.<\/p>\r\n

The OIG report concluded<\/a>: \u201cWe found that the EPA\u2019s 2018 dicamba pesticide conditional registration decision varied from the OPP\u2019s [Office of Pesticide Program\u2019s] written standard operating procedures, namely because EPA did not conduct the required internal peer review of scientific documents created to support the dicamba decision. . . . Senior leaders in OCSPP\u2019s immediate office \u2014 specifically the former deputy assistant administrator, former deputy assistant administrator for Law and Policy, and former acting principal deputy assistant administrator (hereafter referred to as \u201csenior management\u201d) \u2014 were more involved in the dicamba decision than in other pesticide registration decisions. This led to senior-level changes to or omissions from scientific documents, including omissions of some conclusions addressing stakeholder risks<\/em>\u201d [emphasis by Beyond Pesticides]. The individuals in those specific EPA positions cited in the report included, respectively: Nancy Beck (former deputy assistant administrator, who previously served as a senior director at the American Chemistry Council\u2014the trade organization for the chemical industry), Erik Baptist (former deputy assistant administrator for Law and Policy), and Charlotte Bertrand (former acting principal deputy assistant administrator).<\/p>\r\n

The report continues<\/a>: \u201cIn separate interviews, scientists from the OPP\u2019s Registration Division, EFED [Environmental Fate and Effects Division], and BEAD [Biological and Economic Analysis Division] all described feeling constrained or muted in sharing their scientific integrity concerns with senior management during the dicamba registration process. The EPA\u2019s actions on the dicamba registration left the decision legally vulnerable, resulting in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals vacating the three 2018 registrations for violating FIFRA by substantially understating some risks and failing to acknowledge others entirely.\u201d (FIFRA is the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act<\/a>, the governing framework for registration and labeling of pesticides.)<\/p>\r\n

Dicamba has been the subject of extreme controversy in recent years, with rampant reports of \u201cperipheral\u201d damage due to its strong tendency to drift and cause damage to nontarget plants<\/a>. Midwestern states have been especially affected<\/a>. Use of dicamba is also associated<\/a> with harmful environmental\/ecosystem and health impacts: it is toxic to birds, fish, and other aquatic organisms; it leaches into groundwater; and it plays a role in carcinogenicity, neurotoxicity, hepatic and renal damage, and developmental effects, among other anomalies.<\/p>\r\n

The Trump EPA\u2019s actions on dicamba were part of a larger context and mission. The OIG report confirms what Beyond Pesticides and other advocates have maintained for years: the Trump administration\u2019s EPA acted repeatedly in ways that ignored, contravened, or outright distorted science in service of political aims, and worked to hobble the agency\u2019s ability to protect the environment and the public. This happened with dicamba<\/a>, as the OIG report notes, but was not confined to that compound\u2019s fate. A very small sampling follows.<\/p>\r\n

That Trump administration\u2019s launch \u2014 featuring the appointment of Scott Pruitt as EPA Administrator and a hiring freeze at the agency<\/a> \u2014 was just the start. Out of the gates and in cahoots with the agrochemical industry<\/a>, EPA reversed the agency\u2019s own decision to ban use of the neurotoxic insecticide chlorpyrifos on food, and sought to delay release of information showing that three organophosphate pesticides are highly toxic to endangered species. Mr. Pruitt vowed to slash EPA staff in half by 2020, and banned scientists<\/a> funded by EPA from serving on its Science Advisory Board, making EPA more beholden to industry \u201cscience\u201d and its priorities of \u201cprofit through pollution.\u201d EPA sought, in 2017, to harness the flow of scientific information coming out of the agency by banning its distribution via social media, and instituting on staff scientists an \u201cunspecified vetting process before sharing their work outside the agency\u201d \u2014 a move that violated\u00a0EPA\u2019s own scientific integrity policy<\/a>. The administration attacked scientists<\/a> who identified problems with EPA\u2019s regulation of pesticides. Trump\u2019s EPA weakened protections<\/a> of U.S. waterways and wetlands. At the eleventh hour, Trump\u2019s EPA finalized its misnamed \u201ctransparency rule,\u201d<\/a> which in fact significantly restricted the scientific research EPA could use in developing regulations to protect human health.<\/p>\r\n

To put arms around the breadth of the environmental damage the Trump administration had caused (with continued effect) during its tenure, The New York Times<\/em> published<\/a> \u2014 on President Biden\u2019s Inauguration Day \u2014 its chronicle, \u201cThe Trump Administration Rolled Back More Than 100 Environmental Rules. Here\u2019s the Full List.\u201d A number of items on the list note harmful pesticide-related actions.<\/p>\r\n

EPA\u2019s history with dicamba is convoluted; the OIG report provides<\/a> a simple and useful timeline:<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

After the Ninth Circuit Court ordered the dicamba OTT (over the top, meaning for post-emergent use) registrations to be vacated<\/a>, a mere four months later those dicamba uses were\u00a0reregistered<\/a> yet again by the Trump EPA, this time for five years. In a press release, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) wrote<\/a>, \u201cJust days before the November presidential election, the Trump EPA rushed to reapprove dicamba products for five years, and farmers and conservation groups were forced again to sue to challenge the approval. This is the third time the agency has registered these products, each time with additional restrictions that have failed to stem devastating drift.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Stephanie Parent, an attorney for CBD and other plaintiffs in a lawsuit against EPA for that decision, commented on the OIG report in an email to Progressive Farmer<\/em> and DTN,<\/a> \u201c[A]fter the Office of the Inspector General’s damning report on the EPA’s highly politicized, anti-science approach to fast-tracking the use of this harmful pesticide, the agency should cancel its recent approval, not try to defend it in court. The EPA knows that anything less is likely to result in yet another summer of damaged fields and lost profits for farmers choosing not to use dicamba.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Progressive Farmer<\/em><\/a> further reports that EPA is standing by the 2020 reregistration decision. In an emailed statement, an EPA spokesperson said, \u201cThe agency has responded to the Office of the Inspector General’s report and is implementing several actions to ensure that our pesticide registration decisions are free from political interference and that the agency’s scientific integrity policy is upheld. The agency looks forward to productive conversations with the Office of the Inspector General as we work to resolve this matter. EPA stands by its 2020 decision made with the input of career scientists and managers.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

From the report:<\/a> \u201cThe EPA\u2019s Scientific Integrity Policy notes that the Agency\u2019s ability to pursue its mission to protect human health and the environment depends upon the integrity of the science on which the EPA relies. Per the policy, the EPA\u2019s scientists and managers are expected to represent Agency scientific activities clearly, accurately, honestly, objectively, thoroughly, without political or other interference, and in a timely manner, consistent with their official responsibilities. Additionally, scientists and managers are expected to follow federal and EPA transparency requirements, including documenting the formulation and execution of policies and decisions. For pesticide registration decisions, the OPP must review registrations and document its decisions.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

What this EPA OIG report portends for dicamba with the new Biden administration is unclear. Michal Freedhoff, principal deputy assistant administrator\u200b for OCSPP in the Biden administration, confirmed that the agency agrees with OIG’s conclusion that EPA mishandled the 2018 dicamba decision. He agreed that EPA should follow existing protocols and processes, and that senior managers must justify and document any changes they make, including the reasons for them.\u00a0He commented in an internal response to the report<\/a>, \u201cThis incident occurred despite the best efforts of OCSPP’s\u00a0career scientists and managers to recommend a different approach that was scientifically, procedurally and legally sound.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

This is confusing at best. One the one hand, EPA is saying that the agency \u201cmishandled the 2018 dicamba decision.\u201d On the other, it appears to be standing by its 2020 anti-science decision to reregister the pesticide for OTT uses. Advocates say that what EPA ought<\/em> to do is ban the use of this toxic pesticide entirely. Short of that, they say it should at the very least abide by the 2020 order of the Ninth Circuit Court to vacate the registrations of the OTT uses, given that their registrations violated FIFRA, thus reversing the Trump EPA\u2019s 2020 ruling. Beyond that, advocates maintain that EPA should undertake a wholesale review of dicamba, using legitimate data sources and the analyses of career experts both within and without the agency to set new rules that would protect farmers\u2019 crops, farmworkers, ecosystems, and human health.<\/p>\r\n

In November 2020, Beyond Pesticides wrote<\/a> about the need for an EPA (and agency administrator) that understands:\u00a0\u201cthe relationship between a healthy environment and a healthy economy; disproportionate risk and environmental racism;\u00a0the importance of standing up to polluting industries; the existential threats facing the country and the globe; the failure of risk assessment and unrealistic risk mitigation measures that poison people and the environment, and destroy life;\u00a0and the need for meaningful results, rather than politically expedient compromises.\u201d Implementing these understandings into EPA\u2019s work, according to Beyond Pesticides, would remedy a great many wrongs done during the past four years and longer.<\/p>\r\n

If it acts seriously on its campaign slogan that science must underpin federal policy and decision making, the Biden administration faces a legion of harmful decisions that must be undone. We must all insist that President Biden\u2019s EPA restore the role of legitimate science in federal policy and rulemaking, and jettison agency rulings that arose out of the political and corrupt motivations of the last administration. Beyond Pesticides asks the public to contact elected U.S.\u00a0Senators<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Representatives<\/a>, and\u00a0President Biden<\/a>, to insist on a precautionary and protective EPA.<\/p>\r\n

Sources: https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/energy-environment\/555174-trump-epa-changed-scientific-analyses-pesticide-re-approval-watchdog?rl=1<\/a> and https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/sites\/production\/files\/2021-05\/documents\/_epaoig20210524-21-e-0146.pdf<\/a><\/p>\r\n

All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.<\/em><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Beyond Pesticides, May 28, 2021)\u00a0A report by the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concludes that scientific analyses by the agency were altered so as to favor top Trump administration officials\u2019 policy choices in the 2018 reapproval of the highly toxic and problematic pesticide, dicamba. The report, \u201cEPA Deviated from its Typical Procedures in Its 2018 Dicamba Pesticide Registration Decision,\u201d was publicly released on May 24. It confirms aspects of what Beyond Pesticides and many others in the science, advocacy, public health, and environmental communities have been saying and reporting since 2016: the Trump administration executed a wholesale assault on scientific integrity in federal decision making. In its research on the matter, the Inspector General\u2019s office (OIG) reviewed EPA\u2019s 2016 and 2018 decisions on dicamba\u2019s registration, documentation that purported to support those decisions, and the concerns forwarded in the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and by many stakeholders. (See more in figure below.) It also reviewed EPA internal procedures and guidance on pesticide registration, and agency scientific integrity materials; interviewed career scientists and other agency staff; and communicated with EPA\u2019s Scientific Integrity (Science Advisor) program staff. As reported […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29311,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,69,354,10,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chlorpyrifos","category-dicamba","category-environmental-protection-agency-epa","category-pesticide-regulation","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nInspector General Blasts Trump\u2019s Politicized EPA, No Announced Plans to Reverse Unscientific Decisions - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Inspector General Blasts Trump\u2019s Politicized EPA, No Announced Plans to Reverse Unscientific Decisions - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"(Beyond Pesticides, May 28, 2021)\u00a0A report by the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concludes that scientific analyses by the agency were altered so as to favor top Trump administration officials\u2019 policy choices in the 2018 reapproval of the highly toxic and problematic pesticide, dicamba. The report, \u201cEPA Deviated from its Typical Procedures in Its 2018 Dicamba Pesticide Registration Decision,\u201d was publicly released on May 24. It confirms aspects of what Beyond Pesticides and many others in the science, advocacy, public health, and environmental communities have been saying and reporting since 2016: the Trump administration executed a wholesale assault on scientific integrity in federal decision making. In its research on the matter, the Inspector General\u2019s office (OIG) reviewed EPA\u2019s 2016 and 2018 decisions on dicamba\u2019s registration, documentation that purported to support those decisions, and the concerns forwarded in the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and by many stakeholders. (See more in figure below.) It also reviewed EPA internal procedures and guidance on pesticide registration, and agency scientific integrity materials; interviewed career scientists and other agency staff; and communicated with EPA\u2019s Scientific Integrity (Science Advisor) program staff. As reported […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-05-28T04:01:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/SaveTheEarth.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"340\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Beyond Pesticides\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ByondPesticides\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ByondPesticides\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Beyond Pesticides\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Beyond Pesticides\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4\"},\"headline\":\"Inspector General Blasts Trump\u2019s Politicized EPA, No Announced Plans to Reverse Unscientific Decisions\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-05-28T04:01:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/\"},\"wordCount\":1999,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/SaveTheEarth.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Chlorpyrifos\",\"Dicamba\",\"Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)\",\"Pesticide Regulation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/\",\"name\":\"Inspector General Blasts Trump\u2019s Politicized EPA, No Announced Plans to Reverse Unscientific Decisions - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/SaveTheEarth.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-05-28T04:01:22+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/SaveTheEarth.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/SaveTheEarth.jpg\",\"width\":620,\"height\":340},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Inspector General Blasts Trump\u2019s Politicized EPA, No Announced Plans to Reverse Unscientific Decisions\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/\",\"name\":\"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\",\"description\":\"News on Pesticide Science, Policy and Activism\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Beyond Pesticides\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/BeyondPesticides-Logo-Stacked-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/BeyondPesticides-Logo-Stacked-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":2501,\"caption\":\"Beyond Pesticides\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/ByondPesticides\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/beyondpesticides\/?hl=en\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/beyond-pesticides\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/bpncamp\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4\",\"name\":\"Beyond Pesticides\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26b7558fcb265e244c6e159abe5f0aab551822dc82fd0b1607e809bdfbed20a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26b7558fcb265e244c6e159abe5f0aab551822dc82fd0b1607e809bdfbed20a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Beyond Pesticides\"},\"description\":\"Beyond Pesticides is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., which works with allies in protecting public health and the environment to lead the transition to a world free of toxic pesticides. The founders, who established Beyond Pesticides (originally as National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides) as a nonprofit membership organization in 1981, felt that without the existence of such an organized, national network, local, state and national pesticide policy would become, under chemical industry pressure, increasingly unresponsive to public health and environmental concerns. Beyond Pesticides believes that people must have a voice in decisions that affect them directly. We believe decisions should not be made for us by chemical companies or by decision-makers who either do not have all of the facts or refuse to consider them. Learn more about our work, read A Year in Review\u20142021, our accomplishments are your victories! Beyond Pesticides seeks to protect healthy air, water, land, and food for ourselves and future generations. By forging ties with governments, nonprofits, and people who rely on these natural resources, we reduce the need for unnecessary pesticide use and protect public health and the environment. Beyond Pesticides provides hands-on services to the public and supports local action by: identifying and interpreting hazards; and, designing safe pest management programs. With the information provided by Beyond Pesticides, people may not only be able to make informed choices and adopt practices that protect themselves and their families from unnecessary exposure to pesticides, but they will be able to effect changes on community-wide pest management decisions and policies that govern pesticide use, such as pesticide uses in parks, schools, for community insect control and along roadsides. Beyond Pesticides believes that people must have a voice in decisions which affect them directly.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/beyondpesticides\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/beyond-pesticides\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/ByondPesticides\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/bpncamp\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/author\/beyond-pesticides\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Inspector General Blasts Trump\u2019s Politicized EPA, No Announced Plans to Reverse Unscientific Decisions - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Inspector General Blasts Trump\u2019s Politicized EPA, No Announced Plans to Reverse Unscientific Decisions - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","og_description":"(Beyond Pesticides, May 28, 2021)\u00a0A report by the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concludes that scientific analyses by the agency were altered so as to favor top Trump administration officials\u2019 policy choices in the 2018 reapproval of the highly toxic and problematic pesticide, dicamba. The report, \u201cEPA Deviated from its Typical Procedures in Its 2018 Dicamba Pesticide Registration Decision,\u201d was publicly released on May 24. It confirms aspects of what Beyond Pesticides and many others in the science, advocacy, public health, and environmental communities have been saying and reporting since 2016: the Trump administration executed a wholesale assault on scientific integrity in federal decision making. In its research on the matter, the Inspector General\u2019s office (OIG) reviewed EPA\u2019s 2016 and 2018 decisions on dicamba\u2019s registration, documentation that purported to support those decisions, and the concerns forwarded in the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and by many stakeholders. (See more in figure below.) It also reviewed EPA internal procedures and guidance on pesticide registration, and agency scientific integrity materials; interviewed career scientists and other agency staff; and communicated with EPA\u2019s Scientific Integrity (Science Advisor) program staff. As reported […]","og_url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/","og_site_name":"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/","article_published_time":"2021-05-28T04:01:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":620,"height":340,"url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/SaveTheEarth.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Beyond Pesticides","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ByondPesticides","twitter_site":"@ByondPesticides","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Beyond Pesticides","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/"},"author":{"name":"Beyond Pesticides","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4"},"headline":"Inspector General Blasts Trump\u2019s Politicized EPA, No Announced Plans to Reverse Unscientific Decisions","datePublished":"2021-05-28T04:01:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/"},"wordCount":1999,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/SaveTheEarth.jpg","articleSection":["Chlorpyrifos","Dicamba","Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)","Pesticide Regulation"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/","name":"Inspector General Blasts Trump\u2019s Politicized EPA, No Announced Plans to Reverse Unscientific Decisions - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/SaveTheEarth.jpg","datePublished":"2021-05-28T04:01:22+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/SaveTheEarth.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/SaveTheEarth.jpg","width":620,"height":340},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/05\/inspector-general-blasts-trumps-politicized-epa-with-ill-effects-biden-epa-does-not-commit-formally-to-reversing-unscientific-decisions\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Inspector General Blasts Trump\u2019s Politicized EPA, No Announced Plans to Reverse Unscientific Decisions"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/","name":"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","description":"News on Pesticide Science, Policy and Activism","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization","name":"Beyond Pesticides","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/BeyondPesticides-Logo-Stacked-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/BeyondPesticides-Logo-Stacked-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":2501,"caption":"Beyond Pesticides"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides","https:\/\/x.com\/ByondPesticides","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/beyondpesticides\/?hl=en","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/beyond-pesticides","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/bpncamp"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4","name":"Beyond Pesticides","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26b7558fcb265e244c6e159abe5f0aab551822dc82fd0b1607e809bdfbed20a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26b7558fcb265e244c6e159abe5f0aab551822dc82fd0b1607e809bdfbed20a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Beyond Pesticides"},"description":"Beyond Pesticides is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., which works with allies in protecting public health and the environment to lead the transition to a world free of toxic pesticides. The founders, who established Beyond Pesticides (originally as National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides) as a nonprofit membership organization in 1981, felt that without the existence of such an organized, national network, local, state and national pesticide policy would become, under chemical industry pressure, increasingly unresponsive to public health and environmental concerns. Beyond Pesticides believes that people must have a voice in decisions that affect them directly. We believe decisions should not be made for us by chemical companies or by decision-makers who either do not have all of the facts or refuse to consider them. Learn more about our work, read A Year in Review\u20142021, our accomplishments are your victories! Beyond Pesticides seeks to protect healthy air, water, land, and food for ourselves and future generations. By forging ties with governments, nonprofits, and people who rely on these natural resources, we reduce the need for unnecessary pesticide use and protect public health and the environment. Beyond Pesticides provides hands-on services to the public and supports local action by: identifying and interpreting hazards; and, designing safe pest management programs. With the information provided by Beyond Pesticides, people may not only be able to make informed choices and adopt practices that protect themselves and their families from unnecessary exposure to pesticides, but they will be able to effect changes on community-wide pest management decisions and policies that govern pesticide use, such as pesticide uses in parks, schools, for community insect control and along roadsides. Beyond Pesticides believes that people must have a voice in decisions which affect them directly.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/beyondpesticides\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/beyond-pesticides\/","https:\/\/x.com\/ByondPesticides","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/bpncamp\/"],"url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/author\/beyond-pesticides\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29283"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29321,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29283\/revisions\/29321"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}