The Department of the Interior (DOI) has rescinded the Trump administration’s Secretarial Order (SO) 3369, otherwise known as the “promoting open science” rule. The order was signed into effect in the fall of 2018. It was intended to “ensure that the Department bases its decisions on the best available science” and to provide enough data so the public could “thoughtfully and substantively evaluate the data, methodology, and analysis that the Department uses to inform its decisions.”
Order 3397 rescinded the open science order effective March 3, with Scott A. de la Vega, acting secretary of the Interior, writing the order was issued without due consideration and review by the department or the broader scientific community. The new order will require a review of all actions taken pursuant to SO 3369.
Background
SO 3369 was issued by former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt in September of 2018. An amendment to the order, SO 3369A1, was issued by Bernhardt in October 2018. The orders directed the department to base decisions on the “best available science” with a priority on “publicly available, reproducible peer-reviewed science.” In addition, any scientific data, analysis and methodology used in a rulemaking was to be made publicly available.
The order required the release of data for all contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or other similar agreements entered into by the department, subject to waiver by the deputy secretary. The secretary was also required to update the Departmental Manual with the principles of “open science” and to initiate a rulemaking process on the directives of the order.
“Among other serious concerns with the directives of SO 3369, requiring every Departmental partner to contractually agree to publish their data significantly hindered the Department’s ability to enter into contracts for cutting-edge research, particularly when such research involved proprietary data,” de la Vega wrote in his order.
He added that the “restrictive approach to data” further limited the department from using sensitive information to inform policy decisions, such as information about sacred sites, or rare or threatened species. Some data on species’ locations or data about individuals’ health cannot be made publicly available.
The waiver process was also never defined, which left the department’s “scientific endeavors vulnerable to political influence.” In addition, the Departmental Manual updates and rulemaking requirements were never completed.
SO 3397
De la Vega’s SO 3397 directed SO 3369 to be rescinded and all agency activities related to the order to be reviewed. The order is based on the principles identified in President Joe Biden’s memorandum on Restoring Trust in Government Through Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policymaking, signed when he first entered office.
“Acting Secretary de la Vega’s Order directs that scientific merit, not political interference, will guide agency decision-making; prevents the suppression or distortion of scientific or technological findings, data, information, conclusions, or technical results; and supports scientists and researchers of all genders, races, ethnicities, and backgrounds,” read a DOI press release.
The order directs all agencies to ensure their “scientific-integrity policies ban improper political interference in the conduct of scientific research and in the collection of scientific or technological data” and prevents the suppression or distortion of data, while supporting scientists from all backgrounds.
Within 90 days of the order, the scientific integrity officer of each agency must provide the secretary a written report about all actions taken under SO 3369, and any details on reversing or altering the actions. In addition, all agencies will discontinue the requirement to publish all contracts, grants, cooperative agreements and other agreements on the internet or in the Federal Register. — Anna Miller, WLJ editor
