By Robert Walton, Utility Dive.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt is working on a proposal to end the agency's use of "secret science" — research studies where the underlying data is not publicly available, according to E&E News. That could have significant implications on the analysis behind many federal regulations.

The EPA is currently working to rewrite the Clean Power Plan, and Pruitt's proposed change could limit the research used to analyze the rule's costs and benefits.

Proponents of the change argue that if research is to be used in making federal policy, then the data should be public. But the rule would limit the use of some large and significant studies, where data has been kept private to protect patient confidentiality.