Written by Melina Walling
139 employees who signed a declaration of dissent with the EPA’s policies were placed on administrative leave on Thursday after the agency accused them of illegally sabotaging the Trump administration’s agenda.
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The staff members claimed in a letter released on Monday that the agency is no longer fulfilling its duty to safeguard the environment and public health. The letter was an uncommon instance of public criticism from agency staff who were aware that they might be retaliated against for criticizing the reduction in federal funding and support for environmental, health, and climate science.
The EPA stated in a statement on Thursday that it has a zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats who illegally undermine, sabotage, and oppose the goals of the Trump administration.
According to a copy of the email that The Associated Press was able to get, workers were informed that they would be placed in a temporary, non-duty, paid status for the next two weeks while an administrative investigation was conducted. The email stated, “It is crucial that you comprehend that this is not a disciplinary action.”
According to Jeremy Berg, a former editor-in-chief of Science magazine who is not an EPA employee but was one of the non-EPA scientists or academics that signed, over 170 EPA employees signed the statement, and another 100 signed anonymously out of fear of reprisals.
Berg stated that he was not aware of any scientists at the National Institutes of Health who had been placed on comparable administrative leave, despite the fact that they had made a similar action earlier in June.
EPA has reduced funding for environmental improvements in minority communities under Administrator Lee Zeldin, pledged to repeal federal regulations that reduce air pollution in national parks and tribal reservations, wants to outlaw a certain type of asbestos, and has proposed to repeal regulations that limit greenhouse gas emissions from coal- and natural gas-fueled power plants that contribute to global warming.
As part of his efforts to cut EPA’s budget and eliminate its research on environmental justice and climate change, Zeldin started reorganizing the agency’s research and development office. Additionally, he wants to repeal pollution regulations that, according to an AP analysis, are predicted to save $275 billion annually and 30,000 lives.
“Policy decisions are the outcome of a process where Administrator Zeldin is briefed on the latest research and science by EPA’s career professionals, and the vast majority of whom are consummate professionals who take pride in the work this agency does day in and day out,” the EPA said in response to the employees’ letter earlier this week.
Melina Walling can be followed on [email protected] and X@MelinaWalling.
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