BURSTA group of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) employees is speaking out against the policies of the Trump administration.
A mix of current and retired employees published a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, saying that the Trump White House's efforts “undermine the EPA mission of protecting human health and the environment.”
They detailed five main concerns, stating that the administration is: undermining public trust, ignoring scientific consensus to benefit polluters, reversing EPA's progress in America's most vulnerable communities, dismantling the Office of Research and Development and promoting a culture of fear, forcing staff to choose between their livelihood and well-being.
Specifically, they point to moves such as rollbacks to environmental protections, axing environmental justice programs that tackled pollution in underserved communities, a reorganization that would move EPA scientists to new offices and firing employees.
“Your decisions and actions will reverberate for generations to come. EPA under your leadership will not protect communities from hazardous chemicals and unsafe drinking water, but instead will increase risks to public health and safety,” they wrote.
“Administrator Zeldin, we urge you to honor your oath and serve the American people. Going forward, you have the opportunity to correct course. Should you choose to do so, we stand ready to support your efforts to fulfill EPA's mission,” the employees added.
The letter had 186 named signers and another 134 anonymous ones.
It comes on top of other actions such as broader protests against the Trump administration’s handling of science. Employees at the National Institutes of Health published a similar letter earlier this month.
An EPA spokesperson said via email that the Trump EPA will “continue to work with states, tribes, and communities to advance the agency’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment.”
“Policy decisions are a result of a process where Administrator Zeldin is briefed on the latest research and science by EPA’s career professionals, and the vast majority who are consummate professionals who take pride in the work this agency does day in and day out,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson also criticized Biden-era policies as “attempts to shut down American energy and make our citizens more reliant on foreign fossil fuels.”