The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday that it will distribute scientists from independent labs to other departments.
Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the changes to the EPA in the video, saying the agency is “changing scientific expertise” to focus on the issues described as “mission essentials.”
Most immediate changes will affect the Research and Development Bureau, the EPA's leading research arm that conducts research such as the health and environmental risks of “eternal chemicals” in drinking water and research on the best ways to reduce particulate pollution in the air.
An internal document previously reviewed by the New York Times outlined the Trump administration's recommendation to remove the office in a plan to fire 1,155 chemists, biologists, toxicologists, and other scientists working on health and environmental studies.
It didn't happen on Friday, but the agency's new priorities were revealed. The 130 jobs will be moved to the office of the agency responsible for approval of new chemicals for use, Zeldin said. The Chemical Industry Group has long sued the approval backlog.
At the All Hands Staff Meeting later Friday, Nancy Beck, a former lobbyist with the American Council of Chemicals, who currently leads the EPA's office of chemicals, told Stunned Scientists it was a “very exciting time.”
“I encourage everyone across the agency to apply for these positions,” she said.
Trump administration officials have shown that more changes are in place for the lab. The scientist on the phone said the impression remains that if he does not move to one of the new realms, his current job could be eliminated.
Also, on Friday, the EPA extended the deadline to accept the withdrawal offer, which was postponed to May 9.
“This feels like a hunger game,” said a lab employee who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
Other scientists will be moved to the manager's office as part of the new office of applied science environmental solutions. Zeldin said “put science at the forefront of agency rules.”
Democrats and environmental activists warned that the move would politicize scientific research.
“This so-called 'reorganization' is a thinly veiled attempt to erase the agency's world-renowned scientific expertise by shuffling scientists and handling chemical reviews of the industry,” said Deputy Director Cherry Pingley, Democrat of Maine.
Chitra Kumar, managing director of the climate program for the federal advocacy group, Concern Scientists Federal, said: Moving scientists to policy offices “will expose these experts to political influence, especially in this administration,” she said.
The change comes even within the agency's major deregulation drive. Under Zeldin, the EPA has revised or repealed more than 30 regulations aimed at protecting air, water and climate. Managers also oversee efforts to dismantle the legal foundations of most climate regulations known as danger detection.
