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This story was updated at 4:26 pm EDT to include the commentary from the EPA.
The EPA redistributes its scientific offices, human resources and regional offices, leaving staff members concerned about the quality of the agency's work and their careers.
EPA officials informed staff that they planned to eliminate the agency's scientific advisor's office and merge these positions into a division of the EPA's Office of Research and Development, according to a employee who attended the meeting. EPA also plans to combine its human resources office with its IT division, sources told E & E News.
These latest moves come as the Trump administration pursues a broader reorganization within the agency, including a redesign of regional offices across the country. Staff members say that they are still waiting for details on how this will unfold and what it means for their work, but they are nervous in the meantime.
The employees are "very anxious," said Joe Edgell, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, section 280, who represents EPA employees at headquarters.
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"The union has been informed that there are currently a large number of reorganizations," he said.
Senior EPA officials tell staff that plans are "more efficient or more logically organized," he said. But "with the reorganizations, there is uncertainty about his work, his homework, the work people do to protect the environment, so people are very anxious about this change. Anxiety. "
According to the EPA employee, the EPA's scientific staff gathered in the conference rooms and auditoriums of the country's headquarters and laboratories for a meeting where they were informed of the planned changes. Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, Head of the Office of Research and Development, informed staff that the agency plans to merge the EPA's Scientific Advisor's office with the DSB's Scientific Policy Office and a branch of the National Center. environmental research.
The Scientific Advisor's office has about two dozen employees who provide scientific advice to the entire agency. In addition to the leading scientific advisor, the office houses the EPA Office of Scientific Integrity, the Council for Science and Technology Policy, and other programs.
The details of the merger are unclear, but the employee at yesterday's meeting expressed concern about what the merger means for the ability of the science advisor's office to effectively coordinate science across the board. the agency.
The EPA officials concerned were informed that their jobs and roles would be maintained, but some are nervous, given the lack of detail.
Orme-Zavaleta said in a statement that the plan was developed by career leaders "to combine offices with similar functions to reduce layoffs in the ORD operations". She added: "The DSB informed the Administrator of these plans and held a public meeting in September to announce the outcome of his work and the proposed plan to the staff." She stated that the deputy administrator of the ORD, confirmed by the Senate, "has usually served as the EPA's scientific advisor, which will continue to be the case".
The Trump administration has not yet appointed a leader for ORD (GreenwireAugust 24).
Michael Halpern, deputy director of the Center for Science and Democracy of the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the reorganization would "diminish the office of the scientific adviser."
Such an initiative, he said, would reduce the independence of the scientific advisor and "indicate a lack of interest in unfiltered scientific advice, which can only make the agency less effective in protection of public health and the environment ".
"Things are rushing"
EPA is also considering merging its Human Resources Branch – the Office of Administration and Resource Management – and its Office of Environmental Information, according to a presentation made yesterday to union officials and obtained by E & E News.
The new office, called the Office of Mission Support, "would enhance the Agency's ability to fulfill its mission of protecting human health and the environment," according to the document. The new office will combine EPA's work on contracts, facilities, grants, human capital, information technology and information management activities.
Some career EPA employees worry about the speed with which the agency conducts this merger. They suspect leaders are quickly mobilizing by creating the Office of Mission Support to prevent the next Congress – which could include a new house controlled by Democrats after the mid-term elections – weighs.
"We are taking two broken organizations and forming them into a broken organization," said a staff member at the EPA. "These things rush before a new Congress intervenes."
The number of EPA employees declined under the Trump administration after the round of buybacks last year and when others retired. Nevertheless, the funding of the agency has remained relatively stable, with legislators rejecting here the deep budget cuts proposed by Trump.
EPA is also changing the structure of its regional offices, said Andrew Wheeler, EPA's interim administrator earlier this month.
Wheeler said that the "realignment" is designed to allow consistent implementation of EPA rules, better allocation of agency resources, greater transparency, better coordination between headquarters and regional offices and facilitate overall operational excellence "News E & E PMSeptember 6th).
Some employees fear that the reorganizations will further reduce the staffing of the EPA, which can not be achieved through redemptions or the budget.
"Do I see this as another subtle way to force more people to go out? Yeah, I think so," said this EPA employee. "I think there will be people who will not be happy with these changes."
Another career staff member noted that by moving offices, employees can end up with new managers and even see their old jobs come to an end. This can reduce morale, which leaves more people leaving the agency.
"They [EPA political leadership] can not do it through the budget or by simply firing people, so let's do it through a reorganization after the reorganization to reduce it all and eliminate the regulatory functions, "said L & # 39; EPA employee.
"It changes the person you are going to, now you are doing a new job, reporting to a new manager, and the work you are doing is stopping now."
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