More than 2,100 Sign Open Letter to EPA to Show Support for Embattled Agency Employees

During a Time of Proposed Budget Cuts, Letter Highlights Need for Scientists, Regulators, and Other Workers

Washington, D.C. – More than 2,100 people – including 704 former employees of the Environmental Protection Agency – have signed an open letter to EPA staff to demonstrate strong support and encouragement in the face of budget cuts and regulatory rollbacks by the Trump Administration.

“Guard the gate, EPA employees,” wrote Mary Greene, deputy director of the Environmental Integrity Project and a former EPA attorney, in the letter. “These may be the most trying but also the most crucial days of your career.  We appreciate you, we admire you, and we look forward to relying on a strong and supported EPA in the days and decades to come.  You protect our health, you protect our resources, and you ensure a safer and more truly prosperous future for all Americans.”

As of Thursday morning, the letter – circulated on social media and via email – had attracted 2,125 signatures, including 1,421 from the general public and 704 from former EPA employees.

The letter highlights the many valuable roles that EPA employees play in responding to chemical spills and other emergencies, conducting research, drafting regulations, reaching out to communities, inspecting industrial sites, and many other important functions.

“Maybe you are one of the attorneys who held Volkswagen accountable after it sold nearly 600,000 diesel cars in the U.S. that were equipped with devices designed to cheat federal emissions tests,” the letter to EPA employees states.  “By stopping this source of mobile pollution, you prevented at least 130 premature deaths, saved close to a billion dollars in avoided health and social costs, and leveled the competitive playing field for automobile manufacturers who don’t cheat.  Thank you, counselor.”

As part of his budget cutting efforts, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has offered buyouts to more than 1,200 EPA employees so far this year, including many veteran scientists and technical experts who experience will be difficult to replace.  More buyouts or layoffs could follow as the U.S. Senate votes in upcoming days on a budget for next year.

“Do not feel abandoned,” the letter urges EPA employees.  “Many public and private groups are responding to this assault on public health and safety.  They are ensuring public awareness through accurate press coverage of the attacks on science and impacts of deregulation. They are fighting back in court against delayed and repealed regulations. ….  Please realize that you are deeply appreciated by the majority of Americans and are supported by organized and dedicated public and private groups.”

To read and sign the letter, which remains open for signature, visit: https://goo.gl/forms/HRtpol9xNohTtIgs1

The Environmental Integrity Project is a 15-year-old nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, based in Washington D.C., dedicated to enforcing environmental laws and holding polluters and governments accountable to protect public health.

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Media Contact: Tom Pelton, Environmental Integrity Project, tpelton@environmentalintegrity.org or (202) 888-2703