EPA puts at least 5 New England staffers on leave for 'dissent' letter

Officials at the Environmental Protection Agency put at least five employees at their New England office on administrative leave last week for signing an open letter criticizing the Trump administration's environmental policies. The agency said the employees will be investigated.

The letter highlighted proposed cuts to scientific research and statements promoting fossil fuels, which contribute to climate change, among the signers' concerns. A total of 139 employees across all EPA offices were placed on leave for signing the protest message, according to EPA officials.

Current and former EPA employees accused federal officials of retaliating against the letter signers for calling out what they see as a degradation of the agency's mission to protect human health and the environment.

" It is retaliation to tell people that they can't speak up to their own boss about what their work is and how the boss is affecting their daily work," said Lilly Simmons, president of AFGE Local 3428, the union which represents about 400 EPA employees in New England.

Simmons said she signed the letter with her full name but wasn't placed on administrative leave. She noted that, to her knowledge, no union representatives who signed it have received leave notices.

The EPA notified suspended employees with an email stating the paid administrative leave "is not a disciplinary action." In a statement provided to WBUR, the EPA said it "has a zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging, and undercutting the administration’s agenda as voted for by the great people of this country last November."

According to an EPA spokesperson, the letter contained misleading information and employees signed it using their agency job titles.

The public "declaration of dissent" was organized by the nonprofit Stand Up for Science. Addressed to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, it outlined concerns such as ignoring scientific research on pollutants, rolling back regulations on cancer-causing chemicals, reversing progress on cleaning up communities facing the worst pollution and promoting a culture of fear within the agency.

As of Tuesday, the letter had 620 signatures from current and former EPA employees. Some signed anonymously for fear of retaliation.

The moves by EPA leaders to place people on leave are part of the Trump administration's efforts to politicize science, said Jennifer Jones, program director for the Union of Concerned Scientists' Center for Science and Democracy. Jones said it's becoming harder for scientists to speak up and do research mandated by law.

"You're basically being told both formally and informally that if your work, your position, your data, your findings, somehow go against the wishes of a political appointee, that's a problem. And you will pay the consequences," Jones said.

Former EPA Regional Administrator David Cash commended employees for "sounding the alarm."

"It takes a lot of courage to do what they're doing," he said. "They knew that they'd be putting their careers on the line."

Cash said he worries the EPA, which has already seen reductions in its workforce under the Trump administration, will have limited capacity to carry out its mission of improving air and water for Americans.

Simmons said Local 3428 is preparing to attend meetings related to the EPA's administrative investigation and will help affected colleagues, union-represented or not. But she said she's concerned that the EPA's Region 1 office, which oversees all of New England, will lose employees in the next few weeks.

"Whether it is that they feel intimidated and they decide to resign, whether it is these investigations uncover something," she said, "the loss of psychological safety that's been going on this whole year is really harmful."