EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin on Agency Cuts, Endangerment Finding, and Environmental Policy

EPA's Mission and Successes

• 💡 The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a history of success stories, with landmark laws like the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.
• 🎯 The agency is actively involved in cleaning up Superfund and brownfield sites, demonstrating progress towards environmental restoration.
• 👏 Career staffers at the EPA are dedicated to the core mission of protecting human health and the environment.

Workforce and Budget Reorganization

• 📉 The EPA is undergoing a reorganization aiming for significant year-over-year savings, targeting a reduction of over 65% in obligated and spent money from 2024 to 2025.
• 💰 This efficiency drive includes real estate consolidations and savings on grants and subscriptions, with a zero-tolerance policy for waste and abuse.
• ⚖️ The agency is working to rightsize its workforce, moving from over 16,000 employees to a projected 12,500, while ensuring all statutory obligations are met.
• 📈 Efforts are underway to reduce backlogs in areas like pesticide reviews and new chemical assessments, fulfilling core statutory duties.

Research Division and Scientific Work

• 🔬 While the research division was shuttered as part of reorganization, scientific work is being ramped up across various EPA offices.
• 🤝 New offices are being created, such as the Office of State Air Partnerships and the Office of Applied Sciences and Environmental Solutions, to enhance scientific capabilities.
• 📜 The EPA remains committed to fulfilling statutory requirements for scientific work and will undertake new research mandated by Congress.

Endangerment Finding and Regulatory Approach

• ⚠️ The EPA is moving to remove the 2009 endangerment finding, arguing it involved significant