Environmental Protection Agency is making its image clear

Like many of his colleagues at the Environmental Protection Agency, Justin Chen says he “wanted a job with a purpose.” So in 2015, Chen stepped down as an environmental engineer for a consulting firm to take a similar role at EPA. “I always wanted to see what should happen on the regulatory side, as opposed to working on behalf of those who were regulated,” Chen says.

He also saw what he thought would be a stable, unionized work. But Donald Trump’s administration was about to escalate things at the EPA, facing weaknesses that the agency was already deteriorating. Trump’s election began a year after Chen started on the EPA with a dramatic environmental rollback and an exodus of agency scientists.

Even though Trump’s term has ended, the “brain drain” that the EPA has suffered for years can still cause real harm to the environment and the agency is tasked with protecting people. And after many years in the agency, potential recruits cannot be expected to include a well-oiled government machine chain.

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But under the new leadership, the agency is attempting to rebuild and rebuild. It is selling itself as a workplace with a revitalized mission. It is perhaps the most existential environmental threat the agency has ever faced: climate change. The agency’s leadership has also focused on environmental justice, as the agency’s new focus, a quest to end the disproportionate burden of pollution on marginalized communities.

“You’re going to hit the ground running at this startup, EPA,” says Betsy Sutherland, former director of science and technology at the EPA Office of Water. “And you’re either being handed over to repair the damage from all the damage done by the Trump administration, or you’re being handed a brand-new initiative on climate change and environmental justice. How exciting is that now?”

damage control

Southerland and other experts talked about what federal science agencies did to take a “rebrand” during the recent House Subcommittee investigation and monitoring. the hearing In March on “Brain Drain” the entire federal scientific workforce.

During the hearing, Max Stear, president and CEO of Partnership for Public Service, said, “The recruitment and hiring of top-tier STEM starts with the fact that the federal brand itself has suffered.” “Government shutdowns, freezes, negative rhetoric, political interference in science have all tarnished that brand.”

Sautanbhoomi resigned with Splash During the Trump administration after 30 years with the agency. She was alone. EPA lost about 750 scientists between 2016 and 2017 Data obtained by non-profit association scientists Through the Freedom of Information Act.

“Much of the federal bureaucratic expertise has run out of horror, taken early retirement, or taken up other jobs. And a lot of new talent that usually went into federal service decided not to, “said Michael Gerrard, founder and faculty director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, The Reporter Door Last year.

Chen says that by 2020, EPA’s workforce had fallen to its lowest level since 1987. But compared to the 1980s, agency employees have more complex regulations to implement in more complex industries, as well as a larger population to protect. “People are being burnt out. This is something that cannot last forever, ”says Chen, who also serves as the president of a local union representing EPA workers in South Central America.

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Sotherland says the low level of staffing comes with a cost to people outside the EPA. Environmental regulations do not apply and old regulations are not updated. And there are not enough people to clean up and inspect the most toxic sites in the country. “You’ve got a quality control issue and you’ve got a timeliness issue,” Southerland says. “Meanwhile, the community is sitting there.”

Some communities in particular have suffered more than others. “Communities of color, low-income communities and indigenous populations are still struggling to achieve equal protection before the law,” said Mustafa Santiago Ali, the EPA’s former head of environmental judicial efforts. 2017 resignation letter

From the agency. He wrote that people in those communities “live in areas with hazardous levels of air pollution, which cause upheaval or non-existent water and sewer infrastructure, [and] Lead in their drinking water, ”along with pollutants along with other risks.

When things unfolded during the Trump administration, he faced troubles before stepping into office. EPA’s budget is essentially Flat Over the past decade, that has taken a toll on its workforce. EPA Offered Purchase Staff under either Barack Obama and the Trump administration to run early or retire. Budget constraints led to greater reliance on temporary, contracted workers rather than full-time employees. “While it can be efficient in some cases and it can be cost-effective in the short-term, it doesn’t really help build the strength of an agency to do long-term work,” Andrew Rosenberg, Director of Concerned Scientists of the Union, Said during the hearing of the subcommittee of the House.

Higher salaries outside federal service have also made the private sector an attractive option for scientists, panelists said during a House subcommittee meeting. One recommendation that was to improve the federal pay was highlighted Report good How to strengthen the federal science workforce released last month by the Watchman Government Accountability Office.

Unless the agency quickly replaces the talent it has lost, its “brain drain” may be even worse. The EPA in particular has a good share of older employees – some of whom have been with the agency for decades. In 2018 the EPA had a larger proportion of employees retiring than any other federal agency except the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Government executive Reported. More than 20 percent of EPA’s employees were eligible to retire that year, a figure that is expected to jump to more than 42 percent by 2023. As retired scientists hang up their lab coats, the EPA will lose even more institutional knowledge.

Make on EPA

The request is not lost on newly appointed administrator Michael Regan. “It is our job to ensure that we have a work environment that promotes science, data, integrity and transparency. We are walking that walk – performance we are a place worthy of employment. I believe a lot of people are already getting that message, told Regan The Associated Press In March interview

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Over the past year, the EPA has historically developed relationships with schools, including black colleges and universities, attended career fairs and “raised awareness of the agency’s hiring efforts and attracted a diverse pool of highly qualified candidates” In an effort to “hosted a webinar. “An EPA spokesman said in an email The Reporter Door.

In some cases, over-starting also means cleaning house. Since stepping into office, President Joe Biden has called Build a task force Identifying attacks on scientific integrity during the Trump administration. There is one more effort Within the EPA To determine how political interests have undermined science over agency.

In a major shakeup last month, Regan removed 40 people who were appointed to two important scientific advisory committees during the Trump administration. Previous administration was Restricted qualified scientist Joining committees and Allowed more people from industries The agency controls for inclusion. Regan called his move a “reset” that would restore “scientific integrity” in interviews with the agency The Associated Press.

The agency feels that it is resetting in many ways. It recently brought back the EPA webpage on climate change that had disappeared during the previous administration and recommended itself to deal with the global crisis that Trump called a “hoax”.

Regan has also committed to the EPA to tackle pollution and climate change methods that inconsistently affect communities based on race and class. “We will put environmental justice where it happens: at the center of our plan to tackle climate change,” Regan said in a video on the new climate webpage.

Biden sought to increase the EPA’s budget by more than 20 percent in a resolution released last week, though Congress would ultimately decide how much money is allocated to the agency. Looser’s purse strings can go a long way to bring more people to the agency and pay more money to give it a competitive salary.

Sutherland says that a clean slate at the EPA could be another bridge for youth hire. With those who have gone away from zero, there is scope to grow faster and move more responsibly within the agency. “The great thing that the EPA can use the recruiting team is the whole idea that, ‘If you come to us now, you’re going to the ground floor of building an agency that is really damaged’ Has gone, ”says Southerland. “It is very exciting to be on the ground floor of any new endeavor when you are getting into a well-to-do, fully bureaucratic.”

The EPA is undergoing such a change that it is now under new leadership and dealing with climate change and environmental justice with greater justice. But those inside the agency say that its most effective selling point is still mission at the core of its work. “People at the EPA joined this agency for a specific reason. They believe in mission. They believe in public service, and they want to protect public health and the environment AP.

It is clear in Chen’s decision to stay on the EPA despite the ups and downs. He works on protecting air quality, an allegation he says has received a personal stake because he has a brother with asthma. He grew up in Southern California, an area where the Clean Air Act was passed in 1970 The air was then dramatically cleared – the same year the EPA was established.

“Where can you really get your hands dirty when you do rule enforcement? NGOs can only go so far with their cases. Ultimately they have to be implemented by [EPA] By myself and the state, “Chen says.” I never really thought about quitting because quite frankly it’s like, if I can’t do this job here, nobody else is going to do it. “