Effective January 24, 2025, Acting EPA Administrator James Payne issued a directive instructing all EPA staff to cease communication with external parties as part of an executive order from President Trump.1 While the EPA declined to comment, a source familiar with the directive confirmed a few exceptions to the order:
- EPA staff can continue to communicate with state and federal agencies, but discussions about enforcement issues are prohibited.
- EPA can talk to relevant parties to facilitate imports.
- Agency inspectors are allowed to continue conducting inspections.
According to the source, this directive is designed to give the new Trump political team time to prepare prior to the Senate confirmation vote for Administrator-Designee Lee Zeldin. However, it remains unclear how long this order will be in effect or if additional guidance will be provided by Payne’s office.
How does this affect you?
The Environment and Natural Resources Division, responsible for enforcing the nation’s environmental protection laws, has also been ordered to freeze all activities. This includes halting pending court filings and postponing the filing of new complaints.2 Any pending CERCLA negotiations will also be on hold for an unknown period of time.
Our team will continue to monitor this executive order and provide any relevant updates.
Questions? Please reach out to Greg White or Gary Long.
Sources:
1 InsideEPA.com. (2025, January 24). Acting EPA administrator directs staff to halt outside communications. https://insideepa.com/daily-news/acting-epa-administrator-directs-staff-halt-outside-communications
2 Barrett, D., Zraick, K., & Savage, C. (2025, January 27). Trump administration moves swiftly to shake up top career Justice Dept. ranks. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/us/trump-justice-department-career-ranks.html
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