On Thursday, February 7, 2025, United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) placed 171 staff on administrative leave, essentially ending USEPA’s environmental justice programs started under previous administrations.1 The affected staff worked on environmental justice initiatives at the agency’s headquarters and across its ten regional offices. Additionally, the agency disabled EJScreen, the online mapping tool widely used by federal, state, and local governments to support informed decision-making on environmental justice issues.1
These changes follow the confirmation of Lee Zeldin as the new USEPA Administrator. Just days earlier, 1,100 “probationary” employees were notified their positions could be terminated at any time.
Administrator Zeldin continues to act quickly in an effort to reshape the agency, stating, “We have a charge from Congress to be as efficient as we possibly can with the tax dollars that are sent to us.” 2 These actions reflect a shift in the USEPA’s priorities and operational focus under the new administration.
How does this affect you?
- The USEPA’s EJScreen tool remains offline, impacting accessibility for those relying on the resource.
- While environmental justice initiatives have been curtailed at the federal level, industry and other interested organizations should remember that several states still have ongoing environmental justice programs that may impact permitting and related environmental enforcement actions in those states. For example, California Environmental Protection Agency continues to work with the California Air Resources Board, the Department of Pesticide Regulation, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and the State Water Resources Control Board to achieve environmental justice through various efforts.
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 EPA Press Office. (2025, February 11). EPA Places 171 DEIA and Environmental Justice Employees on Administrative Leave [Press release]. https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-places-171-deia-and-environmental-justice-employees-administrative-leave
2 Bush, Evan. (2025, February 8). Staff placed on leave, map tool shut down in tumultuous week at EPA. NBC News.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/epa-staff-let-go-tool-shut-tumultuous-week-rcna191218
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