The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has placed up to six employees of the agency’s research lab in Duluth on administrative leave.
They were among 139 employees nationwide who the EPA acknowledges were put on leave last week for signing onto a “declaration of dissent” that criticized the policies and direction of the agency under the Trump administration.
Among the main concerns detailed in the letter to Administrator Lee Zeldin, the employees accused the agency of “undermining public trust,” “ignoring scientific consensus to benefit polluters” and “reversing EPA’s progress in America’s most vulnerable communities.”
The letter also highlighted the EPA’s plans to dismantle the agency’s Office of Research and Development. The freshwater research lab in Duluth is a part of that office.
“We believe it’s blatant retaliation. This is absolutely unprecedented at EPA,” said Nicole Cantello, President of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 704, the union that represents about 1,000 EPA employees in the Midwest.
She said typically employees remain working while an administrative investigation takes place. She added the EPA has 10 days to complete the investigations, but after a week employees hadn’t heard anything from the agency.
“We believe this is because the administration doesn’t have anything to charge them with,” said Cantello.
The EPA said the employees were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation for signing on with their official titles to the letter, which the EPA said contains information that misleads the public about agency business.
“The Environmental Protection Agency 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,” an EPA spokesperson said in a statement.
Uncertainty has swirled around the future of the Duluth EPA lab since March, when reports emerged that the Trump administration planned to eliminate the Office of Research and Development and fire up to 75 percent of its staff, as part of a mass layoff plan known as a “reduction in force.”
The agency said it was planning “organizational improvements,” but has been mum on its plans since. Last month several staffers spoke passionately to the Duluth City Council about the importance of the lab, which is recognized as a national leader in environmental toxicology research.
The lab employs more than 150 people, according to a recent factsheet published by the agency. A report estimated in 2021 it contributed $15 million to the regional economy.
Layoffs and agency reorganization had been on hold pending a federal court injunction, but that injunction has now been lifted by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.
“So we are on high alert that the administration will now go forward with its attempts to reorganize the Office of Research and Development, of which the Duluth Lab is a part,” said Cantello.
“But we are still fighting to make sure that the Duluth lab stays in Duluth.”
