Employees at a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency research lab in Duluth that faces layoffs and a possible closure spoke passionately about their work to the Duluth City Council Monday evening, urging elected officials and city residents to speak out about the lab’s importance.
It’s the first time current employees have spoken publicly since The New York Times reported in March that the Trump administration planned to close the EPA’s Office of Research and Development and fire up to 75 percent of the staff.
The federal agency’s research arm includes 12 laboratories around the country. The lab in Duluth has been part of the EPA for more than 50 years. It’s recognized as a national leader in researching environmental toxicology and studying the effects of stressors on freshwater resources, including pesticides, bacteria and land use changes on the Great Lakes.
“The lab is truly one of a kind. Losing the Duluth lab would be like losing a home. It's fostered so many early career scientists like myself,” said Alex Cole, a biologist at the lab researching ways to streamline chemical risk assessment, who choked up as he described the importance the lab plays in his professional and personal life.
Cole received his undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth, and returned to Duluth for a job at the lab after finishing his doctorate in Texas.
“In times of uncertainty, we are just asking Duluth City Council and the Duluth community to continue their help and support,” he said.
The Duluth lab is “a world recognized leader in ecotoxicology,” said Research Bioinformaticist Carlie LaLone, who develops computer models to evaluate the safety of chemicals across different animal species.
“And the reason that we're so successful in that laboratory is because of its location” across the road from Lake Superior, said LaLone, who cited the lab’s recent work in studying harmful algae blooms and PFAS, or “forever” chemicals.
Cole and LaLone are among 176 people who work at the lab, according to a recent EPA factsheet, although the Duluth News Tribune recently reported that about 25 early career positions have been eliminated because of recent funding cuts.
“EPA has provided these scientists a cruel and confusing path forward,” Nicole Cantello, President of the American Federation of Government Employees Union Local 704, which represents about 1,000 U.S. EPA employees across the Midwest, including in Minnesota, told the Duluth council.
“Employees were urged to apply for new roles at the agency, but there are many fewer positions than scientists who have applied for them,” she said.
Centello said EPA leadership is not sharing its plans with the the union.
“The scientists are really in limbo,” she said. “Part of the problem is that we don't know if the lab is going to continue in its current form, or if the employees will be reassigned, or if there will be mass layoffs.”
The EPA did not respond to a request for comment. In a previous statement, the agency said it’s “taking exciting steps as we enter the next phase of organizational improvements. We are committed to enhancing our ability to deliver clean air, water and land for all Americans.”
Last month the Duluth City Council passed a resolution expressing support for the EPA lab, which in 2021 contributed $15 million to the regional economy in wages, grants and contracts, according to the agency.
Cantello urged the council to send that resolution to EPA administrator Lee Zeldin. She also asked the entire Duluth community to contact their federal representatives.
“Tell them that you did not vote for dirty air and dirty water,” she said.
