The EPA Is in Chaos

"WITH THE END of the US government shutdown in sight, disorganization still reigns at federal agencies. Workers at the Environmental Protection Agency tell WIRED that they have faced increasing chaos over the past five weeks. In recent weeks, varied phases of furloughs have forced staff to go home in seemingly random waves. Some employees remaining at the agency are working on policies friendly to fossil fuel and industrial interests that are a priority of the administration, even as the rest of the government shuts down."

"Others have had to sit on their hands, as the shutdown takes out colleagues with no notice-and remaining employees have little to no information as to what is coming next. "We learn who is furloughed when we send an email to someone and get the out-of-office message, or we hover over names in Teams for people who are showing out of office," one EPA worker tells WIRED."

"Some employees who are being kept are at work revising pollution rules, a core deregulatory goal of the administration. An employee at the Office of Air and Radiation confirmed to WIRED that their team, which is working on rule revisions in that office, is still being called in to work, while others in the office-including support staff like administrative assistants and operations workers-were sent home the week of October 20."

Disorganization reigns at federal agencies during the government shutdown, with EPA workers experiencing increasing chaos over five weeks. Varied phases of furloughs have forced staff to go home in seemingly random waves. Some remaining employees are working on policies friendly to fossil fuel and industrial interests that are administration priorities, even as much of the government is closed. Other employees have been idle due to sudden colleague furloughs and lack of information about future staffing. Employees often discover furlough statuses through out-of-office messages or by checking Teams. Regulatory staff in the Office of Air and Radiation continue revising pollution rules while support staff were sent home. Around 4,400 EPA employees had been furloughed by late October.

Read at WIRED