As cuts are announced for governmental agencies, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is feeling the shock of proposed staffing and funding changes.
A Chicago EPA union president said employees aren’t receiving information about a plan going forward and are being hit with firings or placed on administrative leave.
Nicole Cantello, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 704, called the atmosphere completely chaotic.
“Having all these things appear in the news that directly affects your life is totally terrifying,” Cantello said. “The bottom line is that the less staff we have, the less funding we have, the less likely it is that we’re going to be able to protect human health and the environment. We’re going to slip through the cracks, and people are going to get hurt.”
A White House spokeswoman announced that major EPA budget cuts are likely, according to the Associated Press. President Donald Trump previously said the EPA plans to reduce its staff by 65%, which agency officials said was not true Thursday.
In February, The New York Times reported that more than 1,100 employees hired in the past year or on probationary status who work on climate change, reducing air pollution, enforcing environmental laws and other programs were told they could be fired at any time.
The spokeswoman said Trump, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and the Department of Government Efficiency “are committed to cutting waste, fraud and abuse,” according to the Associated Press. Zeldin “is committed to eliminating 65% of the EPA’s wasteful spending,” the outlet reported.
A Tuesday EPA news release said Zeldin canceled 20 grants in a second round of DOGE cuts. The canceled grants will lead to more than $60 million in taxpayer savings, according to the release.
Cantello told the Post-Tribune that cutting the EPA’s staff or funding makes no sense. A lot of the funding goes to crucial programs run by states, tribes or nonprofits, she added.
The administration is proposing a reorganization or cut of the EPA’s enforcement program, Cantello said, which will impact areas like Northwest Indiana.
“That’s going to spew more pollution out into the environment, hurt people and surrounding communities,” she said. “They’re going to wind up breathing more toxic air and surrounded by toxic water.”
Jeremy Symons, senior advisor at Environmental Protection Network, said no matter if staffing or funding is changed, a wrecking ball is taken to the EPA.
“Having a debate about which limbs are getting cut off is not the right debate to be having,” Symons said. “We really need to be asking ourselves why this is happening at all. It certainly isn’t about saving money.”
The agency spends less than half of a penny for every dollar of federal spending, Symons said. Cuts support polluters that don’t want to be held accountable, he added.
“If you cut EPA at this scale, it’s going to be the Wild West of unlimited pollution,” Symons said.
Jen Duggan, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project, agreed with Symons’ sentiments in a Thursday statement.
Slashing the agency’s workforce or budget exposes American communities to unhealthy pollution, Duggan’s statement said.
“These kinds of dramatic cuts … will only benefit corporate polluters who are raking in profits while Americans pay a steep price — increased cancer risks and other serious health problems, increased health care costs, and impacts to our well-being and ability to enjoy our environment,” Duggan said.
In December, an Environmental Integrity Project report said EPA enforcement could drop sharply during Trump’s second term. During former President Joe Biden’s term, the agency had improvements to enforcement, the report found.
Biden requested about $10.9 billion for the agency in the current budget year, the Associated Press reported, but Zeldin said the EPA needs “far less money to do its work.” Biden’s request was an 8.5% increase from the previous budget year.
Funding cuts set the EPA back to its start, multiple activists told the Post-Tribune this week.
“By removing 50 years of foundational law that protects at-risk communities and provides reliable government protections of clean air and water, we now face dangerous — if not irreparable — environmental ramifications,” said Susan Thomas, director of policy and press for Just Transition Northwest Indiana.
Thomas believes a Trump executive order, “Unleashing American Energy,” was one of the first warning signs that the EPA was going to change.
“Unleashing American Energy” outlines how the Trump administration plans for the U.S. to stay a “global energy leader long into the future,” according to Post-Tribune archives. The executive order also terminates portions of the Green New Deal, which were part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.
As changes are made with federal agencies, Thomas encourages community members to look at environmental issues hyperlocally.
“This is not a partisan issue, this is not a culture wars issue,” she said. “Everyone breathes air. Everyone drinks water. It’s going to impact everyone.”
Thomas and Gary Advocates for Responsible Development member Carolyn McCrady praised Gary Mayor Eddie Melton for his environmental advocacy.
On Tuesday, the city of Gary announced Melton joined the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative’s Mayors Commission on Economic Transformation, which helps foster the creation of a clean economic corridor in the Canadian and American region.
Gary Mayor Eddie Melton, pictured Thursday. Oct 3, 2024, announced he joined the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative’s Mayors Commission on Economic Transformation, to help foster a clean economic corridor in the Canadian and American region. (John Smierciak/for the Post-Tribune)
The commission helps bring clean industries and jobs to local communities and safeguards the region’s freshwater resources, according to a news release. Through the commission, Melton plans to focus on ecotourism in Gary, he told the Post-Tribune, and wants to help protect the national park.
McCrady was delighted to learn Melton joined the commission, she told the Post-Tribune. She believes the mayor wants to find sustainable and green solutions to Gary’s issues.
“We need someone who will stand up and not sit down,” McCrady said. “Mayor Melton will stand up for us. … I’m very proud of that and everything else that he’s doing.”
Having a leader focused on environmental issues is important when the Trump administration is hostile towards environmental justice, McCrady said. She believes EPA cuts will give state agencies — such as the Indiana Department of Environmental Management — more responsibility.
State agencies are already overburdened, McCrady said, and adding more responsibilities will put Northwest Indiana communities at a disadvantage.
“It is egregious that our national government — that we as taxpayers fund — treats us as an enemy and targets communities like Gary to live with ever-increasing levels of toxicity,” she added. “We will, however, continue to fight for our well-being in every way that we can.”
mwilkins@chicagotribune.com