WASHINGTON, D.C. — (April 22, 2025) — On this Earth Day, a group of former Regional Administrators of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a powerful and urgent call to Administrator Lee Zeldin, urging him to honor the agency’s founding mission: to protect human health and the environment. In a joint letter released today, the group of seasoned environmental leaders warn that recent actions under Zeldin’s leadership not only betray that mission but also threaten the well-being of communities across the country.
The letter, signed by seven former EPA Regional Administrators appointed in the previous administration, comes amid widespread reports of scientific purges, mass staff firings, grant freezes, and the dismantling of environmental justice initiatives. The signatories represent a collective of experts who served communities spanning the nation — from coastal cities to rural heartlands, from tribal lands to industrial corridors — and who carry decades of public service experience across government, academia, business, and non-profit sectors.
“Your plan to cut the agency by 65% will leave a skeletal organization unable to be responsive to the people EPA is supposed to serve — state partners, municipalities, communities, families, and industry. And, as the courts have now required you to return terminated employees to work, you still have them on administrative leave where they continue to stay home while receiving a paycheck,” they wrote. “Furthermore, plans of a major reduction in force and consolidation of Regional offices would undoubtedly hamper the ability to be responsive and provide services. An understaffed and under-resourced agency is an ineffective and inefficient agency.”
Key Concerns Raised in the Letter Include:
- Abandonment of Science: The planned dissolution of the Office of Research and Development and the dismissal of scientists signal a troubling shift away from evidence-based policy.
- Undermining of Environmental Justice: Staff working on environmental justice have been sidelined or dismissed, while projects in overburdened and under-resourced communities have been halted or canceled.
- Mass Personnel Mismanagement: Hundreds of EPA employees were reportedly placed on leave or terminated without legal or managerial justification, raising alarms about administrative dysfunction.
- Defunding of Legally Mandated Grants: Infrastructure and climate resilience grants authorized by Congress under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act have been frozen or canceled without substantiated evidence of waste or abuse.
- Erasure of DEIA Principles: The elimination of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs risks reversing progress made in ensuring fair representation, equitable investments, and a workplace culture grounded in respect.
- False Narratives on Economy vs. Environment: The letter rebuts the idea that environmental protection hampers economic growth, citing record GDP and market performance alongside historic environmental investments as proof that prosperity and sustainability can and must coexist.
The letter invokes the legacy of EPA’s first Administrator, William Ruckelshaus, a Republican appointed by President Nixon, who famously kept science and public health above politics. The authors challenge Administrator Zeldin to follow Ruckelshaus’s example, asserting that “the integrity of the EPA should not be sacrificed to political shifts.”
The timing of the letter on Earth Day, a global celebration of environmental stewardship, adds symbolic weight to the appeal. Earth Day was born out of bipartisan concern for the planet’s future and led to the creation of the EPA itself in 1970. The former administrators call on Zeldin to reflect on that origin and to act with the urgency, courage, and impartiality the times demand.
“We ask you to respect your staff, trust your scientists and experts, and in the spirit of Administrator Ruckelshaus, return EPA to its noble mission and to support the public servants who selflessly carry out the task of protecting communities all across this country,” they conclude. “The American people are depending on you.”
Signatories of the Letter:
- David Cash, Former Region 1 Administrator (New England)
- Lisa Garcia, Former Region 2 Administrator (New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands)
- Adam Ortiz, Former Region 3 Administrator (Mid-Atlantic)
- Daniel Blackman, Former Region 4 Administrator (South)
- Debra Shore, Former Region 5 Administrator (Great Lakes)
- Meg McCollister, Former Region 7 Administrator (Heartland)
- Martha Guzman, Former Region 9 Administrator (Southwest)
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