Hello and thank you for being a DL contributor. We are changing the login scheme for contributors for simpler login and to better support using multiple devices. Please click here to update your account with a username and password.

Hello. Some features on this site require registration. Please click here to register for free.

Hello and thank you for registering. Please complete the process by verifying your email address. If you can't find the email you can resend it here.

Hello. Some features on this site require a subscription. Please click here to get full access and no ads for $1.99 or less per month.

EPA offices haven't had A/C for 3 weeks; Some believe it's to force resignations

For the third week in a row, there have been issues with the air conditioning at the Environmental Protection Agency headquarters, sending indoor temperatures well above 80 degrees, sources told CBS News.

Staff members have received emails both explaining that repair efforts were underway and that the administration is trying to reduce energy consumption.

Multiple elevators have malfunctioned in recent weeks, leaving EPA employees at times stuck between floors. On more than one occasion, according to sources, the elevator has dropped suddenly.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 5July 10, 2025 3:23 PM

One group of employees was relocated to a basement area next to a firing range where federal law enforcement officials practice shooting. EPA staff, experts in environmental hazards, have expressed wariness about lead levels in the air.

Career staffers have wondered among themselves whether the workplace issues are another mechanism to induce resignations and further shrink the federal workforce, according to multiple people who requested anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to the media.

Work on the air conditioning is underway, Taylor Rogers, a White House assistant press secretary, told CBS News.

"Joe Biden's EPA wasted $4 million on a one-room museum instead of required maintenance for the building because employees weren't actually required to show up to work," Rogers said. "The Trump EPA is working diligently on improvements to their building which will complete long-overdue maintenance to the carpet, elevators, air conditioning, and more for employees who have returned to work."

An administration official said the elevator parts were ordered four months ago, but officials have been told they will take about 18 months to arrive.

The General Services Administration, the agency that manages and maintains federal real estate, is paying for the elevator repairs. Other improvements will be paid for by EPA funds, the official said.

Hundreds of EPA employees have already agreed to leave their jobs as part of the administration's voluntary "Fork in the Road" deferred resignation program.

Last week, EPA leaders placed about 140 employees on administrative leave after they signed a letter in June to the administrator, Lee Zeldin, criticizing administration stances, including policies they felt "undermine the EPA mission of protecting human health and the environment."

Several longtime EPA staff told CBS News the steamy conditions at their desks have made workplace life uncomfortable, especially during a stretch of extreme weather with the heat index reaching above 100 degrees.

One email from EPA's Office of Mission Support sent to employees and reviewed by CBS News cited equipment issues in the William Jefferson Clinton complex, where the agency is headquartered. After the subject line "Warmer than Usual WJC Building Temperature," the email said the General Services Administration "has made us aware that they are experiencing issues with the chillers" and was working to resolve the issue.

Another email sent by the mission support office said there was an effort on days where it's over 90 degrees outside to "conserve energy to alleviate the strain on the grid during peak energy usage periods (3-7pm) and to help prevent power outages."

Employees swapped photos of the digital carbon dioxide and temperature monitors on their desks. On June 26, when the high in Washington, D.C., was 95 degrees, one monitor registered the indoor temperature at 84 degrees and humidity at 61%.

by Anonymousreply 1July 10, 2025 1:53 PM

My neighbor was an EPA enforcement officer in a major city (not DC) and, as predicted, got fired a few weeks ago. Said morale is rock-bottom and no one expects the agency to survive this regime.

by Anonymousreply 2July 10, 2025 2:56 PM

God this fucking 2 bit gangster and his shit pile of goons

by Anonymousreply 3July 10, 2025 3:00 PM

This is the tactic that slumlords use to get their tenants out.

Trump is the ultimate slumlord.

by Anonymousreply 4July 10, 2025 3:02 PM

Also law enforcement uses this tactic to drive out hostage-takers.

by Anonymousreply 5July 10, 2025 3:23 PM
Loading
Need more help? Click Here.

Yes indeed, we too use "cookies." Take a look at our privacy/terms or if you just want to see the damn site without all this bureaucratic nonsense, click ACCEPT. Otherwise, you'll just have to find some other site for your pointless bitchery needs.

×

Become a contributor - post when you want with no ads!