News Clips

The Shutdown’s Climate Bait and Switch

by PEER | October 8, 2025
“I think the lesson we need to learn from the first nine months of the Trump administration is that when they say things, they mean it,” said Tim Whitehouse, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, speaking about the proposed additional layoffs at ...

White House Says Federal Workers’ Back Pay During Shutdown Isn’t Guaranteed

by Cornershop Creative | October 7, 2025
Vought had asked federal agencies to develop plans for layoffs during the shutdown beyond usual furloughs. Democrats and unions have questioned whether such layoffs would be legal, and they said the new threat regarding back pay wasn’t on firm ground. The OMB memo “is an effort for ...

Federal judge dismisses attempt to make EPA regulate PFAS in biosolids

by PEER | October 2, 2025
The judge’s decision is a setback for the farmers in Texas and elsewhere who are searching for federal leadership on PFAS, said Laura Dumais, staff counsel at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. “It’s a hugely disappointing decision for them,” said Dumais, who ...

Science Agencies Shuttered in Government Shutdown

by PEER | October 1, 2025
Trump had doubled down on the threat to fire federal employees yesterday afternoon, which spurred a set of federal employee unions to file a lawsuit alleging that the threats are an unlawful abuse of power. “The plan to exploit a shutdown to purge federal workers is illegal, ...

Court dismisses lawsuit alleging EPA failed to protect farmers from PFAS in fertilizer

by PEER |
“We disagree,” Laura Dumais, staff counsel at PEER, said. “We think a timeline should be inferred from the statute. It’s just really heartbreaking for the ranching families that are plaintiffs in this case and for farmers all across the country whose land has been contaminated from ...

Recycle company’s bankruptcy leaves tons of discarded artificial turf across the state

by PEER | September 30, 2025
“We’re all going to suffer because these turf fields — particularly the old ones, which we know have PFAS — are going to leach off and contaminate farmers’ fields, groundwater, drinking water supplies, and surface waters,” said Kyla Bennett, a former EPA official who is now ...
Phone: 202-265-7337

962 Wayne Avenue, Suite 610
Silver Spring, MD 20910-4453

Copyright 2001–2025 Public Employees for
Environmental Responsibility

PEER is a 501(c)(3) organization
EIN: 93-1102740