Ending a Culture of Reprisal at USGS

For over 5 years, we have represented Evi Emmenegger, a U.S. Geological Survey microbiologist who was fired after reporting dangerous biosafety breaches at a wildlife disease laboratory,

This month, a federal judge has ruled that the USGS had improperly terminated Emmenegger in violation of the Whistleblower Protection Act. Instead of addressing the issues Emmenegger raised, the USGS did what is all too common in many government agencies, it decided to attack the messenger.

This decision comes on the heels of a withering investigation into conditions at the USGS’s laboratory in Lakewood, Colorado, where an analyst was found to have falsified thousands of test results.

We are here to protect scientists like Evi Emmenegger who stepped up to do the right thing. We would like one outcome of this case to be third-party review of USGS labs. The USGS provides critical integrated research and natural science expertise. We all need this agency to work well. Together, with your support, we can continue our work in this effort!

PEER along with community and health groups have sued the state of California for pushing through a backroom deal with the Boeing Co. to dramatically weaken cleanup standards at the profoundly polluted Santa Susana Field Laboratory in violation of the California Environmental Quality Act. Read more»

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has refused PEER and allied groups’ request to tighten the radiological cleanup standards at Hunters Point, ignoring the express will of voters and endangering nearby communities and the San Francisco Bay. Read More»

Please sign our petition asking the National Park Service to dramatically speed up its commitment to reduce plastics in our parks. Sign today»