The Trump budget will destroy our ability to do our jobs

Sharing with permission from Juris Macto:
I have something important to say....

I am a field Officer of the Environmental Protection Agency.

I want to talk to you about the upcoming deliberations about the Federal Budget and specifically about the budget for EPA.

The Trump Budget will destroy our ability to do our jobs. Plain and simple.

We are asking for your support in opposing this draconian, ill-informed and utterly devastating attack on Environmental Protections and Enforcement.

I would like to focus on the proposed cuts to SUPERFUND.

The rest of the Agency’s budget is, of course, just as critical to our nation, but SUPERFUND is my area of expertise and it is critical that I inform you of the potential effects the evisceration of the SUPERFUND accounts will have over both the short and the long term.

You’ll pardon me if this missive runs a bit long, but I’m an engineer and I think it’s important that we look beyond the vagaries of budget and policy and emphasize the real world engineering consequences the presidents proposed budget will impose upon this program.

Let me begin by saying that what I am about to impart is observable and quantifiable.

Superfund has been chronically underfunded by the Republican Majorities since we lost the House in 2010.

This is not something that has been noted by the mainstream media, although smaller news outlets have reported on this without much traction being gained.

EPA has been forced to not only cut back on timely remediations of Superfund sites, we’ve also had to pick and choose which sites get added to the NPL.

I don’t think I can emphasize this more strongly, because of republican cuts we’ve been forced to choose between adding bad hazardous waste sites and WORSE hazardous waste sites.

In no scenario are there any real benefits to this haphazard methodology.

The bad sites will still be bad and because they are languishing they will only get worse. The Worse sites will take longer to get through the Remedial process and take longer to effectively get under control.

The current path we are on leads to hazardous waste sites that are a clear and present danger to the health and safety of American citizens nationwide. And I say this without hyperbole.

Allow me to elaborate.

Contaminated Groundwater is never static. It simply does not linger. It continues to advance hydrogeologically towards the lowest point.

Groundwater spreads at an average 6 inches per year, depending on the underlying geological makeup (whether rock, clay or soil).

This means, in the simplest of terms, that the longer it takes for a remediation to begin, the larger the problem becomes. And exponentially, the COST for the remediation also increases.

Contaminated groundwater is not the only problem. airborne contamination in the form of Vapor Intrusion also represents a threat that expands concurrently with the spread of groundwater.

A home or business that has no vapor intrusion issues today potentially will become affected in the months and years to come if the groundwater is not characterized, intercepted and remediated.

It is as inevitable as gravity and neither politics nor budget constraints will slow its inexorable march.

Simply put, the longer you wait, the harder it will be to get it under control and the more it’s going to cost.

There is NO COST SAVINGS in lowballing SUPERFUND.

The budget proposals put forth by President Trump and OMB Director Mulveney not only preclude EPA from adding new sites to the NPL, it also impedes current clean up progress by forcing the Agency to more stringently review (and sometimes reject) the most effective clean up technologies in order to shoehorn as much remediation as possible into the existing dollars.

Additionally, the budget restraints will significantly reduce EPA’s emergency response capabilities which means that less resources will go to protecting citizens, property, homes and businesses which are under IMMINENT threat from the release of hazardous or toxic substances.

It’s usually only local news but this is something which happens, on average, 10-15 times a WEEK nationwide.

Some examples are train derailments, transport truck accidents, accidental releases (such as the Freedom Industries MCHM release in West Virginia) or last but not least a chemical or biological attack such as the Anthrax Release at the Dirksen Building and the Congressional post office in 2004 which was contained, controlled and remediated by EPA.

All of these vital services are ALREADY chronically underfunded.

I had an elderly Pennsylvanian call me and ask when we were going to finish up installing a water line to her community, which we have been pursuing for some time now. Now, I can’t give her any firm answer to her question. She did make the point of announcing that she voted for the President and she can’t believe that he would allow such a thing to happen to her.

It was REALLY hard to hold my tongue.

The Trump Budget does NOT save money, it simply kicks the can for the cost of cleaning up these hazardous sites down the road until a more responsible administration comes along.

It WILL cost more if we allow them to whittle away at EPA funding. It WILL put the lives of American citizens at risk and it WILL degrade the trust and faith that I and hundreds of other EPA staff have worked hard to establish in communities all across the region and the nation.

You can stop these things.
Call your representatives write them, forward and repost this entry.

I should also report that the morale at the Agency could not be lower. We are disheartened and heartbroken.

So much of our hard work has been mischaracterized and misused for political gamesmanship and we’re helpless to do very much to dispute these heinous lies.

All we get is secondhand news.

Regional administration is hamstrung and kept out of the decision making loop. EPA Headquarters staff has been cut out of nearly everything of consequence and Administrator Pruitt has surrounded himself with cronies and political handlers.

Then, to add insult to injury, the president came to our headquarters and basically took a crap in our living room. I would relate the insulting and snide “invitation” the Chief of Staff sent out to everyone but it’s too petty and vindictive to revisit.

We keep hearing about 3200 staff members being laid off but no one has any details. We keep hearing about the possible merger/closure of 2 regional offices but again, details are sparse.

These are things of consequence and the Trump administration can’t or won’t provide details so that at the very least people can start making important life decisions.

We feel the Sword of Damocles over our head and it makes it hard to continue.

But we do, and we will persevere as long as we are able.

Thanks for listening

Persistence is the Key to Victory

This wasn't a Democrat talking point that I originally shared (nor does it have anything to do with Obama), it was a first-hand point of view from someone who works at the EPA. And here's a link to the resignation letter submitted by Michael Cox, a 25-year veteran of the EPA, with the concurrent story reported by The Washington Post here:
EPA staffer leaves with a bang, blasting agency policies under Trump.

We have clean air and water thanks to the EPA's efforts, efforts begun by Richard Nixon of all presidents. Do you truly think that companies will voluntarily regulate themselves if not forced to reduce harmful emissions and refrain from dumping waste in waterways if their competitors don't have to and it saves them money to do so and they have to remain competitive? They didn't back when they could have, it's not different now. Nor is there any proof that regulations harm companies - it's the cost of doing business and they pass along those costs to their customers. Good companies still find a way to make a profit, otherwise our economy wouldn't be booming as it is now.

The Economic Impact of Environmental Regulation
by Stephen M. Meyer

The Economist: Green tape
Environmental regulations may not cost as much as governments and businesses fear
Dec 30, 2014

The Washington Post: Americans are surprisingly supportive of government regulations Trump wants to dismantle
January 24, 2017