EPA moves ahead with reorganization, new buyouts
In tandem with the announcement Thursday, the agency offered yet another round of buyouts and early retirements to employees, targeted at people in the offices being reorganized. That includes those in the Office of Research and Development, the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, the Office of Mission Support and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, as well as regional employees who were excluded from an earlier round of deferred resignations, according to an email obtained by POLITICO.
Details: EPA has created a new Office of Finance and Administration, combining what was formerly the Office of the Chief Financial Officer and the Office of Mission Support. Those divisions tended to draw less attention than the program offices charged with issuing and enforcing regulations and overseeing environmental cleanups.
EPA touted the new office as a 'streamlined, one-stop-shop for all financial and administrative operations' that will improve coordination within EPA and help communicate better with Congress and other agencies.
'By partnering our operations and mission support services, we can deliver results for American communities while remaining good stewards of taxpayer dollars,' Zeldin said.
The agency announced other restructurings in two other offices.
In the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, EPA said unspecified changes to its operations 'will better address pollution problems that impact American communities by re-aligning enforcement with the law to deliver economic prosperity and ensure compliance with agency regulations.'
The agency did not share further details about the reorganization. EPA earlier this year told staff to reduce enforcement and compliance actions against energy facilities, reducing oversight to prioritize 'violations that threaten human health and safety or risk releases or accidents that would disrupt energy production or power generation.'
The agency on Thursday also announced additional unspecified changes to the Office of Land and Emergency Management, which oversees the sprawling Superfund program as well as EPA's response to disasters. The changes 'will better equip the agency to swiftly and efficiently fulfill statutory obligations like preventing contamination, cleaning up and returning land to productive use, and responding to emergencies.'
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