Overview

• Roughly 90% of EPA staff are furloughed, leaving 1,732 of 15,166 employees working under the agency’s contingency plan.
• The shutdown freezes non-criminal pollution inspections, most scientific research, issuance of new permits and grants, and many oversight activities, with limited exceptions for imminent threats.
• Administrator Lee Zeldin’s air-office overhaul eliminates the Office of Air Quality and Planning Standards and the Office of Atmospheric Protection and creates new divisions slated to take effect in November, a timeline that could slip during the closure.
• The administration is advancing repeals targeting the 2009 endangerment finding and major climate rules on vehicles, power plants, methane, and greenhouse-gas reporting, though delays depend on shutdown length and any staff exemptions.
• EPA has already cut about 23% of its workforce this year, and experts warn enforcement gaps and past evidence of increased pollution during shutdowns heighten public-health risks as chemical accident inspections and some Superfund work pause.