Overview

• EPA’s shutdown plan keeps only 1,734 of 15,166 employees on the job, leaving about 89% furloughed as the closure takes effect.
• Most civil inspections, new permits and grants, and the bulk of scientific research are paused, while emergency responses, criminal investigations, and limited hazardous-waste cleanups continue.
• Administrator Lee Zeldin’s reorganization of the Office of Air and Radiation—eliminating two major branches and standing up new units—was slated to take effect by November but is likely to slip under furlough constraints.
• The deregulatory drive targets the 2009 endangerment finding, greenhouse gas reporting, vehicle and power plant standards, oil and gas methane rules, and aircraft climate standards, with many repeals planned for publication by December, though a shutdown could delay that timeline.
• The agency has already shed roughly 23–25% of its workforce this year, OMB has told agencies to prepare for layoffs, the EPA union warns of lasting capacity losses, and past shutdowns have been linked to higher pollution from coal plants.