The workers who are supposed to lead the US response to the climate crisis are feeling 'burned out'

• There's a staffing crisis at the nation's top environmental agency, union officials say.
• They worry the shortage undercuts President Joe Biden's climate agenda.

Workers at the nation's top environmental regulator say a staffing crisis is undercutting their ability to deliver on President Joe Biden's climate agenda.

The Environmental Protection Agency's largest employee union on Wednesday rallied with a few dozen workers in front of the EPA's headquarters in Washington, DC, to demand a major hiring increase and higher pay to attract top scientists, engineers, and other experts.

"People are burned out," Marie Owens Powell, an EPA employee and the president of its union chapter known as AFGE Council 238, told Insider. "Some people are doing jobs that three or four people used to do."

The EPA is at the forefront of the Biden administration's efforts to slash greenhouse-gas emissions from the energy and transportation sectors, as well as to ensure communities overburdened by pollution are prioritized in federal climate programs.

To carry out those goals, the agency is getting an influx of tens of billions of dollars under the bipartisan infrastructure law and Inflation Reduction Act, both of which were enacted in the last two years. The EPA is also drafting more stringent rules for emissions from power plants, cars, and trucks.

But the agency is still reeling from the Donald Trump era, when more than 1,000 scientists, engineers, and other experts left as the administration scrubbed federal websites of mentions of climate change and dismantled scientific-integrity advisory councils. Even though the EPA has increased staff by 3% in the last two years, to more than 14,500, that level is still only marginally higher than when Ronald Reagan was president, according to the union.

Thousands more workers are needed to oversee the rollout of grants and loans to states and local and tribal governments to help them replace lead pipes, buy electric vehicles and buses, reduce air pollution, and monitor methane emissions. There's also a staff shortage on the EPA's team that evaluates chemical safety to protect public health, the union said. The agency also needs a more diverse workforce, particularly people with expertise in environmental-justice issues.

Melissa Sullivan, a spokesperson for the EPA, told Insider in an email that the agency is "hard at work to onboard nearly 1,800 employees" to support the infrastructure law and Inflation Reduction Act. The agency has also expanded its recruitment efforts to colleges and universities that serve groups including Black and Latino students.

"While the federal government often cannot equal private sector salaries, it can provide employees with more stability and other benefits," Sullivan wrote. "Specifically, the agency offers the opportunity to protect human health and the environment and positively affect an untold number of people's lives."

Eric Pohl, a member of AFGE Council 238 and a federal on-scene coordinator for the EPA, told Insider he's excited that the Biden administration and Congress have prioritized tackling the climate crisis and backed up that goal with a record amount of new funding.

"But the truth is, we are really worried we don't have the staff to effectively and efficiently get the money out the door," he said at Wednesday's rally. "Communities need to implement these programs, whether it's replacing lead service lines for drinking water or cleaning up environmental pollution."

Pohl flew to the event in Washington, DC, after spending days responding to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, where toxic chemicals including vinyl chloride spilled into the environment. Officials carried out a "controlled release" and burning of the chemicals to avert a large explosion; the release created a plume of smoke over the area.

Pohl said the EPA is working with Ohio officials to evaluate air and water quality to make sure people are safe in their homes and to oversee cleanup efforts. The agency also issued a notice of general liability to the railroad company, Norfolk Southern.

"There's room for more resources in emergency response," he said. "We only have six people in the entire state of Ohio."