
Hundreds of EPA Workers Leave in Recent Days - uptown
https://www.wsj.com/articles/hundreds-of-epa-workers-leave-in-recent-days-1504660207
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sarcher
I see some comments noting that the EPA needs "serious trimming" and "some
serious cleaning" and is an agency that needs to "focus on its core mission"
(the implication being that the EPA is currently NOT focusing on it's core
mission).

I spent about half a decade working in the solid waste/wastewater residuals
industry (2008-2014) where the EPA plays a significant oversight role on
facility operations. Further, the EPA plays a significant role on new facility
development and design (my focus).

I found that the EPA staff I worked with were almost invariably helpful, well
informed about the potential environmental impacts of our proposed activities,
and adept at navigating the variety of systems/approvals required to comply
with EPA regulations borne from laws passed by our representative government.

I was not always happy with the requirements imposed, but this was almost
always because of a difference between the EPA and myself concerning risk
assessment - and I can't blame the EPA for being less risk tolerant concerning
environmental damage, that's their job.

More recently I have had a wonderful experience with the EPA's hazardous
materials program which provides guidance and some funding for the
identification and remediation of hazardous materials in old buildings. In the
case of buried petroleum tanks, common here in New England, they even assist
monetarily to get these environmental hazards removed when discovered (many
have been abandoned for decades, unmarked). This program is invaluable for
small, old communities who have the legacy of poor environmental decisions
made during our industrial revolution literally built into their environment
(lead, PCBs, asbestos, etc.).

If you have had direct contact with the EPA and it's gone poorly - share your
story. But generalized mudslinging at EPA staff seems mean spirited and likely
the product of several decades of media narratives aimed at destabilizing our
country's already limited focus on environmental protection.

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ocschwar
Turning the US into the kind of country where it is unsafe to drink the tap
water.

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bnolsen
You realize the EPA has its own fully supplied SWAT teams and everything? The
EPA has gone waaaaay past just the drinking water thing. Also they ensured
crappy drinking water by mass dumping a bunch of waste and ruining one of the
rivers in southwest CO.

Government agencies in the US need very serious trimming. Too many friggin
bureaucratic power mad lifers running around who don't give a rat's ass about
all those "little people" stuck with their obamacare.

~~~
tw04
>You realize the EPA has its own fully supplied SWAT teams and everything?

...And? When they find a massive crisis like Flint and need to swoop in and
gather evidence you want them to what... send a form letter? Of all the
agencies of government that SHOULD have a SWAT team, they're at the top of the
list. If they're doing their job properly they're investigating both private
business and other government agencies. _NOT_ having a "SWAT" team means their
potential targets have more than enough time to destroy evidence. If my
options are giving the DEA 200 SWAT teams or the EPA 1, I'll vote for the EPA
every time.

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nindalf
When something like Flint happens, they'll blame EPA for letting it happen on
their watch and exploit the situation to call for _further_ cuts to EPA. If
this sounds disingenuous, its because it is.

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forapurpose
Similar things are happening at the State Department. Trump's budget calls for
a ~30% reduction, the professional staff is being ignored and shut out of
policy by Tillerson (and Trump), veteran high-level talent is leaving, and
hiring programs have been stopped - they are even reneging on people already
in the programs. Imagine if you read about that happening at an SV company ...
except at the State Dept, the stakes are war and peace, freedom and
oppression.

[http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/07/31/how-the-trump-
administra...](http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/07/31/how-the-trump-
administration-broke-the-state-department/)

[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/28/opinion/sunday/trump-
till...](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/28/opinion/sunday/trump-tillerson-
state-department-diplomats.html)

[https://duckduckgo.com/html?q=state%20department%20resignati...](https://duckduckgo.com/html?q=state%20department%20resignations%20site%3Aforeignpolicy.com)

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sulam
“We’re giving long-serving, hardworking employees the opportunity to retire
early..."

Tech companies need to up their game when it comes to euphemism.

~~~
wheelerwj
the EPA is killing it..

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uptown
Mirror: [https://archive.fo/Hp48r](https://archive.fo/Hp48r)

~~~
Sabinus
Thank you very much.

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greenbush
Here's the historical EPA budget and employee count from 1970 until now:
[https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/budget](https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/budget)

$8B/yr doesn't seem like that big of an investment to keep 320 Million people
healthier and safer.

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titojankowski
Who wants to help setup a hackerspace next to the EPA HQ to scoop up all the
newly-available talent?

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philovivero
Good point. No-one will take you up on that, because as much as we hate to
admit it, we know the newly-available EPA talent is good for some other org to
take in, not our org, heavens no.

As others have noted in other comment threads, EPA needs some serious
cleaning. It is an agency that has gotten so large that it is no longer
effective.

Our drinking water and rivers and lakes and air are becoming unsafe
everywhere. We need EPA to focus on its core mission.

Trump is a results-oriented guy. If EPA is in charge of clean water, and you
have Flint... the course of action is clear. Trump is a simpleton: just
produce the results you are supposed to produce, and he'll go find some other
heads to lop off.

Predictable action from a simple-minded guy.

~~~
titojankowski
Any good tech for home water filtration or testing? Our sewage line up here in
Twin Peaks (SF) broke a few weeks ago, mud in my sink. Been sketched out by my
water since, interested in the latest and greatest in home water tech. 5 stage
filter system on amazon for <$200, but too big for my studio apt. Would be
cool to test my home water somehow, see how it scores.

~~~
pfranz
A friend of mine has this in their apartment
[http://a.co/4GZcGdC](http://a.co/4GZcGdC) but I'm guessing that's the one
you're talking about.

That same amazon page has this for testing
[http://a.co/dVZweID](http://a.co/dVZweID) which I've seen come up a lot when
doing research, but it'll only tell you if something is in the water, not
what.

I usually skim thesweethome.com for things like this, too.

[http://thesweethome.com/reviews/best-under-sink-water-
filter...](http://thesweethome.com/reviews/best-under-sink-water-
filter/#picked) [http://thesweethome.com/reviews/best-water-filter-
pitcher/#h...](http://thesweethome.com/reviews/best-water-filter-pitcher/#how-
we-tested)

~~~
trapperkeeper74
That RO system is overpriced and undersized (3 gph). Buy better kits from
wholesalers that use standard parts (50-200 gph) for the same price. (200 gph
can be tankless and generate product water on-demand)
[http://www.wateranywhere.com/index.php?cPath=23_411](http://www.wateranywhere.com/index.php?cPath=23_411)

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wheresvic1
Could you provide a non-paywall link please?

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Tepix
Go to the linked page then click this bookmarklet:

javascript:window.location="[https://m.facebook.com/l.php?u="+encodeURIComponent(window.l...](https://m.facebook.com/l.php?u="+encodeURIComponent\(window.location.href\);)

