Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
LightNews LightNews
banner
peer.org
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
@peer.org
530 followers 26 following 180 posts
PEER supports current and former public employees who seek a higher standard of environmental ethics and scientific integrity within their agencies.
www.peer.org
Posts Replies Media Videos
peer.org
Happy New Year! We’re grateful for your support throughout 2025. It was a year of immense challenges for public employees and environmental protections, but also a reminder of why this work matters.

As we head into 2026, we remain committed to defending those who put the public interest first.
January 1, 2026 at 6:10 PM
peer.org
Today, PEER sent a letter to Congress warning that the Department of the Interior’s abrupt halt of offshore wind projects already under construction is not legally defensible and raises serious conflict of interest concerns.

https://ow.ly/eqXk50XQ2Qv
Burgum’s Offshore Wind Halt of Questionable Legality
Interior Department Riddled with Conflicts of Interest and Ethical Challenges
ow.ly
December 29, 2025 at 4:07 PM
peer.org
The FCC, which oversees wireless, satellite, cable, radio, and TV infrastructure, is moving to weaken environmental protections.

As wireless technologies rapidly expand—and presumably soon with even less environmental review—the environmental impacts will only multiply.

https://ow.ly/fM8E50XNpTl
COMMENTARY | Evisceration of the Federal Communications Commission NEPA
The FCC is on the verge of promulgating NEPA rules that would further weaken its already skeletal NEPA rules and further exempt itself from NEPA obligations.
ow.ly
December 23, 2025 at 6:35 PM
peer.org
As Congress heads into recess, it quietly gave the oil industry a multimillion-dollar break. The 9¢-per-barrel tax that funds the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund—the nation’s central financial instrument for oil spill prevention and response—expires Dec. 31.

https://ow.ly/FPKE50XMMxu
COMMENTARY | Trump and Congress Just Gifted Big Oil a Multimillion Dollar Stocking Stuffer
Congress quietly gave the oil industry a multimillion dollar tax break by allowing the 9 cent-per-barrel oil tax into the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to expire.
ow.ly
December 20, 2025 at 6:25 PM
peer.org
At PEER, we believe restoring accountability is among the most urgent environmental and public health challenges of our time. It’s a challenge we know how to meet — if we choose to strengthen, rather than silence, the institutions designed to keep government honest.

https://ow.ly/H6xk50XLGvF
Building Accountability Back Into Government: Why It’s Essential for the Environment and Public Health
At PEER, we believe restoring accountability is among the most urgent environmental and public health challenges of our time.
ow.ly
December 18, 2025 at 8:46 PM
peer.org
PEER and a coalition of nonprofits are standing up to Trump-Vance efforts to defund CIGIE—the body that coordinates oversight efforts across federal agencies and supports 70+ independent Offices of Inspectors General fighting waste, fraud, and corruption in government.

https://ow.ly/ZXxQ50XLC8b
Lawsuit Filed to Protect Crucial Oversight Watchdogs From Trump-Vance Administration Assault
Unlawful Defunding of Inspectors General Council Part of Administration's Effort to Mask Conduct, Avoid Transparency and Accountability
ow.ly
December 18, 2025 at 6:10 PM
peer.org
Several major rollbacks of environmental and public health protections have come almost back-to-back. None of them should be viewed in isolation. Together, they show a government being redirected to serve a narrow set of industries at the expense of the public.

https://ow.ly/Ggvq50XGrJs
COMMENTARY | Environmental Attacks Continue at Full Speed; Much of it Under the Radar
Several major rollbacks show a government being redirected to serve a narrow set of industries at the expense of the public.
ow.ly
December 9, 2025 at 5:50 PM
peer.org
Today, six former EPA employees filed First Amendment legal challenges to their firings for signing an open letter protesting the politicization of science at EPA. PEER is serving as legal counsel for one and co-counsel for another.

https://ow.ly/l3Om50XBovv

#FreeSpeech #StandUpForScience
EPA Employees Challenge Firings for Signing Dissent Letter
Truth Is Not a Fireable Offense for Federal Employees
ow.ly
December 3, 2025 at 4:34 PM
peer.org
With the government now reopened, this season of gratitude and reflection feels like the right moment to recognize the extraordinary public servants who keep our country running.
1/4
November 27, 2025 at 6:00 PM
peer.org
Today, Plaintiffs appealed a federal district court's dismissal of their lawsuit challenging EPA's failure to identify and regulate toxic PFAS in sewage sludge. PEER brought the lawsuit in 2024.

https://ow.ly/Q1Mn50XxvfV
Adverse Court Decision in Toxic Sewage Sludge Case Now on Appeal
Decision Would Let EPA Indefinitely Delay Protecting Americans from PFAS in Sewage Sludge Fertilizer
ow.ly
November 25, 2025 at 3:15 PM
peer.org
Today, PEER called out a FVRA violation: Jeffrey Clark’s appointment as OIRA's "Acting Administrator" is illegal. Yet he's playing a major role in authorizing Trump administration deregulatory actions, including weakening Endangered Species Act regulations.
https://ow.ly/YBmT50XtyuO
New Letter To OMB Director Vought Warns that OIRA Chief Jeffrey Clark’s “Acting” Role Is Illegal And Actions He Has Taken Are In Jeopardy
This Is the Latest Example Of Trump Administration Vacancies Act Violations
ow.ly
November 18, 2025 at 3:53 PM
peer.org
In his short time as Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum has already overseen a major expansion of his own office staffing while other Interior agencies have shrunk.

https://ow.ly/Zrnr50XsTkS

#PublicLands
Interior Secretary Grabs Unparalleled Staff and Functions
Office of Secretary Nearly Triples in 9 Months to 3rd Largest Interior Bureau
ow.ly
November 17, 2025 at 3:24 PM
peer.org
Ten months into the Trump administration, one thing is clear: protecting public employees and the environment depends on our ability to combat rising authoritarianism and promote democratic values.

https://ow.ly/jyyq50XnWJP

#DemocracyMatters
COMMENTARY | Confronting the Rise of Authoritarianism
The the fate of our work protecting public employees and the environment is dependent on our ability to combat authoritarianism and promote democratic values.
ow.ly
November 7, 2025 at 5:35 PM
peer.org
A recycling industry group has stopped classifying certain fluorinated plastic containers as recyclable, since the fluorination process creates high levels of PFAS. This could spark manufacturing reforms to keep forever chemicals out of food and consumer products.

https://ow.ly/Pgyn50Xn7hc

#PFAS
Recyclers Ban Fluorinated Containers Due to PFAS
EPA Being Sued for Its Failure to Stop This Forever Chemical Contamination
ow.ly
November 5, 2025 at 3:10 PM
peer.org
Congress needs to listen to the experts who’ve warned that this U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan will have serious negative impacts. Thank you @protectnps.bsky.social for standing up for wildlife.
November 4, 2025 at 9:48 PM
peer.org
In tomorrow's election, federal employees won't get paid leave to vote or volunteer as a poll-worker — even those already working without pay during the shutdown.

https://ow.ly/LOzK50XlPOg

#ElectionDay #FederalEmployees #Shutdown
Unpaid Federal Employees Denied Time Off to Vote
Trump Reversal of Time-Off Policy Aggravates Shutdown Inequities
ow.ly
November 3, 2025 at 3:17 PM
peer.org
PEER has identified four Interior officials who aren't legally qualified to serve as "acting" leaders, but who are publicly using “acting” titles and signing official agency actions under those titles.

🔗 https://ow.ly/xE2B50XkWeU

#FVRA
PEER Warns Interior’s Illegal Use of “Acting” Officials Puts Department Decisions in Legal Jeopardy
Group Says Second Trump Administration Repeating Same Vacancies Act Violations Struck Down the First Time
ow.ly
October 31, 2025 at 2:05 PM
peer.org
Today, PEER filed a complaint challenging EPA's false claim that one of the two most widely used forms of PFAS is no longer produced domestically.
https://ow.ly/CSQM50XjOsn

#ForeverChemicals
EPA's Principal Claim of PFAS Progress Is Untrue
Deadly Long-chains Are Manufactured Daily and Threaten Public Health
ow.ly
October 29, 2025 at 3:24 PM
peer.org
Bulldozers and backhoes have razed the East Wing of the White House to make way for Trump's big, beautiful ballroom. As usual, Trump has barreled ahead, ignoring the law, tradition, and concerns about historic preservation and good taste.
COMMENTARY | East Wing Demolition Metaphor for Trump Governance
Trump has barreled ahead with razing the East Wing of the White House, heedless of the law, tradition, or concerns about historic protection and good taste.
peer.org
October 29, 2025 at 2:54 AM
peer.org
Tonight at 7pm ET, join PEER for @whistlep2p.bsky.social's October roundtable as we confront the systemic barriers that silence truth-tellers, explore the protections they deserve, and spotlight the courage it takes to challenge powerful interests.

www.eventbrite.com/e/guardians-...
Guardians of the Planet: Environmental Whistleblowing
As pollution, climate change, and ecological crises accelerate, the role of whistleblowers in defending the planet has never been more vital
www.eventbrite.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:49 PM
peer.org
“The new policy puts profit for commercial ranchers first and our public lands dead last,” said PEER Western Lands and Rocky Mountain Advocate Chandra Rosenthal.
October 24, 2025 at 4:40 PM
peer.org
EPA intends to rescind its landmark greenhouse gas endangerment finding, threatening public health and signaling the disturbing erosion of science-backed decision making at our federal agencies.

Read more about the shaky science and shady tactics behind this move:
peer.org/commentary-e...

#climate
COMMENTARY | EPA’s Rollback of Endangerment Finding is Cloaked in Secrecy and Science-Denial
The proposal to repeal the endangerment finding is part of a concentrated effort by the Trump administration to abandon science in favor of a political agenda.
peer.org
October 23, 2025 at 7:42 PM
peer.org
The remnants of Typhoon Halong slammed into Alaska last week, unleashing winds and record-breaking storm surges that devastated 2 Native villages. Even as the toll of climate change mounts, state leaders are determined to keep their heads buried in the melting permafrost.

https://ow.ly/VV0850XfR9X
COMMENTARY | Alaska Can No Longer Ignore Climate Change: Latest Disaster Should Be Wake-Up Call
Remnants of typhoon Halong battered Alaska with hellacious winds and record-breaking storm surges, yet policies are unlikely to change in its aftermath.
ow.ly
October 21, 2025 at 7:48 PM
peer.org
📢 We're hiring! PEER is seeking a Staff Counsel to help defend public employees who protect the environment, public lands, and public health.

Apply now to join our team at this critical time, or help us find the right person by sharing this opportunity.
🔗 https://ow.ly/lKf050XcFNB
Open Position | Staff Counsel
PEER seeks a Staff Counsel to counsel and represent public employees, initiate litigation, and help orchestrate campaigns.
ow.ly
October 16, 2025 at 6:25 PM
peer.org
Good news for federal employees and the rule of law! A federal judge has immediately halted the Trump Administration’s illegal firing of federal workers during the shutdown.

Read the full statement from PEER Executive Director Tim Whitehouse.
https://ow.ly/qo1c50Xc4kO

#Shutdown
STATEMENT | Federal Court Ruling Halting Illegal Firings of Federal Workers - PEER.org
Today’s court ruling is a victory for federal employees, for the rule of law, and for the principle that public servants cannot be used as political pawns.
ow.ly
October 15, 2025 at 8:24 PM