Dive Brief:
- The Washington Post reports a temporary freeze on grants and contracts at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been lifted, resulting in no delays or program impacts.
- The agency has more than $6 billion in contracts covering a range of responsibilities like site cleanup and water quality monitoring. An extended freeze could also have had implications on state budgets that rely heavily on the grant program.
- Separately, the Post reports officials at EPA have assured employees that media reports of a blackout on communications with the press are "just not accurate."
Dive Insight:
The EPA's hold on its grants and contracts program was always billed as temporary, and the Trump administration kept the pause brief. According to the Post, EPA Acting Administrator Catherine McCabe emailed staff on Friday evening to inform them that the programs "are proceeding normally, and nothing has been delayed."
The agency has more than $6 billion in contracts, covering areas like deployment of portable emissions measurement systems and advanced engine development. Agency officials say the freeze was standard procedure for an incoming administration, but it drew attention in part due to the sweeping changes President Trump has vowed to institute.
His pick to head the agency, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt (R), has alarmed some environmental advocates who point to his close ties to the energy industry and more than a dozen lawsuits he filed against the agency during President Obama's terms. Trump's White House also directed federal agencies to cease finalization of new regulations until the incoming administration is fully in place.
It is not unusual for a new President to slow some actions as the incoming administration gets installed, but the EPA also came under additional scrutiny for reportedly putting in place a communications blackout that restricted staffers from issuing press releases, blog posts or using the EPA's social media accounts.
The Post reports Trump adviser to the EPA Don Benton emailed agency staff, and said reports the agency had blocked communication with the press were “just not accurate." However, Benton said he could not address the accuracy of reports the White House may cut staffing at the agency. "Changes will likely come, and when they do, we will work together to implement them," he wrote.