Ossoff urges Trump administration to reinstate EPA staff dismissed from Southeast offices

Caption

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency monitors air quality continues following the 2024 fire at the BioLab plant in Conyers, Ga.

Credit: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is calling on the Trump administration to reinstate Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) employees recently dismissed from Region 4 — headquartered in Atlanta and responsible for environmental oversight in eight Southeastern states.

In a letter sent to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Ossoff and more than a dozen members of Congress expressed “deep concern” over the reported firings of probationary staff, warning the cuts could weaken the agency’s ability to monitor air and water quality, manage hazardous waste, and respond to environmental disasters.

“We are deeply concerned about the negative impacts such terminations — done across the board without consideration for positional need or programmatic impact — would have on the agency’s ability to protect public health and the environment in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee and across the nation,” Ossoff said in  a statement. 

EPA Region 4 staff played a key role in monitoring air quality after the 2024 fire at BioLab, a chemical plant that produces cleaning products for pools and spas in Conyers, Georgia. That fire forced nearly 90,000 residents to shelter in place and led to multiple lawsuits. In January, members of Georgia’s congressional delegation, including Ossoff, pressed BioLab’s parent company, KIK Consumer Products, for updates on the ongoing investigation into the incident.

Ossoff’s office says the senator continues to oppose sweeping staffing and funding cuts at federal agencies, including the EPA, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.