Agency proposes third deferred departure option to certain staff members (EPA employees)
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Offers Third Round of Voluntary Separation Incentives
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a third round of voluntary separation incentives, known as DRP 3.0, aimed at adjusting the workforce size and composition. This initiative is part of ongoing plans to reduce staffing at the EPA, with the purpose of reducing personnel costs and restructuring needs without involuntary layoffs.
Eligibility Criteria and Excluded Positions
While the exact eligibility criteria and excluded positions for DRP 3.0 are not fully available, it appears that the program targets a subset of EPA employees. Typically, eligibility is limited to certain portions of the workforce, often excluding critical roles or positions essential to ongoing EPA missions.
Positions tied to ongoing environmental justice work or other key priorities might also be exempt. However, the specific list or official documents detailing DRP 3.0 eligibility and exclusions precisely were not found in the available results. To obtain more precise information, consulting the EPA’s official HR communications or federal register notices on DRP 3.0 would be required.
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for the voluntary early retirement authority (VERA), employees must be at least 50 years old with at least 20 years of service or have at least 25 years of federal experience at any age.
Excluded Positions
Positions related to law enforcement, national security, and public safety may not be allowed to take DRP 3.0 if senior leadership determines their position is critical. Additionally, credentialed inspectors, Criminal Investigation Division agents, and criminal enforcement counselors are not eligible for DRP 3.0. Public Health Service officers, consultants, and special government employees are also excluded.
Timeline
Eligible EPA employees can apply for DRP 3.0 starting this Friday and must submit their applications by July 25. Employees who accept the DRP offer will be separated from the EPA no later than Nov. 30.
Budget Cuts and Office Space Reduction
The EPA's fiscal 2026 budget proposal calls for a 54% cut to current spending levels, cutting nearly 1,300 positions from its workforce. The EPA is also downsizing its office space in the national capital region, moving personnel out of the Ronald Reagan Building and relocating them to other nearby office buildings.
In addition, the House Appropriations Committee is moving ahead with a spending bill that would cut the EPA's current $9.13 billion by 23% next year.
Environmental Justice and Museum Closure
Employees in environmental justice positions received reduction-in-force notices and will be officially separated from the EPA on July 31. Meanwhile, the EPA is shutting down the National Environmental Museum. Zeldin, the EPA Administrator, has defended the cancellation of environmental justice grants and called the National Environmental Museum a "shrine to environmental justice and climate change" that tells an "ideologically slanted, partial story of the EPA."
Focus on Direct Environmental Remediation
Zeldin's statements indicate a focus on reallocating environmental justice funding away from advocacy groups and towards direct environmental remediation. This shift in focus could have significant implications for the EPA's work and priorities moving forward.
[1] Source: EPA's third round of voluntary separation incentives [4] Source: EPA's layoff plans addressing environmental justice staffers
- Amid the third round of voluntary separation incentives by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Federal workforce is being reimagined to adjust the size and composition of the EPA, aiming to reduce personnel costs and restructuring needs.
- With the onset of environmental-science-related positions being subjected to budget cuts, there is a growing focus on direct environmental remediation, signifying a shift away from funds allocated to advocacy groups.
- Personal-finance considerations are essential for EPA employees as they contemplate the voluntary early retirement authority (VERA) eligibility, requiring employees to be at least 50 years old with at least 20 years of EPA service or have at least 25 years of federal experience at any age.
- The EPA's budget proposal for fiscal 2026 anticipates a 54% cut to the current spending levels, resulting in the elimination of nearly 1,300 positions, and the organization is downsizing its office space in the national capital region, including moving personnel out of the Ronald Reagan Building and into various nearby office buildings.
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