The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is advancing a broad internal restructuring under Administrator Lee Zeldin, raising questions about the future direction of key environmental programs, particularly those focused on water, climate change, and chemical safety.
Unveiled on May 2, the reorganization includes new organizational charts that indicate the potential elimination or transfer of several high-profile functions. While not all details are finalized, the restructuring affects four major program offices — Air, Water, Chemicals, and the Office of the Administrator — which together account for about one-third of the EPA’s workforce. Further changes are anticipated in the coming week.
Water Office: New focus on cybersecurity, dispersal of science division
Among the most significant changes is a restructuring of the Office of Water. The reorganization introduces a new Chief of Staff division and establishes an Office of Water Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Resiliency, intended to address growing concerns about ransomware attacks on water utilities, particularly in under-resourced communities.
At the same time, the Office of Science and Technology, home to the scientists and engineers responsible for developing water quality standards and health advisories, will be dissolved, with staff redistributed across other water programs. According to the EPA, this change will “better align the development of regulations, guidance, and policy with the science that underpins it.”
While the Trump administration has proposed deep reductions to federal water infrastructure funding, EPA’s organisational charts show that core programs, including the Clean Water State Revolving Fund division, the Drinking Water Infrastructure division, and teams focused on drinking water grants, will remain intact.
In a press release, the agency described the changes as a step toward “organizational improvements to the agency to better provide clean air, water, and land for all Americans.” The restructuring follows President Trump’s Executive Order on “Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Workforce Optimization Initiative,” which aims to “commence a critical transformation of the Federal bureaucracy.”
“With these organizational improvements, we recommit to fulfilling all of our statutory obligations and exceptionally delivering on EPA’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment. This reorganization will bring much needed efficiencies to incorporate science into our rulemakings and sharply focus our work on providing the cleanest air, land, and water for our communities. It will also save at least $300 million annually for the American people,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.
In the Office of the Administrator, EPA is forming the Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions (OASES) to centralize research and elevate science in rulemaking and technical assistance.
Chemical safety and PFAS response
The Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) will be reinforced with over 130 specialists, including scientists and IT experts, to address backlogs of chemical and pesticide reviews. The office is currently reviewing over 500 new chemicals and more than 12,000 pesticide products, many of which are beyond statutory timelines.
“These organizational improvements provide better tools and capabilities to allow OCSPP to use computational and bioinformatic tools — and eventually artificial intelligence — to streamline and improve the review of chemicals and pesticides,” the agency said. The additional capacity is also intended to support the development of a PFAS testing strategy to assess the health and environmental risks posed by these persistent substances.
Earlier in the year, the EPA also announced the termination of the Environmental Justice (EJ) and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives launched under the Biden-Harris administration. That decision led to a Reduction in Force affecting approximately 280 employees, while another 175 were reassigned to roles aligned with “statutory obligations and mission essential functions.”
