Press Releases
Dingell Continues to Press EPA on Mistake of Closing Grosse Ile Station
Dearborn, MI,
August 21, 2019
DEARBORN, MI – Today, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) continued to express concerns about the closing of the Grosse Ile EPA station. Dingell continued to press the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with concerns about the closure of the station on Grosse Ile and the critical work being done by EPA employees at the site. She also asked EPA to provide an update to Grosse Ile employees being transferred on air quality reports of their new workplace in Ann Arbor.
Dingell led legislation to prevent the closure of any US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regional or program office, including the EPA’s Large Lakes Research Station office on Grosse Ile. The Recognizing the Environmental Gains in Overcoming Negligence (REGION) Act comes as this administration continues to propose cutting EPA’s budget and weakening environmental protection laws.
In June, the House accepted measures by Dingell to the Interior Appropriations package that would prevent the EPA from closing the Large Lakes Research Station on Grosse Ile. Dingell’s measure prevents the EPA from closing or relocating any office or facility that houses either emergency responders or a criminal investigation unit responsible for carrying out the agency’s mission, such as the station on Grosse Ile.
A copy of Dingell’s letter can be found here or below:
Dear Administrator Wheeler,
This letter is in regard to the closure of the Large Lakes Research Station on Grosse Ile, Michigan. Today, August 21, marks the final day employees will be working from the station on Grosse Ile before being consolidated with the Ann Arbor office.
There continues to be serious concerns about the potential impact on the Great Lakes and the surrounding environment of this decision. This is the station that has led the cleanup of hazardous waste sites and after major environmental events, for example the Flint drinking water crisis. The work there has also included Criminal Investigation Division investigations of such crimes as illegal storage and disposal of hazardous waste, the improper removal of asbestos, the illegal export of electronic waste, and public corruption.
The kind of work that has been done at Grosse Ile requires rapid response to emergency situations. The more distant relocation of this office could impose longer drive times to emergencies. I will continue to push for efforts that places EPA employees in strategic locations critical to the Great Lakes and rivers in Southeast Michigan.
Further, the consolidation of Grosse Ile and Ann Arbor stations has also raised concerns about employee workplace safety and security. Current plans would have Grosse Ile employees work in prefabricated workstations placed in a warehouse. Employees have raised questions about adequate ventilation and air quality standards in the workspaces. As Administrator of the EPA, you of all people must know that everyone deserves to work in a space that meets minimum air quality standards, and this is even more important for the employees tasked with ensuring our communities air and water quality standards.
It is also disturbing that an imposed contract with AFGE employees has placed restrictions on their use of official time and prevented union representatives from asking management critical questions about the quality of air and the standards in their new workspace.
It is imperative that you and the EPA allow AFGE representatives to review the results of air quality testing being done in the Ann Arbor space to ensure a safe workplace and allow AFGE representatives to ask these questions when they can reasonably get the answers during the work day. It is not acceptable that EPA employees, whose job it is to protect our environment are being kept in the dark on the safety of their own work space.
Sincerely,
Debbie Dingell Member of Congress
CC: Cathy Stepp, Regional Administrator for EPA Region 5
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