EPA Delays Plans to Close, Consolidate Labs Following GAO Audit of USDA Relocations
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced last week a closure delay of its Region 6 Laboratory in Houston, Texas, which services environmental samples in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
In the initial consolidation phase, the agency planned to relocate the lab's 30 personnel and 11 contractors by the end of 2023. By the end of 2027, the agency plans to consolidate the Houston Laboratory with a facility in Ada, Oklahoma.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) attributed the delay to adjustments in the timeline and the cost of modifying the Oklahoma lab to accommodate additional personnel. AFGE has called on the Biden Administration to withdraw the closure plans for the Houston lab.
The initial decision to close Region 6 stems from an executive order (E.O. 13589) issued by former President Obama, which directed agencies to reduce leased office space throughout the federal government to reduce costs.
A recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) cited several flaws in the process used by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) when it relocated most employees of two agencies from Washington, D.C. to the Kansas City area in 2019. USDA stated the move would save taxpayers more than $300 million over a period of 15 years. However, GAO noted that USDA omitted several critical costs and impacts associated with relocation from their analysis, including substantial personnel turnover.
Because the relocation had already taken place, GAO did not issue recommendations and instead cited Office of Management and Budget guidance requiring agencies to use statistical evidence to support policymaking.
In 2021, the Department of the Interior reversed a 2020 decision relocation of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from Washington, D.C. to the Western Slope in Colorado.
Advocates of the move argued that the agency would be more effective if its headquarters were closer to the individuals the agency serviced. However, 87 percent of BLM personnel whose positions were transferred out West chose to retire or seek employment elsewhere rather than relocate.
“There’s no doubt that the BLM should have a leadership presence in Washington—like all the other land management agencies—to ensure that it has access to the policy, budget, and decision-making levers to best carry out its mission,” said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. “As we move forward, my priority is to revitalize and rebuild the BLM so that it can meet the pressing challenges of our time, and to look out for our employees’ well-being.”
