The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) announced plans on July 18, 2025, to eliminate the Office of Research and Development (ORD) as part of the agency’s broader restructuring effort. The ORD is the scientific research arm of USEPA responsible for establishing regulatory guidelines to measure pollutant levels and conducting critical research to guide decisions to protect human health and the environment.
This organizational change does not mean the end of scientific research at USEPA. A newly formed Applied Science and Environmental Solutions Office (ASESO) will allow USEPA to prioritize research and science while putting it “at the forefront of rulemakings and technical assistance to states.” ¹ ASESO will be housed in the same office as the USEPA Administrator.
It’s unclear how many staff will be affected by the July 18 announcement. There has been mention of potential buyout options or reassignmen¹ts within the agency. This latest news was released one day after USEPA announced another round of buyouts would be available to employees at various offices, including ORD. ²
How does this affect you?
ORD’s research supports six national research programs addressing critical environmental research needs identified through collaboration with USEPA partners.³ These programs include:
- Air, Climate, and Energy
- Chemical Safety for Sustainability
- Health and Environmental Risk Assessment
- Homeland Security
- Safe and Sustainable Water Resources
- Sustainable and Healthy Communities
We are closely monitoring several areas for potential changes that could affect your business operations, regulatory process, and environmental liability management, including:
- Facility Compliance and Community Engagement: Ensuring that businesses meet environmental regulations while fostering positive relationships with local communities.
- New Product Testing and Development: Streamlining the development and testing of products with environmental considerations.
- Sustainable Chemical Practices: Promoting responsible production, usage, and disposal of chemicals.
- Cleanup Program and Environmental Liabilities: Direct and indirect support for Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) corrective actions, including technical reviews of cleanup plans, the development of technical guidance for the collection, analysis, and quality control of environmental data, and the development of knowledgebases to support risk assessments and risk-based decision-making.
Additionally, USEPA tools like the Chemical and Products Database (CPDat), EcoBox, Health and Environmental Research Online (HERO), Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), Science Models and Research Tools (SMaRT) Search, and Science Inventory continue to be accessible online to assist organizations in their environmental management efforts.
Our team will continue to monitor these ongoing changes and will provide relevant updates as they are available.
Questions? Please reach out to Greg White.
Sources:
¹USEPA Press Office. (2025, July 18). USEPA announces reduction in force, reorganization efforts to save taxpayers nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars [News release]. https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-reduction-force-reorganization-efforts-save-taxpayers-nearly-three
²Frazin, Rachel. (2025, July 18). USEPA to nix office of research and development, firing some staffers. The Hill.https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5409117-epa-science-office-rif-trump-cuts-zeldin/
³United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2025, July 25). Strategic Research Planning. https://www.epa.gov/research/strategic-research-planning
