Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility

To: EPA I am writing to urge you to set enforceable federal standards for PFAS in sewage sludge used as fertilizer, also known as biosolids. PFAS in biosolids pose serious risks to human health and the environment. EPA’s 2025 draft risk assessment found that sludge spread on farms, gardens, and lawns with just 1 part per billion of two types of PFAS — PFOA or PFOS  — posed health risks above the agency’s own threshold.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, August 28, 2026 CONTACT Richard Steiner | (907) 360-4503 | 30-Year Right-of-Way Renewal Subject to 15-Day Public Comment Period Washington, DC — The Trump administration has just initiated an environmental review for renewing the right-of-way for the massive Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) for another 30 years, allowing public comment for only 15 days.

Gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) are experiencing a potentially catastrophic population decline, a sharp reversal from what had been considered a conservation success. In 2019, there were roughly 20,500 gray whales; by 2023, the population had declined to just 14,526 individuals, “nearly 30% of the entire population” gone in four years, according to nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

This week is National Park Week — and the next installment in our email series leading up to the midterm elections, How We Fight Back. Our first email, “A Constitutional, Legal, and Moral Crisis,” discusses seven themes driving our work in the time leading up to the midterm elections. In this email, we discuss what our work looks like as the Department of the Interior — an agency whose purpose is to manage public lands, water, and wildlife for all Americans.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, August 26, 2026 CONTACT Kyla Bennett | (508) 230-9933 | Laura Dumais | (202) 792-1277 | Sewage Sludge Guidance Will Lead to More Harm Washington, DC — Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) today filed formal comments urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw its proposed voluntary guidance on two “forever chemicals” — PFOA and PFOS — in sewage sludge used as fertilizer, also referred to as “biosolids.” Instead, PEER...

To: Chief Shultz I am writing to urge you to keep the Roadless Area Conservation Rule in place. For 25 years, the Rule has stood between 45 million acres of forest and the development that would change it forever. Rescission of the Rule would be another blow to imperiled species and ecosystems which are losing protections almost daily. National forests are critical to our nation’s ecological health, and roadless areas serve as migratory game corridors for numerous species.

PEER is calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s Inspector General to investigate billions of dollars in contracts awarded for border infrastructure projects in and around Big Bend National Park in Texas. Here’s what’s happening — this remote stretch sees among the lowest crossing numbers anywhere on the southern border. For those of you unfamiliar with Big Bend National Park, it is one of the last truly dark, wild, undeveloped corners of the country.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, August 19, 2026 CONTACT Tim Whitehouse | (240) 247-0299 | DHS Inspector General Asked to Examine Political Influence, Contractor Selection, and Lack of Oversight Washington, DC — Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) is calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to launch an investigation into billions of dollars in federal contracts for a massive border infrastructure project in the Big Bend region of Texas, contracts PEER says...

More reorganizations are in the air at the Department of the Interior under Doug Burgum’s leadership. What good will come out of this latest round of reorganizations, which are supposed to come to the fore in September? Probably not much. When historians look back at the unraveling of the Department of the Interior, they’ll probably start with the budget and staffing cuts.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, August 17, 2026 CONTACT Perry Wheeler | Chandra Rosenthal | (303) 898-0798 | Public comments urge the administration to abandon its review and preserve longstanding safeguards for America’s public lands Washington, DC — The public was forced to navigate five separate comment processes across three federal agencies as the Department of the Interior launched a sweeping review of longstanding policies protecting millions of acres of America’s wildest public lands.