Message to EPA Employees: Our Commitment to Ethics (June 1, 2023)

Dear Colleagues,

With unprecedented resources from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, EPA has new legislative authority to carry out our agency’s mission of protecting public health and the environment.  As we carry out our new and continuing environmental obligations, we must remember to perform all of our duties with the utmost integrity. 

The public entrusts us to implement all our programs in a fair and impartial manner, and each of us is responsible for performing our duties in accordance with federal ethical requirements. 

To help ensure that we meet and exceed federal ethical requirements, it is important that we regularly review our financial interests (including for spouses and minor children) and outside activities and affiliations. 

Please be sure to adhere to any recusal requirements and do not participate in agency matters that create an actual or perceived conflict of interest or a loss of impartiality.  Timely filing your financial disclosure report and taking required ethics training will help you meet your obligations. The Ethics Office (ethics@epa.gov) and your own deputy ethics officials are valuable resources to provide you with guidance to properly navigate your requirements.  Contact them early and often if you have questions.

I look forward to working with you to exceed these obligations and maintain a culture of the highest ethical conduct.  Thank you for your unwavering commitment to protecting public health and the environment, while upholding the agency’s high ethical standards. 

Sincerely,

Michael S. Regan
Administrator