Former Duluth EPA biologists sue over alleged retaliatory firings

Seven former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency civil servants filed parallel federal lawsuits Tuesday, saying the agency illegally fired them after they signed a June 2025 letter criticizing the Trump administration. Two of the plaintiffs worked at the Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division Laboratory in Duluth.

The plaintiffs say they signed the letter on their own time and in their personal capacities, and that EPA’s Ethics Office found “no ethics concern” with employees expressing their opinions. The lawsuits, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, allege the agency suspended and then fired the workers in retaliation for protected speech.

The Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division studies how chemicals affect freshwater ecosystems, including ecological risk assessment and watershed resilience, and uses Lake Superior water in its research.

Last summer, up to six lab employees were placed on administrative leave after signing the dissent letter, among 139 EPA employees nationwide who were sidelined. By Sept. 3, 2025, two Duluth employees had been fired. One was Alexander Cole, 29, of Superior, Wisconsin, who had worked at the lab for just over a year and on the EPA’s Ecotoxicology Knowledgebase Resource Hub before being fired by email effective at 5 p.m. on Aug. 29, 2025.

The dissent letter, coordinated by Stand Up for Science, said EPA policies undermined the agency’s mission, public trust and scientific consensus. It drew about 160 public EPA signatories, broader support from outside scientists and academics, and more than 300 current and former EPA employees on another version of the letter. The letter also landed as the Trump administration moved to roll back at least 31 EPA regulations, including limits affecting power plants, tailpipes and mercury.

Union and Senate reaction has been sharply critical. Nicole Cantello, president of AFGE Local 704, called the leave orders “blatant retaliation” and said the move was unprecedented at EPA. Sen. Tina Smith said the firings created “totally unnecessary chaos” for the office that is supposed to protect Lake Superior.