PEER Opens Investigation into EPA’s Use of Artificial Intelligence

Source Domain: peer.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, March 5, 2026
Contact:
Tim Whitehouse, (240) 247-0299, [email protected]
Kevin Bell, (202) 946-3642

Workforce Monitoring and Chemical Safety Decisions Under Scrutiny

Washington, DC — Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), through counsel at the Free Information Group (FIG), today filed a series of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeking records related to how the agency is deploying artificial intelligence tools within its workforce and regulatory programs.

The demand for documents seeks clarity on whether and how AI systems are being used to analyze employee communications, report on anti-Trump sentiment, and assist in evaluating chemical safety and other regulatory determinations.

The filing follows public reporting that EPA may be using AI tools to surveil employees and automate administrative expertise, as well as statements from Administrator Lee Zeldin promoting AI deployment across the agency and to expedite chemical reviews.

Specifically, PEER’s FOIA requests seek:

Records related to any integration of external AI tools, including Grok or xAI, into EPA’s Microsoft 365 or Teams systems;
Any keyword alert lists, sentiment markers, configuration files, or compliance dashboards used to analyze employee communications;
AI-generated reports or dashboards categorizing or scoring employees based on “ideological neutrality,” “agency alignment,” or similar metrics;
A suite of records relating to EPA chemical assessments and the use of AI, including AI screening tools on 7 chemicals; and
Correspondence involving senior EPA leadership and the Chief AI Officer concerning AI deployment in workforce monitoring or regulatory contexts.

“AI is being introduced quickly into some of the most consequential decision-making spaces in government — faster than the oversight systems meant to govern it,” said Tim Whitehouse, PEER…

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