Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
Description
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, known as PEER, supports current and former public employees who work in environmental protection, land management, science and other civil service roles. These employees want to uphold environmental laws, ethics and scientific integrity within their agencies. It describes itself as a service organization for these professionals and works with employees at the federal, state, local and tribal levels of government in the United States. Its main office is in Silver Spring, Maryland.
PEER helps its clients by defending whistleblowers, exposing improper or illegal government actions, and pushing to improve laws and regulations. It supports other organizations working on similar issues. All services to clients are provided free of charge, and communications with PEER are described as confidential. The organization also lets public employees act as anonymous parties, so that agencies must respond to the substance of a complaint rather than to the individual raising it.
Legal assistance is offered when needed to defend and strengthen the rights of public employees who speak out on natural resource management and environmental protection. Beyond casework, PEER organizes support among employees across agencies, monitors government agencies on behalf of the public interest, and informs the administration, Congress, state officials, the media and the public about environmental, natural resource and public health issues.
Its stated areas of work include climate and energy, enforcement of environmental law, government transparency measures such as the Freedom of Information Act, protection of parks and public lands, protection of public employees, public health issues such as PFAS and chemical safety, scientific integrity, water and wetlands protection, and wildlife protection. It publishes press releases, commentary and other newsroom content on these topics and maintains a legal resource center. PEER is organized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Latest news
EPA Retracts Central Claim of PFAS Progress
Agency Makes Grudging Admission That PFAS Are Still Being Manufactured and Imported
24 Sep 2026
FSEEE and PEER Oppose USDA Plan to Weaken National Forest Protections and Expand Motorized Use
Rollback Would Strip Wildlife and Watershed Safeguards from 193 Million Acres of Public Land as the Forest Service Faces an $11.44 Billion Maintenance Backlog and Plans to Cut Two-Thirds of Its Permanent Workforce
23 Sep 2026
Our National Forests Are Under Attack — How We Fight Back
Our national forests and the wildlife and ecosystems they sustain are under direct attack. Here’s how PEER is fighting back.
23 Sep 2026
Former DOJ Tax Trial Attorney Isabelle Dietz Joins PEER as Staff Counsel
Isabelle Brings Litigation Experience and A Demonstrated Commitment to Public Service
21 Sep 2026
What Is EPA Hiding About Its AI Use?
Artificial Intelligence is everywhere in the news. When we heard that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was starting to use AI to help assess the safety of chemicals, we wanted to learn more. In March, we filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking EPA’s impact assessments, which...
17 Sep 2026
The EPA may soon deploy AI to regulate toxic chemicals. It’s not telling the public.
The lack of transparency is likely unlawful, environmental advocates and legal experts tell the Monitor. They say it leaves the public in the dark about how decisions are being made about the use of potentially dangerous chemicals. “The taxpayers have a right to know,” says Tim Whitehouse...
15 Sep 2026
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