On October 7th, 2022, E&E News reported that a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) lab illegally retaliated against a whistleblower scientist. The scientist, Eveline Emmenegger, worked at the Western Fisheries Research Center in Seattle where she documented and reported cases of lab failure. Notably, she reported that the lab had released pathogen-laced wastewater into the surrounding wetlands.
In January 2020, after reporting on these issues, she was notified of her proposed removal. The lab cited “performance issues,” but according to U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board Administrative Judge Franklin Kang, USGS violated the Whistleblower Protection Act in their attempted removal of Emmenegger. They “did not have strong evidence that it would have found [her] performance so deficient that it warranted removal as opposed to some other process.” Her removal was politically motivated, and according to Kang, she “proved her [claim] of whistleblower retaliation.” In April 2021, Western Fisheries Research Center rescinded her proposed removal.