EPA student researchers were told to wrap up their work by Wednesday, when their contract ends, while a request for extension waits in limbo.
“They haven’t approved or disapproved. To the best of my knowledge, it’s just sitting there with no decision one way or the other,” Shaun House, an Office of Research and Development acquisition specialist, wrote in an email to staff obtained by POLITICO’s E&E News.
According to two employees granted anonymity to speak freely, ORD staff months ago submitted a request to extend the decades-long partnership between the agency and Oak Ridge Associated Universities, the organization that oversees the contractors.
EPA’s research office funds more than 400 ORAU contracts each year under two programs: the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and the National Student Services Contractors (NSSC) program, according to Chris Frey, who formerly led ORD.
