Thanks, Laura--here are three more articles on resignations at EPA
Enforcement Office...
Jane Clark
January 6, 2004
3 Top Enforcement Officials Say They Will Leave E.P.A.
By JENNIFER 8. LEE , New York Times
ASHINGTON, Jan. 5 - Three top enforcement officials at the Environmental
Protection Agency have resigned or retired in the last two weeks, including
two lawyers who were architects of the agency's litigation strategy against
coal-burning power plants.
The timing of the departures and comments by at least one of the officials
who is leaving suggest that some have left out of frustration with the Bush
administration's policy toward enforcement of the Clean Air Act.
"The rug was pulled out from under us," said Rich Biondi, who is retiring as
associate director of the air enforcement division of the agency. "You look
around and say, `What contribution can I continue to make here?' and it was
limited."
Cynthia Bergman, a spokeswoman for the agency, said of the departures, "This
is an office of several hundred employees - and to have one political
appointee and two career employees leave is not indicative of unrest or
departmentwide frustration."
In August, the administration changed air pollution rules to give utility
companies more leeway to modernize their power plants without having to
upgrade their pollution control equipment. That change prompted the agency's
enforcement division to drop investigations into about 50 power plants for
suspected violations of the Clean Air Act. Last month, however, a federal
appeals court temporarily blocked the administration from enforcing the new
air pollution rules.
The head of the agency's enforcement division, J. P. Suarez, announced his
resignation on Monday to take a job as general counsel at a division of
Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, in Arkansas. Mr. Suarez has been at the agency for 18
months. The E.P.A. announced in November that it was going to suspend
investigations into utilities after the administration loosened the sections
of the Clean Air Act that govern aging coal-burning power plants.
In the last two weeks, Bruce Buckheit, the head of air enforcement division,
and Mr. Biondi, his deputy, who had worked at the agency since 1971,
retired.
The two, who took a buyout offered to senior agency employees, join other
top enforcement lawyers who have resigned or retired. Eric Schaeffer, the
former head of civil enforcement, resigned in spring 2002 with a scathing
letter criticizing the administration's enforcement of the Clean Air Act.
Sylvia K. Lowrance, the acting assistant administrator for enforcement and a
career enforcement official, retired in August 2002.
"We will see more resignations in the future as the administration fails to
enforce environmental laws," Ms. Lowrance said.
Mr. Suarez said on Monday in an interview, "While Bruce and Rich bring
tremendous experience to their job, we are blessed with talent that will
pick up where they left off."
Mr. Buckheit is considered a driving force behind the agency's pursuit of
utilities that started in the Clinton administration.
"It is a huge loss for clean air enforcement as Bruce was one of the most
energetic and passionate Clean Air lawyers in the country," said Peter
Lehner, the head of environmental litigation for the New York attorney
general's office, which has joined in several of the lawsuits against power
plants.
The suits used a once-obscure provision of the Clean Air Act, known as new
source review, which says that power plants, refineries and other industrial
boilers had to install pollution controls if they modernized in ways that
increased emissions generally. But "routine maintenance was exempt." The
power companies protested the suits, saying the Clinton administration was
misinterpreting the law.
Nonetheless, Mr. Buckheit had reached agreements with some electric
companies, including Virginia Electric Power and Cinergy, by 2000. Many
other negotiations stalled, however, after the Bush administration came into
office.
Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force urged the administration to
study industry complaints about federal enforcement actions. Last summer,
Virginia Electric Power, now known as Dominion Power, completed an agreement
to install $1.2 billion in pollution controls.
Mr. Suarez joined the E.P.A. in 2002. Before, he had been director of the
New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
Key EPA Official Resigns
By Eric Pianin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 6, 2004; Page A15
The Environmental Protection Agency's chief enforcement officer announced
yesterday that he will leave office later this month, marking the latest in
a series of departures by senior regulatory enforcement officials from the
agency.
John Peter Suarez, the EPA's assistant administrator for enforcement and
compliance assurance, said he is resigning to take a job as general counsel
to a division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. His departure comes at time of
uncertainty and turmoil in the agency's enforcement division.
In November, the Bush administration said it would close pending
investigations of 70 power plants suspected of violating the Clean Air Act,
following the EPA's August decision to ease enforcement rules. Then, late
last month, a federal appeals court blocked the administration from
implementing the new rules, which would allow aging coal-fired power plants
to upgrade their facilities without installing costly anti-pollution
equipment.
The effort to soften enforcement rules has been controversial within the EPA
and was a factor in the resignations of several career senior enforcement
officials, including Eric Schaeffer and Sylvia Lowrance. Just last month,
Bruce Buckheit and Rich Biondi of the air enforcement division retired from
their posts.
Suarez, 39, a former New Jersey gaming enforcement official and prosecutor
who came in with former EPA administrator Christine Todd Whitman, said his
resignation was prompted by "a great job opportunity" and had nothing to do
with dissatisfaction with administration policies. He said Mike Leavitt, the
new EPA administrator, had encouraged him to stay.
Suarez also said the agency last year achieved "dramatic increases in
environmental and public health benefits" through enforcement efforts.
© 2004 The Washington Post Company
Reuters
By Chris Baltimore
WASHINGTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - The Environmental Protection Agency's top
enforcement official on Monday said he will leave his post later this month
to become head counsel for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. <WMT.N>, the world's largest
company.
In a resignation letter to U.S. President George W. Bush, John Suarez said
he will leave the EPA effective January 30. He gave no reason for his
action, which came after his involvement in some controversial decisions
giving coal-burning power plants more leeway to meet clean air regulations.
Suarez was appointed by former EPA Administrator Christine Whitman, who
resigned in May after finding herself at odds with some Bush administration
officials.
EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt, who was confirmed by the Senate in October,
has not named Suarez's replacement, the EPA said.
"I am extremely proud of the work that we do here in EPA enforcing our
nation's laws," Suarez said in a letter to colleagues. The EPA has "been
able to provide more compliance assistance to industry than ever before," he
added in a letter circulated by the agency.
In November, Suarez was involved in an initial decision by the Bush
administration not to sue dozens of coal-burning utilities and other
industries for past dirty air violations after easing pollution rules,
according to EPA sources familiar with the situation. After environmental
groups and Democrats criticized the plan, the EPA said it would pursue the
cases.
A federal court last month halted the administration's plan to allow U.S.
utilities and refiners to upgrade aging power plants without installing
costly pollution-control devices.
Environmentalists said Suarez was carrying out the pro-industry view of the
White House.
"Suarez was unfortunately the messenger" for the Bush administration, said
John Walke, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, an
environmental group. "I don't believe he was the culprit."
Environmentalists pointed out that Suarez's resignation was the third
departure of a high-level air enforcement official in 30 days. Bruce
Buckheit, who oversaw EPA's enforcement campaign for power plants, and his
deputy, Rich Biondi, recently resigned.
"My sense is this is principled officials resigning in disgust, albeit
quietly," Walke said.
Utility lobbyists cautioned against making any link between Suarez's
departure and the agency's recent clean air decisions.
"There is no relation between his resignation and recent events dealing
with" clean air rules, said Scott Segal, a spokesman for the Electric
Reliability Coordinating Council, a utility lobbying group.
Emissions from coal-fired power plants and refineries can aggravate asthma,
chronic bronchitis and pneumonia.
((Reporting by Chris Baltimore, editing by Richard Chang; Reuters messaging:
[log in to unmask]; 202 898 8316))
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