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Saturday, March 05, 2005

Environment - Several national stories today

A lengthy front-page story in the NY Times today is headlined "Efforts to Hide Sensitive Data Pit 9/11 Concerns Against Safety." Some quotes:

They are just pieces of cardboard, and they cover less than a square foot on the side of railroad tank car. But behind them lies a post-9/11 competition between public safety and national security.

For decades, emergency-response teams approaching train wrecks have peered at the signs through binoculars to see what dangerous chemicals might be leaking. But federal officials will soon decide on a proposal to remove the placards from all tank cars. Their fear is that terrorists could use them to lock in on targets for highly toxic attacks.

The idea has sparked an outcry from firefighters and rail workers, who say removing the signs could endanger their lives. They say federal officials seem more focused on guarding against a terrorist attack than on the daily threat of accidents. * * *

The dispute illustrates a growing push to mask sensitive data about the nation's industrial base from the prying eyes of potential terrorists. In the tug of war over tank cars and other industrial information, critics question whether the move toward secrecy is overwhelming safety concerns and even chilling debates over how to eliminate the vulnerabilities.

People who live near chemical and nuclear plants, dams and oil and gas pipelines complain that it has become harder to find out about disaster plans and environmental hazards, and some have sued for more information. Engineering reports have been stripped from government Web sites, and several agencies are creating new controls on sensitive information that go far beyond the wide-ranging classification system built in the cold war.

A number of stories today report on President Bush's nomination of Stephen L. Johnson as EPA administrator. The Times story includes these quotes:

It is rare for an agency official to rise to the top, and Mr. Johnson was praised by an array of industry representatives, state officials and environmentalists as someone who was open to argument and who understood the scientific basis for decisions.

Mr. Johnson is expected to be easily confirmed by the Senate. But even supporters who had worked with him at the agency questioned how much influence or independence he would have in a job that proved difficult even for a high-profile former Republican governor, Christie Whitman, Mr. Bush's first appointee to head the agency. In a recent book, Mrs. Whitman made it clear that she was under constant pressure from the White House on issues like pollution controls on utilities.

"It would be hard to imagine a better choice coming from this administration," said Bradley Campbell, the commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and a former colleague of Mr. Johnson at the environmental agency during the Clinton administration.

"But," Mr. Campbell added, "I expect that he'll be on a very short leash, with the real decisions being made at the Office of Management and Budget and the White House."

Mr. Johnson, a biologist and pathologist versed in both science and in the culture of the 35-year-old agency, was selected over better-known but more ideological candidates like James L. Connaughton, the chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Mr. Johnson takes command of the agency at a ticklish moment for several of the administration's environmental initiatives.

The Washington Post writes:
Johnson's agency is facing tough budget challenges and sustained accusations that its scientific mission has been undercut by political pressures. Former EPA administrator Christine Todd Whitman cited such interference in her decision to quit, and a recent inspector general's report suggested that political operatives stampeded agency scientists into a plan for regulating mercury pollution that is biased toward industry interests. * * *

In a break from Washington's usual climate of hostility over environmental issues, Johnson's appointment drew praise from groups as diverse as CropLife America, which represents the pesticide industry; the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council, which represents utilities; and environmental advocacy groups such as the National Environmental Trust and the League of Conservation Voters.

Sen. James M. Jeffords (I-Vt.) said he hopes the appointment "will help repair and restore the credibility of the Bush administration's environmental record with the American public, Congress and the world." Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate committee debating Clear Skies, who has clashed with Jeffords, also welcomed the appointment and said he looks forward to working with Johnson. Both senators, along with Sen. Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.), have been in tough negotiations over the Bush proposal.

Johnson is likely to find himself in this crossfire immediately. Carper said he congratulated Johnson on his nomination yesterday -- and demanded to know why the EPA had been slow to provide data that would allow comparisons between the Bush plan and alternatives. Carper said he does not think agreement on the initiative will be possible by Wednesday, when the committee, after numerous postponements, hopes to take action on the bill. * * *

Many Washington insiders had expected James L. Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, to take the job, and Johnson's appointment came as a surprise. But Frank O'Donnell, president of the environmental group Clean Air Watch, predicted that Connaughton might still decide policy.

"The real story is that on major issues, the decisions are going to be made directly by the White House," O'Donnell said. Johnson's appointment "is another sign that the EPA is, in effect, being downgraded to put a career guy there instead of a former governor," he said.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 5, 2005 07:33 PM
Posted to Environment