Western EPA managers report increased political pressure

More than 80 percent of managers at an Environmental Protection Agency regional offices believe they are under increased pressure to base decisions on politics, rather than science, according to a recent survey by an environmental advocacy group.

Roughly 83 percent of managers responding to the questionnaire, distributed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), a nonprofit organization based in Washington, to employees at the EPA's Region 8 office, agreed that "political interests affect key decisions made by the EPA more than they did five years ago." About three-quarters of managers said they think the EPA regional office is a weaker "environmental protection organization" than five years ago.

Non-management employees at the regional office were not quite as critical. About 80 percent of non-managers responding to the questionnaire said politics are more influential than five years ago, and roughly 60 percent felt the office is weaker now than in 1998.

"I am always interested in what employees are thinking," said Robert Roberts, the administrator of Region 8, which covers six states in the Rocky Mountain area.

But Roberts said the survey was "conducted by an organization whose function is to find unhappiness on the part of federal employees." He noted that only about a quarter of Region 8 employees responded to the poll. PEER mailed the survey to all 675 staff members and managers at the regional office and received 154 replies.

Chandra Rosenthal, director of the environmental group's Rocky Mountain chapter, argued that "these surveys are a way for employees to directly yet safely communicate with their real employer-the American public."

The poll also revealed that Region 8 EPA employees are afraid the agency will retaliate against them if they expose fraud or wrongdoing. Nearly a third of respondents said they were "hesitant to perform controversial aspects of [their] jobs for fear of retaliation."

In a Dec. 11 letter to EPA Administrator Michael Leavitt, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said he was troubled by the survey results. "EPA's credibility rests on its scientific integrity," he said. "If political agendas are allowed to overrule science, our environment and public health will suffer."

Waxman, ranking member of the House Government Reform Committee, asked the EPA to report back on steps taken to assess the influence of politics on policy decisions. He also asked for a description of any efforts to assure EPA scientists that their work is insulated from politics.

But despite concerns about heavy-handed politics and possible whistleblower retaliation, two-thirds of poll respondents indicated that they believe their office "is an effective organization for protecting the environment."

"That, at the end of the day, is our reason for being," Roberts said. "We are getting the job done, and most of our people are pleased to be working here."

Advocacy groups frequently accuse the Bush administration of injecting bias into scientific work. For example, an environmental nonprofit group in Eugene, Ore., sued the Forest Service in early December for attempting to outsource work performed by analysts. The group claimed Forest Service officials planned to award the work to contract employees more sympathetic to Bush's political views. But an agency official said the decision was simply intended to promote efficiency.