THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 25, 1997 TAG: 9701250297
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LAURA LAFAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: 62 lines
Fairfax Democratic Del. Kenneth Plum on Friday called on Gov. George F. Allen to decide ``which heads should roll'' after new information showed that higher-ups in the Department of Environmental Quality had seen a memo that outlined a strategy to discredit a report critical of the agency.
According to a letter sent Friday from DEQ Director L. Thomas Hopkins to Plum, who heads the House subcommittee on natural resources, the memo was distributed and discussed at a high-level meeting that included state Secretary of Natural Resources Becky Norton Dunlop; her deputy, Brian Mannix; Hopkins; and others.
The letter contradicts testimony Hopkins and his aides gave Tuesday before Plum's subcommittee. At that meeting, Hopkins gave two versions of when he saw the memo, and made no mention of discussing it during a meeting with Dunlop.
``This is the governor's problem, and it's a significant one,'' Plum said.
``There was a limited amount of credibility between this administration and the legislature on the issue of the environment, and now I would say there is no credibility. I'm certain that the governor, with his new-found interest in environmental issues, will want to get to the bottom of this,'' Plum said.
But Allen's press secretary, Ken Stroupe, characterized such sentiments as Democratic bluster, calculated to distract from ``the real issues.''
``I know this is great fun for the Democrats,'' said Stroupe. ``But . . . regardless of when anyone first read a memo, regardless of who saw it or when they saw it, these managers . . . made the decision not to move forward with any of the memo's recommendations. So case closed. I don't see the point of dwelling on it.''
Michael McKenna, DEQ director of external affairs, last month wrote the memo, which outlined a strategy to discredit a state report critical of the agency.
The memo caused a political uproar when it was leaked to the General Assembly Jan. 9. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers took to the floors of their houses to denounce its prescribed strategy of press leaks, distortions and threats to counteract criticism contained in the report by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC).
That report, issued earlier in December, alleged lax state enforcement of environmental laws and scant prosecution of polluters. It was based on two years of studying DEQ's performance.
McKenna resigned after the memo was made public, and top DEQ officials hastened to distance themselves from the offending document.
Hopkins, who was appointed by Allen in May, is up for confirmation by the General Assembly next week.
On Tuesday he appeared before a natural resources subcommittee to respond to JLARC's findings. His performance has left some subcommittee members with misgivings.
The letter Friday contributed to their doubts.
``That memo talked about misrepresenting facts and distorting the truth to discredit an investigative agency and yet there's no mention (in Hopkins' letter) here that Ms. Dunlop or anyone else at the described meeting had a problem with that,'' said Norfolk Democratic Del. William P. Robinson Jr.
``We should feel obligated to pursue this matter. We have an agency that is not doing its job, and this appears to be part and parcel of that problem.''
Dunlop dismissed such concerns.
McKenna resigned after his memo was made public, she noted in an interview with The Associated Press, and no further personnel action is necessary.