ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 13, 1995 TAG: 9512130013
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
MEMO: NOTE: Shorter version ran in Metro edition.
The Allen administration's environmental policies came under renewed scrutiny Monday when a watchdog agency released a report detailing low morale and political interference within the Department of Environmental Quality.
The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission survey found that 89 percent of DEQ employees disagree that "morale is good" and that 57 percent are concerned about possible retaliation if they upset a polluter.
Half of the 127 survey respondents said the DEQ was not maintaining environmental quality, while only 33 percent said it was, and the rest had no opinion.
The JLARC study also found that some job applicants were asked if they could recite the guiding principles of Republican Gov. George Allen and his Natural Resources secretary, Becky Norton Dunlop.
DEQ Director Peter Schmidt took a grilling from senior lawmakers on the JLARC staff but never wavered from his belief that the study was slanted to present the Allen administration in a poor light.
In turn, Democratic lawmakers took offense that anyone would question the objectivity of JLARC, a bipartisan group of state senators and delegates founded 20 years ago to provide the General Assembly with independent studies on the efficiency and effectiveness of state programs.
"This has never been done," said state Sen. Stanley Walker, D-Norfolk, the JLARC chairman. "It smells of politics in the worst form."
At issue is the Allen administration's efforts to downsize the DEQ and reshape it into an agency that emphasizes "customer service" for regulated companies.
The JLARC survey found this pro-business approach has many DEQ workers concerned that they may face reprisals for decisions that are consistent with environmental laws, but that upset polluting companies.
JLARC staff confidentially surveyed employees who were randomly selected from DEQ headquarters and six regional offices.
LENGTH: Short : 44 linesby CNB