THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 3, 1996 TAG: 9610030391
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAVID M. POOLE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: 32 lines
Gov. George F. Allen, fresh from a trade mission to Eastern Europe, said recent criticism of his administration's environmental record by a top Environmental Protection Agency official was nothing more than election-year rhetoric.
``I think this gentleman is just having a little `hissy-fit' over something,'' Allen said at an airport press conference.
The Republican governor responded to questions about a recent letter in which EPA regional director W. Michael McCabe accused the Allen administration of shielding polluters from tough federal enforcement.
In particular, McCabe said that Attorney General James Gilmore III hastily sued Smithfield Foods in August, days after learning the U.S. Justice Department was preparing a lawsuit against the giant meatpacker over pollution in the Pagan River. The move blocked federal action.
The McCabe letter also noted that Virginia collected $26,500 in environmental fines last year, down from $318,802 in 1993, the year before Allen took office.
Allen administration officials contend the letter was politically motivated and that President Clinton was seeking to sue Smithfield as an election-year stunt.
Allen said he put no credence in McCabe's criticism of his administration's business-first approach to the environment.
``Since we are . . . creating jobs for Virginians, I guess that upsets him as well.'' by CNB