Michigan Groups
Blast Rumored Choice to Head Environmental Protection Agency
Appointment
of Former Michigan Governor Would Underscore "Contempt"
for Environment
|
For
Immediate Release:
May 22, 2003
|
Contacts:
Mike
Garfield, Ecology Center 734-663-2400 ext. 104
Dave Dempsey, Michigan Environmental Council, 517-487-9539
|
In
the wake of the resignation of EPA Administrator Christine
Todd Whitman, twenty seven Michigan environmental groups again
warned President George W. Bush not to appoint former Governor
John Engler as Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, saying that Engler is "unfit for duty" in
the agency.
Responding
to the renewed rumors that Engler was on a short list of candidates
for the country's top environmental post, the groups reminded
President Bush of a letter sent in December 2002, the first
time such rumors were floated, decrying Engler's record on
the environment.
The groups,
representing tens of thousands of Michiganders, told Bush
that Engler "has demonstrated a consistent contempt for
the environmental laws enacted in Michigan and the United
States since the 1960s," and pointed out that the Bush
Administration has had a difficult time establishing a credible
track record on environmental policy.
They added,
"We believe you would be better served by a candidate
with strong credentials in conservation and environmental
protection. Based on years of poor performance and a disappointing
track record, we believe that Governor Engler is unfit for
duty in the EPA and must not be considered for any position
entrusted with the protection of our nation's environment
or the health of our citizens."
In addition
to former Governor Engler's last-minute bid to raise the permissible
level of dioxin in soils by nearly ten-fold to benefit Dow
Chemical, the groups point out that Engler has previously
defied the EPA itself by refusing to warn women of child-bearing
age about the risks of PCBs in contaminated Great Lakes sportfish,
resisting federal requirements that discharges of polluted
water from animal factories be brought under enforceable environmental
permits, and by unsuccessfully suing the agency to block tougher
clean air standards.
Groups
signing the original letter include the Michigan Environmental
Council, Michigan Interfaith Coalition for Creation, American
Lung Association, Michigan Resource Stewards, Northern Michigan
Environmental Action Council, Clean Water Action, West Michigan
Environmental Action Council, Mid-Michigan Environmental Action
Council, Ecology Center, Lone Tree Council, Hamtramck Environmental
Action Team, Cadillac Area Citizens for Clean Air, Friends
of the Cedar Watershed Inc., Michigan Citizens Against Toxic
Substances, Michigan Coalition on the Environment and Jewish
Life, Citizens for Alternatives to Chemical Contamination,
Northwoods Services, Michigan Drain Code Coalition, Friends
of the Detroit River, Environmental and Energy Consultants,
Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation, Tittabawasee River
Watch, Cadillac Area Citizens for Clean Air, Citizens United
for Action (CUFA), Michigan Organic Food and Farm Alliance
(MOFFA) and Friends of the Crystal River, Michigan Wildlife
Conservancy.
For more
information, or a copy of the letter, see http://www.ecocenter.org
