Engineer Trey Glenn Quits Department of Environmental Management

Video by John L. Wathen, Hurricane Creekkeeper

There’s no clear indication from environmental non-profit groups in the state why Glenn resigned at this time, although is it rumored that he has been the subject of ethics charges, negligence of duty, creating total confusion and dissent at the agency and for leading the approval of a permit for millions of tons of toxic TVA coal ash to be deposited in a landfill in Alabama’s Black Belt.

According to a recent report in the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the Environmental Protection Agency under President Barack Obama is going to do far more than the agency under President George W. Bush — when science was undermined for big business — to monitor the regulatory activities of states on enforcement of the Clean Air and Water Acts. There is an indication the federal agency may be more willing than ever to step in when states aren’t adequately enforcing the law, according to the new EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, a New Orleans native.

“Many of these state programs are 20, 30 years old, and we might even need to hit the reset button and say, ‘OK, we’re going to hold you to a standard. If you’re doing your job, great, but if you’re not, we’re going to be here going inside until you are,” Jackson said in an interview with reporters and editors back in November.

“It’s EPA’s job to oversee,” Jackson said. “We often say we’re partners, but we’re also delegating our authority to a state, and of course, ultimately that means your ultimate answer would be to take it back.”

Hurricane Creekkeeper John L. Wathen said environmentalists are glad to see him go, but remain anxious about the direction of ADEM.

Read the rest of this entry »