FOIA Documents and McLerran Pt 1
With today's Fruit Grower Report, I'm Bob Larson. Now that EPA documents from a Public Records request have been turned over, a decision needs to be made on what to do with the information that appears to confirm suspicions the agency was fully aware that the What's Upstream campaign was using taxpayer money to fund its lobbying efforts.Save Family Farming Director Gerald Baron says the evidence and laws should make it pretty clear ...
GERALD BARON ... "The decision made not to enforce was not really made on legal basis, but more on a political basis. And, it's a little bit disheartening and probably a little bit frightening to think that enforcement of the laws of our state are not being based upon whether laws are being broken, but based upon who's the one breaking them. And, that's a significant accusation, but that's certainly what appears to us here and that serves to undermine the confidence of the public in whether we live in a nation where everyone is subject to the laws."
Referring to a recent Capital Press story, Baron says former EPA Region 10 Director Dennis McLerran still denies any wrongdoing ...
GERALD BARON ... "Statements that Mr. McLerran made in that interview, which also reflects statements that he made in a Senate hearing and also in his defense in the Public Disclosure Commission, are completely contradictory to what the documents show. So, we're very concerned about the Puget Sound Partnership and the role that it plays in environmental issues in Washington state and the Puget Sound area because we now believe someone who has a very aggressive anti-farm track-record is now sitting in a position where he can have significant influence over decisions relating to the environment."
Listen tomorrow for Baron's thoughts on McLerran's new post with the Puget Sound Partnership.