What police state?
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FEDERAL BIOLOGIST FACES FIRING FOR EMAILING ENVIRONMENTALISTS
Bureau of Reclamation Cites Subversive Behavior in Revealing Agency
Misdeeds
Washington, DC The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has proposed to fire a
biologist after finding emails he had sent to environmentalists and to
other agencies, according to documents released today by Public
Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). In its letter of
proposed termination, the agency alleged the subversive activity of
communicating with environmental organizations which are opposed to
Reclamation generally and adversarial in nature justifies immediate
removal.
Charles (Rex) Wahl, a GS-12 Environmental Specialist, has been on paid
administrative leave for the past three months while the agency
continues to ponder his fate. Shortly after Wahl was notified of his
proposed firing on September 18th, the Bureau of Reclamation also
dismissed his wife Cherie from a temporary clerk-typist position.
Ironically, Wahls main duty in Reclamations Yuma Area Office was to keep
stakeholders, including environmentalists, abreast of agency actions and
initiatives as required under National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
In addition to his contact with environmentalists, Wahl is also charged
with revealing administratively controlled information to other federal
agencies.
These charges are both insulting and illegal, stated PEER Senior Counsel
Paula Dinerstein, who is leading Wahls legal challenge against any
proposed disciplinary action. Public servants cannot be fired simply for
telling inconvenient truths.
In May, Wahl (who had earned excellent performance evaluations) had
transferred to Reclamations Albuquerque Office. In August, Reclamation
discovered the emails Wahl had sent months earlier as it cleared the
hard drive of his computer.
Wahls disclosures concern an array of proposed Reclamation projects on
the Lower Colorado River. He also revealed that Reclamation had
falsified material in a permit it submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers. In addition, Wahl suggested to environmentalists that they
obtain certain agency reports through the Freedom of Information Act.
Federal employees are not required to swear bureaucratic omert silence
at the expense of the public interest, Dinerstein added. Part of the
Bureau of Reclamations problem is that it apparently regards
environmentalists as enemies. Contrary to its paranoid posture,
Reclamation is required to be forthright about the implications of what
it is doing.
Reclamation is under no deadlines to act on Wahls case. Facing a short
statute of limitations on filing complaints, however, PEER has initiated
an investigation into the matter by the U.S. Department of Labor under
the whistleblower provisions of the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act and
Solid Waste Disposal Act.
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http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=796
--
John Hachmann aa #1782
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities"
-Voltaire
Contact - Throw a .net over the .com
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