The environmental groups say Secretary David Struhs is too friendly with industry.
By JULIE HAUSERMAN
Published June 13, 2003
TALLAHASSEE - A coalition of environmental groups on Thursday called on Gov. Jeb Bush to fire David Struhs, his Department of Environmental Protection secretary, saying Struhs has been too cozy with polluters.
"No. Hell no," Bush said when asked whether Struhs should go.
The environmental groups, which include the Florida Chapter of the Sierra Club, the Florida League of Conservation Voters, the Friends of the Everglades, the Clean Water Network, and 11 others, cited several instances in which they say Struhs has favored industry over the environment.
Among the groups' concerns was a controversial 1999 settlement Struhs engineered dealing with pollution from Tampa Electric Co. Federal regulators said Florida's deal didn't do enough to safeguard public health. Struhs' deal also specified that TECO try a technology marketed by a friend of Struhs - whom he later hired at DEP. TECO opted not to use the technology, but environmentalists said it was a sweetheart deal designed to enrich a friend of the DEP secretary.
Another concern, the groups said, was Struhs' decision to block a cement plant near North Florida's spectacular Ichetucknee River, only to reverse himself later and allow the plant there, along with a large limestone mine.
"We want the public to know who he is representing; it's not the citizens of the state of Florida, it's big industry," charged Jonathan Ullman, of the Florida Chapter of the Sierra Club.
Struhs was on vacation and could not be reached for comment. DEP spokeswoman Deena Wells defended Struhs' record: "I think it is an unfortunate personal attack on a highly respected public servant,' she said.
"We've made monumental progress over the last four years. Florida's air and water are cleaner, environmental enforcement is up, we've launched the largest land conservation program in the nation, and we've guaranteed a $1.5-billion investment in Everglades restoration."
She said the groups' actions are "clearly political."
Struhs has deep ties to the Bush family. He served as an environmental official under the first President George Bush, and he is a brother-in-law to Andrew Card, current White House chief of staff. Struhs came to Florida in 1999, after serving as a utility consultant and as commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
He has also been rumored as a replacement for outgoing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Christine Todd Whitman, although he says he is not interested in leaving Florida.
Two of Florida's largest environmental groups, Audubon and the Nature Conservancy, did not join in the call for Struhs' ouster.
Victoria Tschinkel, Florida director for the Nature Conservancy, said her group has worked well with Struhs and said he has been a strong supporter of public land-buying, even in tough budget times.
"I have some sympathy with Secretary Struhs, having been in a similar job," said Tschinkel, a former DEP secretary. "It is not an easy job."
Mary Barley, of the Everglades Trust, said the groups plan to continue the campaign to remove Struhs.
