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Bilirakis won't give up on ombudsman

The Tarpon Springs Republican wants the EPA's top watchdog to be truly independent.

By CANDACE RONDEAUX
Published March 4, 2005

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. The adage has become a mantra for Tarpon Springs Republican Mike Bilirakis in his quest to reinstate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's top internal watchdog.

Two years after the veteran congressman unsuccessfully tried to push through legislation re-establishing an independent ombudsman, Bilirakis has reintroduced a bill that seeks to strengthen the powers of the EPA's top internal investigator.

The ombudsman's oversight of the Stauffer Superfund site in Tarpon Springs has been more or less completed, but Bilirakis said in a written statement released Wednesday the legislation is still important.

The new bill comes nearly a year after acting EPA ombudsman Paul McKechnie endorsed a plan to clean up toxic waste at the Stauffer Chemical Co. site in Tarpon Springs.

The June 2004 endorsement came about a year after Bilirakis, an outspoken critic of the EPA's handling of the polluted Superfund site, drafted a bill calling for a stronger ombudsman. He introduced the bill after EPA officials decided to reorganize the ombudsman's office in 2002. Under the reorganization, the ombudsman was transferred from the EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response to the EPA's Inspector General's Office.

Bilirakis complained then that the changes weakened the ombudsman's ability to investigate the environmental effects of sites like Stauffer on local communities. As with the 2003 bill, the new legislation calls for the restoration of the ombudsman's power to help ordinary citizens worried about environmental hazards in their area.

Before the office's reorganization in 2002, then-EPA ombudsman Robert Martin played a crucial role in pressing federal regulators for more stringent monitoring of the cleanup of the defunct Stauffer phosphate plant. Martin resigned in protest in April 2002 after then-EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman moved the office.

Under the proposed Ombudsman Reauthorization Act of 2005, the ombudsman would be removed from the EPA Inspector General's Office and operate independently. The agency's top watchdog would be appointed by and report directly to the EPA administrator, would have the power to investigate any EPA action and able to issue subpoenas to compel anyone to appear to give sworn testimony and produce documentary or other evidence.

Longtime Tarpon Springs activist Mary Mosley said Thursday she had not heard about the new legislation, but she was happy to learn that Bilirakis continues to push for a more independent ombudsman. She said Bilirakis' standing as a senior member of Congress and bipartisan support for the bill from co-sponsor U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., could increase its chances of passing.

"If he's sincere, it will fly because he's got enough influence with his time in office," Mosley said. "It will be very, very important not only for this community but for others that are facing environmental hazards."

But EPA senior policy analyst Hugh Kaufman has his doubts that the legislation will do much to help his agency's faltering administration. The EPA ombudsman's former chief investigator, Kaufman, said the agency has been in disarray since Whitman's resignation in 2003.

"I'm glad Mike is still fighting the good fight," Kaufman said. "But, unfortunately, it probably won't make much difference. Even if it (the legislation) passes there are bigger issues than the ombudsman. The bigger issue is: Is there going to be an EPA in four years?"

Nearly three months into his second term, President Bush has yet to appoint a new EPA administrator after former Administrator Michael O. Leavitt's recent appointment to the post of secretary of health and human services. The current list of possible nominees includes acting EPA Administrator Steve Johnson; Jim Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental quality; Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne; and EPA officials Thomas V. Skinner and Jeffrey R. Holmstead.

Bilirakis' ombudsman legislation went through several revisions after it was first introduced, including a version that was circulated in November 2003 that essentially removed the ombudsman's ability to act independently of the inspector general. But Bilirakis' latest attempt appears to draw on the original sentiment behind the legislation when it was introduced in Congress, giving sweeping investigative powers to the ombudsman.

"Congressman Bilirakis has been disappointed that it has taken so long to secure markup on this legislation, but we're still pursuing it," said Christy Stefadouros, a spokeswoman for Bilirakis. "We're not giving up."

Candace Rondeaux can be reached at 727 771-4307 or rondeaux@sptimes.com

[Last modified March 4, 2005, 00:31:15]