Tzonteyotl
1st December 2010, 11:15
Not that it's surprising...
http://www.publicintegrity.org/articles/entry/2565/
Energy Department employees involved in NEPA reviews acknowledge that companies with horrible compliance histories especially at the state level can slip under their radar. They say the department lacks permitting and enforcement authority that would enable them to easily access such information. Even so, they say a companys current and past environmental record is irrelevant.
As a government, I feel we always have to give somebody a break. Youre always entitled to come back again, said Fred Pozzuto, a department NEPA compliance officer. We have to always be forgiving and look at this on a project-by-project basis.
The Energy Departments general counsel echoed the sentiment. We know that some people have violated [environmental] regulations in the past. Thats not a shock to us, Harris said, explaining that hed give a categorical exclusion to a company even if the CEO were indicted, if the project warranted it.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/articles/entry/2565/
Energy Department employees involved in NEPA reviews acknowledge that companies with horrible compliance histories especially at the state level can slip under their radar. They say the department lacks permitting and enforcement authority that would enable them to easily access such information. Even so, they say a companys current and past environmental record is irrelevant.
As a government, I feel we always have to give somebody a break. Youre always entitled to come back again, said Fred Pozzuto, a department NEPA compliance officer. We have to always be forgiving and look at this on a project-by-project basis.
The Energy Departments general counsel echoed the sentiment. We know that some people have violated [environmental] regulations in the past. Thats not a shock to us, Harris said, explaining that hed give a categorical exclusion to a company even if the CEO were indicted, if the project warranted it.