OneWorld.net (U.S.)

WASHINGTON, DC, December 10, 2003 (ENS) - Employees within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) say the agency faces unprecedented political pressure, according to a survey released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

The survey, conducted among employees of EPA's Rocky Mountain Region, also faults the honesty of agency public statements and reveals a deep fear of retaliation, in particular among managers and supervisors.

"In the trenches at EPA, both junior and senior staff see science becoming secondary to servicing industry, especially the energy industry," said Chandra Rosenthal, director of PEER's Rocky Mountain chapter. "Politics now plays a preeminent role in day-to-day work at EPA."

The Rocky Mountain Region (Region 8) of EPA covers six states: Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Utah and the Dakotas.

PEER developed survey questions with EPA employees and mailed out questionnaires to all staff in the region - of the 675 surveys sent, 154 - 23 percent - were returned.

The government watchdog group says the strongest reaction by survey respondents was concern about political interference with environmental decision making, with more than three in four saying that politics are shaping agency actions more than they did five years ago.

More than half think that promoting the President's energy plan and other initiatives has become more important" than environmental protection.

When asked to respond to the statement "I am hesitant to perform controversial aspects of my job for fear of retaliation" nearly one third of all employees say they do. And 42 percent of managers and supervisors responding acknowledge fear of retaliation for doing their jobs.

Survey respondents questioned the truthfulness of agency statements both to the public and internally to staff and raised concerns about a lack of consistent enforcement decisions.

The findings come in the wake of analysis of agency documents by reporters with Knight Ridder that revealed enforcement of federal environmental laws has plummeted since President George W. Bush took office.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2003. All Rights Reserved.