PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

WARREN POLICE



Why is it that

violence in policing

seems to be increasing?



Benton Harbor police

chase injures 13

Akron police chase injures 3

Inglewood California police

  video beating

Warren Ohio 3 white cops

  beating black slammed to

  ground during arrest







OHIO EPA



they don't care in

the EPA or the GOP

that the enslaved

chickens

can't even turn

around to pee

**********







Poll: Unhappy environment at Ohio EPA

Agency disputes results, points to budget, successes



By Dale Dempsey

e-mail address: dale_dempsey@coxohio.com

Dayton Daily News



DAYTON | An environmental group's survey of employees of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency found that the agency suffers from "political interference, weak management and an exodus of veteran staff" that hampers its effectiveness.



Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility sent the survey to 1,100 Ohio EPA employees and received a response from about a third.



A spokeswoman for the Ohio EPA disputed the validity of the survey.



"It was not a scientific survey," said Carol Hester of the Ohio EPA. "The questions were designed to get a negative response."



The PEER results also say that employees reported illegal orders, inappropriate industry influence and inadequate funding to meet environmental mandates.



"This survey is an opportunity for Ohio EPA employees to directly communicate with their true employers, the taxpaying public," said Eric Wingerter, national field director for PEER. "The results raise serious questions about the quality of decisions made at Ohio EPA affecting resource protection and public health."



Hester said the agency, like all other agencies in Ohio, saw cuts in the last Ohio budget.



"We also have concerns about resources, but everyone is dealing with a tough economic climate," she said.



According to the survey, more than half of the respondents believe that the agency places more weight on serving the regulated community than it does on serving the general public and the resource. Nearly a third of those answering the survey reported being directed to ignore an environmental law, regulation or violation.



Hester said the agency has attempted to provide more timely service to businesses, municipal water facilities and others needing permits to operate, but also pointed to gains in enforcement.



"We are presently funded mostly by fees for permits, where, in the past, it was mostly state and federal funding," she said. "We do have a heightened sensitivity to timely service. At the same time we've made strides in reducing the backlog of enforcement cases and collected more penalty dollars."



In another development, the Ohio EPA's plan to reduce air pollution by coal-burning power plants by 70 percent by the year 2004 was approved Wednesday by the U.S. EPA. The deadline was today, after which the federal agency could have started imposing sanctions.



The U.S. EPA said in 1998 that states must submit plans for reducing nitrogen oxide, a main component of smog, which can cause respiratory problems.



Ohio and six other states challenged the federal ruling in court, but the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the rule in 2001.



Ohio's plan would reward utilities and industries that install the expensive equipment to limit nitrogen oxide, along with sulfur dioxide, mercury and carbon dioxide.





Contact Dale Dempsey at 225-2270 or dale_dempsey@coxohio.com