[env-trinity] Miller and Rahall Launch Inquiry into New Conflict of Interest at Interior Department

[Dan Bacher]

NEWS



Congressman George Miller, California's 7th District



Monday, May 21, 2007

Danny Weiss, 202-225-2095

Miller and Rahall Launch Inquiry into New Conflict

of Interest at Interior Department

Senior lawmakers press Bush Administration on

manipulation of science in a California

endangered species decision

WASHINGTON, DC - Two senior House Democrats launched an inquiry today  
into reports that a Bush Administration political appointee may have  
improperly removed a California fish from a list of threatened  
species in order to protect her own financial interests.

According to an investigative report published Sunday by the Contra  
Costa Times, Julie MacDonald, who resigned this month as Interior  
Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks,  
was actively involved in removing the Sacramento Splittail fish from  
the federal threatened and endangered species list at the same time  
that she was profiting from her ownership of an 80-acre farm in  
Dixon, CA that lies within the habitat area of the threatened fish.

MacDonald's financial disclosure statement shows that she earns as  
much as $1 million per year from her ownership of the 80-acre active  
farm.  Federal law bars federal employees from participating in  
decisions on matters in which they have a personal financial interest.

The Sacramento Splittail, a small fish found only in California's  
Central Valley, depends on floodplain habitat and has been described  
by the Fish and Wildlife Service as facing "potential threats from  
habitat loss."

Today, Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV),  
chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, wrote to Interior  
Secretary Kempthorne requesting a full accounting of MacDonald's role  
in the Sacramento Splittail decision, an explanation of her apparent  
conflict of interest, and a thorough review of the science underlying  
the decision to remove the Sacramento Splittail from the threatened  
species list.


"It looks like another Bush Administration official was protecting  
her own bottom line instead of protecting the public interest," said  
Miller, a senior member and former chairman of the Natural Resources  
Committee and a long-time proponent of the Endangered Species Act and  
Bay-Delta fish and wildlife issues.  "We are going to fully  
investigate this matter and determine whether public policy was  
improperly altered because of personal conflicts of interest.

"This news raises serious questions about the integrity of the  
Interior Department and its policy decisions," Miller added. "The  
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has enough problems without political  
appointees at scientific agencies cooking the books. Who thought it  
was acceptable for a Deputy Assistant Secretary to change a major  
policy decision to exempt her own million-dollar enterprise from the  
Endangered Species Act even though federal law prohibits such  
conflicts?"

Rahall, who has served on the Natural Resources Committee since 1976  
and became its chairman in January, called on the Department to fully  
explain what happened.

"Time and again, this Administration has demonstrated a complete  
disregard for scientists and their work," Rahall said. "Political  
appointees at the Interior Department have been allowed to overrule  
biologists and to work more closely with special interests than with  
their own staff. The Interior Department must explain its deputy  
assistant secretary's actions in this very troubling case, which is  
apparently the latest in a long line of efforts to undercut species  
recovery."


The letter from Miller and Rahall comes just two weeks after a May 9  
Committee hearing at which Deputy Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett  
was questioned about recent controversies in the implementation of  
the Endangered Species Act. Her prepared testimony did not mention a  
report by the Department's Inspector General on an investigation into  
MacDonald, nor did her testimony indicate awareness of the serious  
consequences of MacDonald's actions.  In the course of the hearing,  
Scarlett affirmed that "where there is scientific manipulation, we  
want to correct that," but no specifics were provided.

MacDonald resigned from the Interior Department just one week before  
Scarlett testified.

The Endangered Species Act established a policy of protecting and  
recovering species in decline and their habitats. Fish, wildlife, and  
plants listed as "endangered" are in danger of extinction and the  
federal government is required to take action to recover them.   
Species are listed as "threatened" if it is determined that they may  
soon become endangered. Other threatened species in the Bay-Delta  
region include the green sturgeon and the delta smelt.

The full text of the letter to The Hon. Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of  
the Interior, is below.



May 21, 2007

The Honorable Dirk Kempthorne

Secretary

Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington, DC  20240

Dear Secretary Kempthorne:
We are writing to reiterate the request we made at the House Natural  
Resources Committee's hearing on May 9, 2007, and subsequently in  
writing by Chairman Nick J. Rahall, II, for a complete accounting of  
how the Department of the Interior is responding to the Inspector  
General's investigation of Julie MacDonald.  Yesterday's newspaper  
report in the Contra Costa Times on Julie MacDonald and her role in  
the decision to remove the Sacramento Splittail from the list of  
threatened species demands an immediate response from the Department.  
This new information adds very serious charges to her record.

The Contra Costa Times reports ("Decision on splittail raises  
suspicions") that the Fish and Wildlife Service, at MacDonald's  
direction, may have improperly ignored scientific evidence when  
deciding to eliminate the Sacramento Splittail's threatened species  
designation, and that MacDonald, a non-scientist, was heavily  
involved in the decision. By statute, as you know, listing and de- 
listing decisions can only be made on the basis of the best  
scientific and commercial data available.

More egregious still, the article demonstrates that MacDonald was  
profiting significantly from agricultural property in Sacramento  
Splittail habitat. It is our understanding that this is the first and  
only time that a fish species has been removed from the list of  
threatened species for reasons other than extinction. It is  
unacceptable that such an unprecedented policy decision may have been  
made because a Deputy Assistant Secretary had a direct and  
substantial personal financial interest.

In light of this highly troubling new report, please provide us with  
a full accounting of former Deputy Assistant Secretary MacDonald's  
role from 2002-2004 in the Sacramento Splittail decision, including  
but not limited to:

Details of her contacts with staff in the California and Nevada  
Operations Office and elsewhere within the Department regarding the  
Sacramento Splittail;
A complete accounting of the changes made by Julie MacDonald, and  
others, to the Sacramento Splittail listing documents after they were  
sent to Washington; and
Communications regarding the Sacramento Splittail, if any, between  
MacDonald and interests outside the Department, including the San  
Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority, the State Water Contractors, or  
the California Farm Bureau.
In addition, please provide us with a full account of former Deputy  
Assistant Secretary MacDonald's apparent conflict of interest,  
including but not limited to:

Details of her participation in decisions affecting the management of  
fish and wildlife species in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region,  
especially those on or near her property;
A description of Interior Department decisions, if any, from which  
she recused herself based on a conflict of interest, or the  
appearance of a conflict;
A list of officials at the Department who were aware that she  
continued to own  and profit from agricultural property in California  
while serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary; and
All advice or ethics opinions provided to her by the Department  
regarding these matters.
In order to determine the Interior Department's role in overseeing  
MacDonald's activities, please provide a description of all formal or  
informal action taken by the Department in response to her 2004  
decision to leak documents to the California Farm Bureau's lobbyist  
in an apparent attempt to undermine a scientific decision regarding  
the threatened Delta smelt.

Finally, in order to address the significant policy implications of  
MacDonald's actions, we request that you direct the Fish and Wildlife  
Service to re-evaluate whether its decision to de-list the Sacramento  
Splittail was based solely upon the best available scientific and  
commercial data, as required by law, and to report these findings to  
the Congress. In addition, please provide us with the results of each  
of the three statistical methods employed by the Fish and Wildlife  
Service to determine the health of the Sacramento Splittail's  
population. Endangered species decisions must be based on accurate  
and reliable scientific analysis, not the conflict of interest of a  
senior departmental official. This is especially true for significant  
and sensitive decisions such as this one, which could affect the  
management of California's Bay-Delta and water operations.

We appreciate your prompt attention to our request. Please contact  
Ben Miller with Rep. George Miller's staff at (202) 225-2095, or Lori  
Sonken with the Natural Resources Committee staff at (202) 225-6065,  
with any questions.

Sincerely,


_______________________ _______________________
GEORGE MILLER   NICK J. RAHALL, II
Member of Congress      Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources


  
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