ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 3, 1995 TAG: 9512040053
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
Many employees at Virginia's environmental agency believe clean air and water take a back seat to business needs, according to a preliminary report on the agency.
The report also says workers at the Department of Environmental Quality have low morale, and it questions the propriety of hands-on dealings by Secretary of Natural Resources Becky Norton Dunlop.
The draft document was prepared by the staff of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, the investigative arm of the state legislature. The 1995 General Assembly requested the study.
Republican Gov. George Allen has reorganized DEQ and reduced its staff, along with other state agencies.
It is too early to tell whether the reorganization hurts or helps DEQ protect the environment and provide pollution permits to industries, the report says.
Peter Schmidt, the Allen-appointed DEQ director, said the agency is doing its job well. He said it is normal to have morale problems after a reorganization.
``You've got an agency that needs to heal and go forward,'' Schmidt said, ``and to put something out that says things are not going well - and to not quantify it but to do it with innuendo - does a grievous disservice.''
DEQ was formed in April 1993 by combining state agencies responsible for regulating water pollution, air pollution and waste. Original plans estimated that the consolidated agency would need 883 full-time employees. As of Oct. 1, the agency had 651 full-time employees and 62 temporary workers, the report says.
Allen officials say the environment can be protected with a smaller staff, because more workers have been moved to regional offices where they are closer to pollution problems.
The report shows that 67 percent of employees responding to a JLARC survey said their morale was fair or poor. Forty-nine percent said the agency is not working to maintain environmental quality.
Fifty-seven percent of employees surveyed said their jobs would be at risk if they made a decision that was legal but upset industry.
The report noted what it called ``questionable'' hiring practices at DEQ. Applicants for several high-ranking positions were asked whether they could recite some of Dunlop's and Allen's guiding principles.
``These questions appear to be inappropriate for the hiring of classified positions,'' the report says.
The report says DEQ has hired several temporary employees for high-ranking jobs. Temporary workers do not go through a competitive hiring process.
The report also says Dunlop ``has significant involvement in DEQ hiring but no clear statutory authority for such involvement.''
Members of Dunlop's staff often sit in on job interviews and prepare interview questions, the report says.
Dunlop's office referred questions to Schmidt. Schmidt said Dunlop reviews personnel matters, but that he is the person who hires and fires.
Schmidt also said the questions job applicants are asked are appropriate and that those hired are the best qualified.
Philip Leone, JLARC director, stressed that the report is preliminary and is being reviewed by the DEQ for accuracy. The interim report will be presented to the legislative commission Dec. 11.
LENGTH: Medium: 67 linesby CNB