Usually the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cleans up messes, but EPA chief Stephen L. Johnson created one recently here in Denver where he served as the headliner at a fundraiser for Republican congressional candidate Rick O’Donnell. Johnson drew an intimate group of executives and lobbyists who paid $300 a plate for the privilege.
The EPA says Johnson’s appearance met the letter of the Hatch Act (which bars federal employees from some political activities), but common sense says he should know better than to do fundraising from industries he regulates.
O’Donnell is in a hotly contested race to represent Colorado’s 7th Congressional District. His campaign says the March 9 event was put together on short notice, so his staff invited known supporters. Those who responded naturally were the ones interested in the EPA’s mission.
Nine of the 10 people listed as attending the event have or could have business before the EPA. (One person on the list says she actually didn’t attend.) Johnson’s appearance in such a tight-knit political setting compromises his impartiality in presiding over such matters.
Five of the 10 are environmental specialists with the Denver office of the national law and lobbying firm Greenberg Traurig, which hosted the event, and represent clients that lobby or sue the EPA. Doug Benevento, the Greenberg newcomer and until recently head of Colorado’s health and environment department who coordinated the fundraiser, said the event was “100 percent legal and ethical.”
Still, the small size and composition of the gathering, and the potential for discussions of issues that require EPA action, was simply inappropriate. The people who paid to be with Johnson are people whose business could be affected by the agency.
Also at the event was Greenberg’s Chris Neuman, who serves on the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission, which sets state pollution rules. Neuman says he attended the Johnson event as a private individual, as did Johnson himself.
Other donors at the event also have interests at stake on environmental policy and enforcement. Stan Dempsey is president of the Colorado Petroleum Association, which opposed the state’s 2004 plan to reduce ozone pollution, a matter that involved both EPA rules and the state commission. Craig Richardson works for El Paso Gas, the nation’s largest natural gas pipeline company, which needs EPA approval for new lines and other facilities. Stuart Sanderson did not donated, but did attend the event. Sanderson is president of the Colorado Mining Association, which frequently presses the EPA and the state on environmental issues.
O’Donnell’s campaign says Johnson’s remarks at the fundraiser dealt with “sound science and the role of keeping the environment clean.” We’re concerned that Johnson has created a conflict of interest by serving as a fundraising draw for figures from the industries he regulates.
This editorial has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, it stated that Colorado Mining Association president Stuart Sanderson was a donor at the O’Donnell fundraiser. Sanderson attended the event, but did not donate to the campaign.
