Chemical Industry Lobbyists Met With DEP Commissioner Today

Hal Bozarth (L) & Tony Russo (R) lobbyists for chemical industry sign in at DEP today

I got a tip and was able to catch lobbyists for the chemical industry in the act. They met privately today with DEP Commissioner Mark Mauriello. The meeting was to discuss, among other things, appointments to a controversial new DEP Science Advisory Board (SAB).

DEP Commissioner Mark Mauriello

It is precisely these kind of off the record private lobbying meetings between DEP and regulated industry and developers that illustrate the need for more transparency at DEP.  We recently petitioned DEP to force public disclosure of these kinds of private meetings. That petition is currently before Commissioner Mauriello, who must make a decision shortly.

At the federal level, the Obama administration has emphasized greater transparency in government. In response, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson posts daily schedules of EPA managers on the EPA website, something Jackson explicitly rejected while NJ DEP Commissioner.

Yesterday, we filed a lawsuit seeking access to exactly these kinds of records that show chemical industry political intervention at DEP.

The chemical industry is pressuring Mauriello to appoint the following industry scientists to the SAB:

Anne Masse – employed by Dupont

John Gannon – also w/Dupont at Wilmington, De. plant

Joseph West – Merck Research Laboratories, Rahway NJ

Daniel Caldwell – Stout and Caldwell  Engineers and South Jersey Development Council

Public business done Behind Closed Doors - DEP Commissioner's Suite

DEP is an administrative agency that is required by law to make open and transparent decisions based on law, science, and the public interest, not politics in back room deals with lobbyists for special interests.

Chemical industry political lobbying has no place in the DEP decision-making process, and must be restricted. Current Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) laws already mandate reporting of these kind of lobbying attempts “to influence government processes“.

But far stronger restrictions are required. Forcing public disclosure is a good first step in that process of minimizing the corrosive effects of special interests on DEP.

Lobbyists should be limited to these buildings:

Statehouse, Trenton, NJ

Legislative Annex, Trenton, NJ