Soldier for Obama? Or Environmental Regulator?

“We needed someone who was going to fight for environmental policies based on sound science. What we got was a soldier for Corzine.”
~~~ Bob Spiegel, Edison Wetlands Association, in today’s Star Ledger
Does Lisa Jackson have the strength to stand up to political and economic pressure? To defend the independence of EPA and the integrity of science? To fight for strong policies and enforce environmental laws? Or will her first loyalty be a personal one to President Obama, as it was to Governor Corzine?
Today’s Star Ledger weighs in with a telling focus –

Sierra Club applauds Governor Corzine’s signing of the Global Warming Response Act, July 2007

“Most of the same activists who have been critical of the state Department of Environmental Protection during Jackson’s three-year tenure are now giving her an unqualified endorsement to join President-elect Barack Obama’s cabinet.”
Jackson’s EPA bid has support of many state environmentalists
Sunday, January 11, 2009
BY BRIAN T. MURRAY
Star-Ledger Staff
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-12/1231652126297260.xml&coll=1
From the outset of her tenure as DEP Commissioner, Jackson has been a political champion of what Sierra Club called the worst attack on NJ’s environment, the McGreevey Administration’s so called “Fast Track” law.
Under the pretext of “streamlining the bureaucracy and eliminating red tape”, Fast Track elevates political and economic considerations above environmental and public health protection. That is why NJ environmentalists made blocking the Fast Track law their number one priority in 2005 and mounted a successful statewide campaign to kill it (full disclosure: I managed that campaign as a well paid consult to state groups).
Jackson’s “Fast track” policy is political kryptonite for the environment, especially in the hands of an Obama Administration seeking to jump start a stalled economy and spend billions on environmentally destructive projects like new roads, stimulating the auto industry, providing incentives to “clean coal”, “brownfields redevelopment”, and blindly spurring creation of jobs.
But we are getting ahead of ourselves – lets get back to the NJ history on Fast Track, because it is highly instructive for our current situation.
In an unusual move, back in 2005, the federal EPA warned the NJ Legislature not to pass the Fast Track bill then under considerartion, because it would violate federal law and jeopardize receipt of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid.
Based on EPA’s threat, in late 2005 environmentalists convinced then Acting Governor Codey to impose a moratorium on implementation of the law McGreevey had signed. Environmentalists declared victory and disbanded the campaign.
However, shortly after her confirmation, in early 2006, Jackson testified in support of Fast Track. Frustrated Legislators asked Jackson about the in limbo status of Fast Track under the Codey moratorium. Jackson testified:
“We will implement it [Fast Track] no matter what you call it … Even in the face of [Gov. Codey’s] Executive Order [moratorium], the Department has embarked on an ambitious program to recognize the powerful benefits of the [Fast Track] law for economic growth…in line with the Governor’s message of ‘invest, grow, and prosper’“;
Lisa Jackson – testimony to the Legislature on 4/25/06 and 5/1/06
http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=709
http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=709
So, Jackson caved to political pressure and explicitly sold out the environment and legal integrity right out of the box- and purely as a means of championing her boss’ economic policies.
In a dangerous precedent for her tenure in an Obama EPA, Jackson ignored environmental law and stressed “powerful benefits of the [Fast Track] law for economic growth…in line with the Governor’s message of ‘invest, grow, and prosper’”
Yet for some odd reason, Jackson was given a pass on her support for Fast Track.
That was the first example of what would emerge as a pattern of looking the other way. Fast Track was hardly the only pass given to Jackson by environmental lobbyists, who now claim that she was just following orders of Governor Corzine. The Star Ledger story explains:
“The New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club and New Jersey Audubon, for example, say Jackson is not to blame for practices they have openly condemned. The list includes the state pull-back on open space funding, a softening of stream protections and a plan to let private environmental experts oversee cleanup work on the state’s thousands of contaminated sites.”
Eric Stiles of New Jersey Audubon said Jackson did her best “behind the scenes” to change the most environmentally unpopular policies of the Corzine administration”
But after almost 3 years of a lackluster performance at DEP, why would some environmental lobbyists now give Jackson an unqualified endorsement as head of the federal EPA, a far more challenging post than running DEP?
Why are they now trying to blame Governor Jon Corzine for all of Jackson’s flaws?
The Star Ledger story quotes a national source that is insulated from the politics of the NJ environmental scene.
“Other groups, however, said the Senate review committee may find it impossible to sever the hometown EPA nominee from the governor who appointed her to lead the DEP in 2006 — and whose name she regularly invoked with praise when she announced department initiatives.
“The characterization of Jon Corzine as ‘Darth Vader’ and Lisa Jackson as ‘Princess Leia’ just does not match the reality,” said Jeff Ruch, executive director of the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility or PEER.
Noting Jackson became Corzine’s chief of staff late last year be fore she joined Obama’s transition team, he asked: What she would do as EPA chief if she disagreed with Obama on policy?”
And why are environmentalists suddenly just now condemning Corzine?

Bill WolfeIn March 2008, NJ Sierra Club and Audubon Society praise Governor Corzine at signing of bill that imposed a moratorium on harvest of horseshoe crabs to prevent extinction of the red knot.

In terms of the claim that Governor Corzine is so anti-environment, readers should note that both the NJ Sierra Club and NJ Environmental Federation endorsed Jon Corzine for Governor in 2005:
“I think he’s been able to show, even though we may still have some concerns, that he will bring the same strong environmental leadership he’s brought to Washington to New Jersey.”
He indicated that Corzine proved that he will bring strong environmental leadership like what he did for Washington.
~~~Jeff Tittel, Philadelphia Inquirer
http://www.votersdomain.com/article/72/id/2740/