Engler Eyes the DNRBy Sam
Stark
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Yet another issue is now smoldering beneath the turbulent Lansing political scene. Mounting criticism of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) from business associations, sportsmen's clubs, state legislators and, especially, the governor's office has been likened by state environmentalists to a softening-up bombing campaign with the collateral damage expected to be the breaking up of the DNR. By the end of an apparent crisis last week, the dust had settled, at least for the time being, following a "mini-summit" held between environmentalists and the chair of the state House Committee on Conservation, Recreation and Environment. Most important, there was no sign of a dreaded governor's executive order that might have led to an immediate reorganization of the DNR. But while environmentalists were busy assessing the results of a month's flurry of mailings, phone calls and meetings, John Truscott, Gov. John Engler's press secretary, was quick to label their "fire-fighting" efforts as premature and totally unnecessary. "All they were doing was reacting to rumors," Truscott said. "I don't understand how all this got started. Sure, a couple of statements by the governor and myself were made concerning the DNR, but nothing has been decided. It's still being discussed in the governor's office." Despite the reassuring tones, environmentalists like Alex Sagady, director of environmental and occupational health for the American Lung Association of Michigan, remain certain that they were confronting more than mere rumors. "I was told by one environmental leader here in Lansing," Sagady said, "that DNR staffers told him that ... reorganization of the DNR was a done deal." Sagady's "Environmental Alert" notice, which he sent across the state recently, was intended to warn environmental activists that the Engler administration was considering an executive order in April that would break up the DNR and transfer many of its functions to the Departments of Public Health, Agriculture and Commerce. In addition, Sagady claimed, the air and water commissions would be abolished. These commissions have been effective tools for environmentalists pressuring for change. In some cases, in response to public pressure, the citizen-based commissions actually implemented policy in opposition to the DNR staff and director. Finally, Sagady warned that the commissioners' power to issue air and water permits, a means to force industry or local government to make improvements, would be turned over to a political appointee handpicked by the governor. Such a division sounds an alarm in the minds of those who remember how Michigan's environment looked before former Gov. William Milliken implemented his own executive order which consolidated certain functions within the DNR. As a result of taking Milliken and the environmentalists' "healthy ecosystem management approach," Michigan progressed from being a state of dying lakes and toxic waste dumps to becoming a leader in environmental protection. At a public forum in March, Engler told a Royal Oak audience that his chief complaint with the DNR was that "(It) is simply challenged with too many issues and too many responsibilities to effectively administrate most of them very well." Similar criticisms were heard earlier this year from the state Chamber of Commerce whose board of directors voted in January to make reorganization of the DNR one of its top legislative goals for this year. George Graff, the chamber's manager of natural resource programs, said at the time, "Many of the complaints we receive from state chamber members are directed toward the Departments of Natural Resources and Labor." Meanwhile, the DNR has also come under attack from sportsmen's associations who feel that the department is neglecting the needs and desires of fishing, hunting and boating enthusiasts. Representing their interests has been Rep. Tom Alley, D-West Branch, who sits as chair of the state House Conservation, Recreation and Environment Committee. Considered by one environmental lobbyist as "a good guy we can talk to," Alley nevertheless submitted a package of 50 bills to the state House this year that would reform the DNR in a way that too closely resembled what many feared the governor might impose in April. Stung by charges regarding his plan by Sagady's "Environmental Alert," Alley invited a small group of environmental leaders to sit down in a private "mini-summit" to clear the air and clarify his position. Those in attendance included representatives from the Michigan Environmental Council (MEC), PIRGIM, the Sierra Club, Michigan United Conservation Clubs and Fred Trost of "Michigan Outdoors." The main feature of his package, Alley told his gathering, was to "elevate the status of conservation issues with the DNR ... without lessening attention to the environment." MEC Executive Director David Stead welcomed the overtures made by Alley but still expressed criticism with the representative's overall proposal. "Alley called the meeting on his own and that was a positive step. It helps to clear the air," said Stead. "Even though we still have our differences, at least we know better what we're dealing with. "What is still the most threatening, though, is a possible executive order from the governor, because that would require the state Senate to override it within 60 days, and I don't think they will do that given the current political climate," Stead added. Sagady, however, expressed stronger dissatisfaction with Alley's proposal despite his openness to talking with environmentalists. "His plan doesn't eliminate the air and water commissions, but it does render them powerless, relegating them to a mere advisory role. What makes these commissions so meaningful is that grassroots activists and ordinary citizens knew that they had a forum to go to where the folks they were addressing also held the decision-making power." Sagady points out in the case of the Detroit incinerator controversy, citizens used the air commission's forums in the tri-county area to organize opposition to the project. This process of citizen participation wasn't just an exercise in abstract democracy, according to Sagady, because the open citizen forums actually helped the air commission to decide to institute tougher emissions controls. Although Alley was named Environmental Legislator of the Year in 1990 by his organization, Joseph Pagen, executive director of Michigan Environmental Defense, didn't pull any punches in criticizing the representative's reorganization plan. "It is political suicide to even suggest dividing up the conservation and environmental functions of the department," Pagen warned. "It only means jeopardizing both the environment and the public health. The environmental movement and sportsmen, in fact, have a great deal in common. What's the point of fishing if you don't dare eat the fish." But while most environmentalists agree that they can engage Alley in dialogue, they don't feel such confidence with Engler, who they believe is listening almost exclusively to the state Chamber of Commerce. Everyone, environmentalists included, agrees there is much room for improvement in the DNR's operations. But the rush to reorganize troubles Stead. "I've heard all the complaints before. I've heard them all the years the DNR has been constituted. The problem is that nobody has ever bothered to document these complaints. Before anyone goes around breaking up the DNR, I suggest some independent body conduct an objective study to determine what the problems are." For Truscott, the evidence is pretty much in. "The business community is complaining they have to wait a whole year for a permit. They complain about legal costs incurred in dealing with the DNR. There are no uniform standards. Sportsmen feel the license fees they pay are being diverted for uses other than development of natural resources. "The governor wants to streamline and make sure the two separate divisions will work together. But we are still talking about it. We don't know yet what we're going to do. But we will sit down with the environmental groups when the time comes, and there will be citizen participation."
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