Friday, March 25, 2011

New DEP Commissioner for Maine, Darrly Brown - ineligible?

Under the Clean Water Act of 1972, or amendments passed under it, Brown appears ineligible for the position of Commissioner for the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. An environmental lawyer, Steve Hinchman, has asked the United States Environmental Protection Agency to investigate the issue. Apparently not a single lawyer in all of the government offices or in the legislature picked up on the "conflict" or dared to speak out about it. Hinchman said 

... everybody in Maine has been sort of willing to stick their head under a rock and ignore it.
I have no clue as to Brown's qualifications - or equally importantly, whether he's honest and committed to the people of Maine - however, if the governor feels so strongly that Brown is the man for the job, then he needs to work on repealing that portion of the Clean Water Act which makes individuals who've recently worked for companies involved in environmental issues ineligible.