Word: ruckelshauses
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...Ruckelshaus wades into...
...Stringfellow site has been at the center of charges, under investigation by the FBI and congressional subcommittees, that former EPA Administrator Anne Burford last year withheld federal cleanup funds from California for political reasons. Newly appointed EPA Head William Ruckelshaus is doing his own kind of tidying up: his aides are busy screening candidates for top EPA jobs, almost all of which are now vacant...
...meeting last Monday with Reagan in the Oval Office, Ruckelshaus made it clear that he wanted more flexibility and stature than Burford had, including a free hand in personnel matters, policy review and direct access to the President. Reagan readily agreed. Announcing the appointment, the President said he thought the Administration had a good environmental record but conceded, "I believe we can do better." The White House also moved to provide Ruckelshaus with a clean slate, asking for the resignations of five EPA officials, including four of Burford's top-ranking assistants, caught in the crossfire of allegations...
Despite all this action, some environmentalists found the Watt endorsement and Ruckelshaus' ties to industry disturbing. Since 1976 he has been a senior vice president of Weyerhaeuser Co., the huge Tacoma, Wash., forest-products firm that was named one of the nation's "Filthy Five" companies by Environmental Action, an environmental lobbying group. But others praised the nomination, giving Ruckelshaus high marks for his stewardship of the fledgling EPA from 1970 to 1973, when he fought consistently with the major automakers over air-pollution controls, banned a number of controversial herbicides and forced steelmakers and electric utilities...
After cheering up EPA employees last week, Ruckelshaus made courtesy calls on Capitol Hill, even as six congressional panels continued their probes into wrongdoing at the agency. Although he is expected to win Senate confirmation easily, congressional critics remain poised to pounce at the first sign of Administration retreat from environmental protection. "Whatever stars they bring in," said Georgia Democrat Elliott Levitas, chairman of a House subcommittee investigating the EPA, "it won't matter if they're working the same sad script...