From: "Carolyn Johnson" <ccc@netone.com> (by way of Robert Dorman
<redorman@theofficenet.com>)

 

Citizens Coal Council
Working together for clean water, safe homes and a healthy environment

Dear CCC Members and Allies,
Today, the Charleston Gazette broke the story (copied below) that OSM
Director Kathy Karpan is trying to become head of the National Mining
Association, which lobbies and files lawsuits on behalf of its members,
coal and hardrock mining companies across the country. Karpan has been so
anti-environment and anti-citizen that coalfield citizens swear she has
always been working for the mining industry while getting her paycheck from
the taxpayers.

Karpan tried to protect herself from charges of corruption and conflict of
interest by not making any decisions on permitting or enforcement issues
for this one week, starting last Monday. We have very good reasons,
however, to believe she started working for the NMA job at least by October
1999 and perhaps earlier. CCC has started filing information requests to
get to the bottom of how long ago she started going after the job and to
obtain all her contacts with NMA and its officers and members.

Regardless of the dates, it's wrong for the nation's top mine cop to seek a
job with the industry she regulates. You're probably asking, has Kathy
Karpan resigned yet or did Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt immediately
fire her as he should?

No. We have been told this by reliable sources: yesterday, Babbitt's Chief
of Staff Anne Shields told Karpan she had to leave; today Shields backed
down, saying Karpan could take two weeks off, which will give time for the
noise to blow over, then resume her duties.

We suggest you e-mail or fax a short note to Secretary Babbitt and tell him
what you think. His e-mail address is
<mailto:bruce_babbitt@ios.doi.gov>bruce_babbitt@ios.doi.gov

More news will be coming out about this in the coming days. We will keep
you posted as to what else needs to be done.

Carolyn Johnson
Staff Director
-------------------

Charleston Gazette article:

OSM chief in line for new job?
Karpan recuses herself from mining decisions
Friday March 24, 2000

By <mailto:kward@wvgazette.com>Ken Ward Jr.
STAFF WRITER

The director of the U.S. Office of Surface Mining has recused herself from
decisions which affect the mining industry, officials said.

On Monday, Kathy Karpan surprised OSM staff and her bosses at the
Department of Interior when she submitted a letter temporarily recusing
herself.

Interior officials confirmed that Karpan had done so.

"She has recused herself so that she may be able to keep her options open
while she seeks other employment," an Interior spokesman said Wednesday.

Other sources said that Karpan is among those being interviewed to replace
Richard Lawson as president of the National Mining Association.

Lawson, a retired Air Force general, has been president of the National
Mining Association since it was created in 1995 by the merger of the
National Coal Association and the American Mining Congress. The association
is the lead lobby organization for the U.S. mining industry.

In October 1999, Lawson announced that he would retire at the end of 2000.

Steven Leer, chairman of the mining association and CEO of Arch Coal Inc.,
is heading up a search committee to find someone to replace Lawson. Leer
did not return a phone call to his St. Louis office.

Karpan recused herself to avoid any conflicts of interest while she is
interviewed by the search committee, according to government sources.

At OSM, Karpan is paid $110,000 a year. Currently, Lawson makes about
$473,000 a year, according to an article in The Energy Daily, a trade
publication.

On Thursday, OSM employees were told that all mail originally to be signed
by Karpan should now have the signature of Margy White, Karpan's chief of
staff, according to an internal agency electronic mail message.

At first, Interior officials denied that Karpan was being considered for
the mining industry post. Later, they refused to disclose the exact reasons
for her recusal.

John Wright, an Interior public information officer, said that Karpan had
provided the agency ethics office with a recusal letter.

Wright said the department would only consider releasing a copy of the
letter if the Gazette filed a formal Freedom of Information Act request.
The newspaper filed a request on Wednesday. A response could take several
weeks.

Wright said that the department was not trying to keep information about
Karpan's recusal from the public, but was concerned about violating her
right to privacy.

"How could someone interviewing for a job make the department look bad?"
Wright asked. "I don't understand that."

Karpan did not return repeated phone calls to her office and home on
Wednesday and Thursday.

Nancy Smith, an OSM spokeswoman, referred all questions about Karpan's
recusal to the Interior Department public affairs office.

Carolyn Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Citizens Coal Council, said that she
wasn't surprised at Karpan's action.

"I think this confirms what all of us have suspected - that she really, at
heart, works for the mining industry," Johnson said Thursday. "She's been
in a war against citizens and the environment."

John Grasser, a mining association spokesman, said he could not confirm
that the search committee was interviewing Karpan.

"I have no idea who the candidates are," Grasser said.

Karpan was sworn in as OSM director in August 1997. She is responsible for
developing and enforcing coal mining regulations under the Surface Mining
Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. OSM has about 650 employees and an
annual budget of about $280 million.

An official OSM biography notes that Karpan, a native of Rock Springs,
Wyo., is "the daughter of a coal miner." The biography says Karpan "is a
veteran of public service at both the federal and state levels."

Before joining OSM, Karpan served as secretary of state of Wyoming from
1987 to 1995. She was also director of Wyoming's Department of Health and
Social Services and an assistant state attorney general.

According to sources, Karpan recused herself for this week only from making
decisions concerning Title 5 of the federal mining law. Title 5 regulates
active mining.

Karpan is apparently still making decisions concerning the federal
Abandoned Mine Lands program, the sources said.
To contact staff writer Ken Ward Jr., use e-mail or call 348-1702.

 

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