Protesters denounce end of EPA program

Anger over a proposal to dismantle an Environmental Protection Agency program in the Northwest marked the arrival of Elin Miller, who started work Monday as the agency's new regional administrator.

About two dozen protesters from environmental groups in Idaho, Oregon and Washington gathered in front of the EPA's regional headquarters in downtown Seattle to denounce the end of the agency's Office of Civil Rights and Environmental Justice.

That office is meant to help ensure environmental protection for minorities and the poor. The EPA says the two employees would still do the work but from other parts of the agency.

Protesters warn that the plan would undermine protection for people who are particularly vulnerable to pollution. The EPA's inspector general detailed shortcomings in the agency's environmental-justice program.

The change in the regional office is "like taking down a monument for MLK (Martin Luther King Jr.) and then saying well, at least you have an MLK day," said Yalonda Sindé, executive director of the Seattle-based Community Coalition for Environmental Justice.

Activists want the office to stay intact, plus more money for environmental-justice programs and a meeting with Miller.

EPA officials told the group that Miller did not have time to meet with them Monday.

"I share everyone's concern that environmental justice communities get the attention that they deserve," Miller said in a prepared statement.

"From what I've heard, the [regional office] plans will strengthen the role of environmental justice."

EPA officials say the office closure was forced by budget cuts. The staff — one full-time employee and one part-timer — will still handle environmental-justice issues, but from other parts of the agency.

And the change could improve things because the full-time staffer will work near other EPA employees involved in community level programs, said Michelle Pirzadeh, who directs the regional Office of Ecosystems, Tribal and Public Affairs.

Activists said the EPA's environmental-justice office in the Northwest has helped them through the agency's bureaucratic maze, provided pamphlets and equipment to communicate with Spanish speakers, and advocated for the interests of the poor and minorities during decisions by the agency.

In September, the EPA's inspector general reported the agency failed to review much of its work to see if any of it was hurting the poor or minorities.

Frustration over the bureaucratic shifts adds to suspicions raised previously over Miller's credentials for the job. Miller was previously an executive with pesticide makers Dow Chemical and Arysta LifeScience. Pesticides are regulated by the EPA. Prior to that, she led a California Department of Conservation.

Regional EPA spokesman Mark MacIntyre said he hopes people will judge Miller by what she does in her new job.

Warren Cornwall: 206-464-2311 or wcornwall@seattletimes.com