EPA's handling of problems stirs controversy

Abstract

During recent weeks the Environmental Protection Agency has been the focus of controversy. Stories of already low, and still falling, morale within the agency, the resignation of important EPA managers, and the seeming aloofness of top administrators to the concerns of the rest of the staff all have been reported in the press. Problems at the agency have prompted at least one Congressman, Rep. James J. Florio (D.-N.J.), to call for the resignation of EPA Administrator Anne M. Gorsuch (see page 8). Two of the more serious matters have been subjects of Congressional hearings, and, despite long sessions, much of EPA's motivations and plans are still unknown. Gorsuch and EPA deputy administrator John W. Hernandez were questioned by panels from both houses of Congress on the proposed drastically reduced budget for the agency for fiscal 1983 and on the possibility that several meetings held by Hernandez with industry representatives may have been improper, if not ...