Daggett's Ethics Agenda of Recent Vintage

by: Winston Smith

Thu Aug 20, 2009 at 08:24:12 PM EDT

That DEP Task Force had ethical problems from the outset. Several of its members represented clients that had ongoing regulatory issues or projects seeking approvals before the DEP, including Daggett himself.

This, at best, created the appearance of a conflict of interest, or actual conflicts. State ethics laws prohibit creation of even an appearance of impropriety, as well as an actual conflict of interest.

To remedy these problems, DEP Commisisoner Jackson was asked to make the Task Force deliberations tranparent and to restrict conflicts of interest - oth she adn Daggett failed to do so:

NEW JERSEY TO CONSULT INDUSTRY ON ECO-REWRITES IN SECRET - "Efficiency" Task Force Members Not Barred from Self-Dealing with DEP

Trenton - An industry-dominated task force to recommend an overhaul of state anti-pollution permits and policies will work in secret, according to an e-mail from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Lisa Jackson to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Commissioner Jackson also rebuffed PEER recommendations that materials submitted to the task force are made a public record and that task force members be barred from lobbying DEP for their clients.

On March 25, 2008, New Jersey PEER Director Bill Wolfe wrote Jackson asking that task force sessions be open to the public, materials submitted to the task force be made publicly available and that task force members "be precluded from having any contracts, pending regulatory approvals, or financial relationships with the Department" during the 120-day life of the task force.

In a return e-mail on the evening of April 2, 2008, Commissioner Jackson denied all of PEER's requests:

Public input "can only occur once the Task Force has completed its analysis and compiled the group's thoughts and recommendations. At that time, I will determine how to most effectively seek and obtain input from the public"; and

"I do not consider it necessary or reasonable to restrict members of the Task Force or their respective employers from having other business before the Department."

See this link for full documentation of these claims, including internal DEP documents, Jackson emails etc:
http://www.peer.org/news/news_...

BTW, a very reliable source has told me that Chris Daggett owned contamainted property and has huge economic stakes in DEP "brownfields", permitting, and toxic site cleanup issues he presided over and made recommendations on as Task Force Chair. I was also told, but have not confirmed, that Daggettt owned the parcel of contaminated Jersey City land that was involved in the Assemblyman Harvey bribery criminal indictment.  

Good reaseach project for someone here.