Washington, DC — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is threatening major disciplinary action against one of its own scientists because she kayaked the Los Angeles River one weekend as part of a protest against the agency refusal to declare the entire river navigable in fact, thus failing to protect much of the watershed under the Clean Water Act, according to documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Citing internet footage of the event, the Corps charged that her “participation undermined [its] authority”, and proposed a 30-day suspension, a punishment one level below termination.
Heather Wylie, a 4-year biologist with the Regulatory Division of the Corps’ L.A. District, was cited for off-duty kayaking and for circulating a news article via e-mail documenting Clean Water Act enforcement problems. The August 7, 2008 “Notice of Proposed Suspension (30 Days)” is still pending, although Corps officials have told PEER that they will act later this month.
Ironically, subsequent events have validated concerns over Corps malfeasance which Ms. Wylie voiced:
- In mid-August, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took jurisdiction away from the Corps to determine whether the Los Angeles and Santa Cruz river systems were Traditional Navigable Waterways, thus reversing steps by the Corps to diminish Clean Water Act safeguards; and
- The EPA chief of enforcement wrote a memo complaining that Corps interpretations, named by Ms. Wylie, were inappropriately obstructing enforcement of Clean Water Act standards.
“Making the Army Corps look foolish is not grounds for discipline,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, whose organization is representing Ms. Wylie in challenging any adverse action. “Heather Wylie violated no law, rule or policy by kayaking the L.A. River on her own time and, as a citizen, she has the right to protest the wrongheaded actions of her own agency.”
Since the proposed suspension has been pending for more than two months and the Corps has rebuffed offers to resolve the matter, PEER today filed a whistleblower complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel charging the Corps with threatening Ms. Wylie for disclosing legal violations and infringing on her First Amendment free speech guarantees. If it finds the complaint has merit, the Special Counsel can direct the Corps to drop the proposed suspension and recommend discipline of managers who acted in a prohibited retaliatory manner.
“The Corps is ordering its specialists to ignore the law and will not tolerate the slightest peep of protest or expression of concern,” added Ruch, whose organization represents eco-whistleblowers. “The Corps should encourage its people to actively protect the environment, not punish them for it.”
Recent Corps L.A. District actions cited by Ms. Wylie are now also the focus of a joint investigation by the House Committee of Oversight and Government Reform and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Background on the Trip
(from LAist)
July 25, 2008
This afternoon in Canoga Park, 12 kayakers are going to begin a 51-mile, three-day journey down the LA River to Long Beach. They have no permit to enter the river, but that’s part of the point. The Army Corps of Engineers caused a stir in the community last month when they declared that the Los Angeles River was not, in fact, a river because it was not navigable, save for two spots.
Many people including politicians, community members, environmentalists and George Wolfe, Editor of the LaLa Times and the leader of today’s expedition, said this is detrimental to the city. “We’re here to defend the right of the people of Los Angeles to use their own river. The city was founded where it is precisely because of the river,” Wolfe explains noting that this weekend’s expedition takes the stance that “public trust law in California contains certain inalienable rights of access to the waters of the U.S., and that these time-honored, common sense laws supercede all bureaucratic misgivings, justifications and obfuscations regarding the denial of our request.”
Wolfe wanted to do this trip a year ago, but was denied permits. So he did it anyway before being ousted by police. As for this trip, once again, no permits were granted and, once again, he is still going on with it.
“Our permits were largely denied under the pretense of ‘safety concerns.’ Yes, rivers can be unsafe; this is obvious. Up near Bakersfield, the Kern River can be dangerous, too, and prone to sudden flooding — but no one there says you can’t have access to it, that it’s not the people’s river to enjoy as they see fit,” Wolfe said in a statement. (More)
Photos of the trip
Kayaking the LA River, Part 1
Kayaking the LA River, Part 2: East Valley to Marsh Park
For example:
Paddle-up
Urban riverscape
The Mud People make a visit
Truckin’
Dam
(Photos by LAist Photographer Tom Andrews)
