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Business interests influencing Hillsborough environmental chief search, conservation groups say

 
Published April 19, 2015

TAMPA — Prominent environmentalists in Tampa Bay are unhappy with how Hillsborough County is trying to replace the longtime executive director of the Environmental Protection Commission.

The 13-member panel charged with recommending a new leader to the Hillsborough County Commission has three people representing business interests, including a local oil executive and an attorney for developers, but just one designated appointee from the environmental community.

And there's an unusual twist: The environmental community representative chosen by commissioners is skeptical about the merits of climate change arguments.

Local environmentalists are most worried that the regulated will be in a position to pick the new regulator.

"When you're choosing a police chief you don't ask people who have a lot of speeding tickets who would they like to see there," said Mariella Smith, who has worked on several conservation committees and organizations in the region. "When you're picking the director of Environmental Protection Commission, it should be heavily weighted with environmental representatives. Where's the wetland scientist?"

Commissioner Al Higginbotham, chairman of the screening committee, said the panel is balanced and reflective of all the stakeholders in the community "who have been involved in regulations throughout the process."

Hillsborough County is hunting for a new EPC executive director for just the second time in its history.

The position, one-of-a-kind in Florida, holds considerable power to protect Hillsborough's air, water and land, and reports directly to the County Commission. Its current director, Richard Garrity, has held the job for 15 years and is highly regarded by local environmentalists. He retires June 30.

The screening committee is expected to turn a list of 56 applicants into three to five names from which commissioners will choose a new director, a position that pays between $155,000 and $180,000 a year. Already, the committee has narrowed the field to seven names. Those individuals will be interviewed via Skype on April 30, and commissioners are expected to make a selection May 21.

The selection committee is made up of 13 members, including three county commissioners, one county employee and a representative from each of the county's cities — Tampa, Plant City and Temple Terrace.

Half of the remaining six members represent business interests. Joe Capitano, president of Radiant Oil, is representing the business community; Hugh Gramling, former executive director of the Tampa Bay Wholesale Growers, is representing the agriculture community; and Judy James, a lawyer and former vice president of the Florida Home Builders Association, is representing the development community.

Capitano said he is interested in finding the "most qualified person" who "takes care of the environment and makes sure things are done properly."

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His inclusion on the committee is not problematic, he said, because the committee is offering a recommendation. He also noted that many of the committee members coalesced around the same candidates. The seven nominees selected received votes from at least nine committee members.

The only designated representative from the environmental community is Jan Smith, the chair of the Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program general committee. Former Commissioner Jan Platt, who is representing bay management organizations on the committee, is also a well-known environmentalist in the region.

While Smith has a long history of conservation advocacy in the county, she told the Tampa Bay Times she thinks the science on climate change is still up for debate, an uncommon position among environmentalists. She said that she would vote for a candidate who did not believe in climate change if he or she was otherwise qualified.

Scientists say climate change would affect the region more than almost any other area of the country. Garrity said addressing the impacts of climate change, namely rising sea levels, is a critical task for his successor.

Environmental activists who spoke with the Times were clear that they believe climate change is a real threat but did not oppose Smith's inclusion on the committee, citing her track record.

Tampa Bay Group Sierra Club chairman Kent Bailey said he worries more that the commission will allow businesses to influence the final decision, "mindful that the EPC has been the target of political pressure in the past."

In 2007, commissioners threatened to shut down the EPC wetlands division because developers complained about stringent rules. Garrity was able to broker a compromise.

"There was room on that panel for more environmentalists," Bailey said, "if there were fewer people who were not environmentalists."

Contact Steve Contorno at scontorno@tampabay.com. Follow @scontorno.