label: PUBLIC LANDS

GILLETTE - U.S. Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., is waging a battle against "bad science" and "scientific opinions" in public lands decisions, she announced this week, citing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's decision to list the Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act as a triggering event.

In the same vein, Cubin wants the Environmental Protection Agency to delete Web links to two specific non-governmental Web sites that provide information about toxic releases by ZIP code. She said they are operated by "extremist" groups.

The battles are part of a larger war of political ideology surrounding public lands and environmental policy, according to Cubin's spokesman, Joe Milczewski.

"I think it stems from the fact that EPA is still staffed with a lot of Clinton folks," Milczewski said. "You can't undo eight years of Clinton administration work in three years of the Bush administration. It's not possible."

Wyoming Conservation Voters Executive Director Jason Marsden said he believes Cubin is "grinding an ideological axe," and the comments coming from Cubin and her staff are antagonistic.

"You can't engage her (Cubin) in debate on the issues or you are an extremist, which is an extremist tactic from way back," Marsden said. "It's just the same kind of name-calling from Barbara that we've gotten used to over the last 10 years."

The discussion stems from inquiries about a Jan. 20 letter Cubin and Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., wrote to Kimberly T. Nelson, one of the EPA's chief information officers.

Cubin and Gibbons asked that links to two "extremist" groups be deleted from the agency's Toxics Release Inventory Program (TRI) site, (http://www.epa.gov/tri/tri_program_fact_sheet.htm).

The Republican pair referred to the New York City-based Environmental Defense's Internet search program featured at (http://www.scorecard.org), and The Right To Know Network's Internet search program at (http://www.rtk.net). The Right To Know Network is a project of the watchdog group, OMB Watch and the Washington D.C.-based Center for Public Data Access. OMB refers to the White House Office of Management and Budget.

The groups' sites list data and trend information about toxic releases using a ZIP code search for specific regions.

The rift over the Web links apparently came from a September oversight hearing of the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee. Cubin chairs the committee.

In the letter, Cubin and Gibbons said it is "inappropriate" for the EPA to link to the sites. The pair suggested "your agency should replace these links with work by EPA scientists, if the agency believes that having on-line assessment tools available to the public is a valuable public service."

Cubin and Gibbons also suggested that the links were not properly accompanied by a disclaimer - a charge the EPA denies. A trip to the Web site finds a disclaimer at each link.

EPA spokeswoman Suzanne Ackerman said Nelson has received Cubin and Gibbons' letter and is considering their suggestions. Ackerman said she could not reply directly to Milczewski"s comments about "Clinton folks" in the EPA. But she did note that Nelson is and appointee of President Bush and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Milczewski responded: "I'm sure she is. But who are the people working for her (Nelson)? Who are the people she doesn't even know about? How many bureaucrats are working in the EPA building here? If you've seen it, it's a city block long. So how long does it take to clear those folks out?"

Regarding the (http://www.scorecard.org) and (http://www.rtk.net links), Marsden said he believes it is important for the public to have access to information regarding toxic releases - even if it doesn't come directly from the government.

"We've heard an awful lot over the years from Barbara about local control and local people being involved in decisions about the environment," Marsden said. "Well, here's a service that actually allows you to find out what's going on in your area, but Barbara thinks that information is too dangerous for you to have."

Also in the letter, Cubin and Gibbons criticized the EPA's own information published on its Toxics Release Inventory Program Web page. They said the EPA data misleads the public by portraying large amounts of removed overburden materials as waste materials without properly explaining that much of the material is used as backfill.

"Thus, mining becomes the largest source of releases and the State of Nevada is unjustly held out as a major 'polluter,'" Cubin and Gibbons wrote.