Surprise: EPA Also “Lost” Emails

I mentioned a Mark Stein article in the previous post. Something else he wrote

It’s worse when the supposedly impartial civil service uses those powers in the service of the ruling party: The merger of party and state is the very definition of “banana republic”. And it’s worst of all when they get away with it – because it means they’ll do it again.

That was in terms of the IRS knowing they can get away with it, and do it again. Apparently, the EPA feels they can get away with it, as well

(Politico) Move over, IRS – now the EPA is having its own problems with missing emails.

The environmental agency is having trouble locating emails belonging to a former agency employee and pulling information from his crashed hard drive, House members revealed Wednesday while questioning Administrator Gina McCarthy at a hearing on complaints of mismanagement.

“What is it with bureaucrats and public employees … the hard drives crash?” asked Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-Mich.).

McCarthy said her agency hasn’t given up.

“We’re having trouble getting information off of it and are trying different ways,” McCarthy said.

The Committee should find a way to compel the EPA to bring the hard drive(s) to someone, be it a different government department or someone contracted from outside, who can recover the data. Because EPA will never recover the data on their own, at least not for years.

The EPA apparently has a much, much, much worse problem, though

(Government Executive) It appears, however, that a regional office has reached a new low: Management for Region 8 in Denver, Colo., wrote an email earlier this year to all staff in the area pleading with them to stop inappropriate bathroom behavior, including defecating in the hallway.

In the email, obtained by Government Executive, Deputy Regional Administrator Howard Cantor mentioned “several incidents” in the building, including clogging the toilets with paper towels and “an individual placing feces in the hallway” outside the restroom.

Confounded by what to make of this occurrence, EPA management “consulted” with workplace violence “national expert” John Nicoletti, who said that hallway feces is in fact a health and safety risk. He added the behavior was “very dangerous” and the individuals responsible would “probably escalate” their actions.

Seriously, the EPA needed an outside consultant to tell them that? On the bright side, at least they weren’t pooing in wetlands, otherwise the employees might have found themselves in serious trouble.

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach.

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