SavingSeaFood - IG report: Oversight of attorneys hampered by unions

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IG report: Oversight of attorneys hampered by unions

BOSTON — Personnel management in NOAA's Office of the General Counsel for Enforcement and Litigation (GCEL) has been lax and ineffective, thwarted by union resistance, according to a report to NOAA obtained by the U.S. Senate from the Commerce Department inspector general.

But where CGEL was aggressive, giving an attorney a $2,000 bonus while in the midst of completing a case that shattered — improperly, according to a special judicial master's review — the New Bedford scalloping business of Larry Yacubian, the IG questioned the action.

The study looked at the period of 2005 through the fall of 2009, after the Obama administration had filled the top position at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with Jane Lubchenco.

"We found GCEL's process for evaluating the performances of its enforcement attorneys to be essentially pro forma," and involved "fundamental inattention to the basic requirements for completing appraisals ... reflecting a lack of proper care and regard for this important performance management function," the report said.

Dated Dec. 14, 2010, the report was sent to Lubchenco by IG Todd Zinser.

Read the IG report.

HASTINGS: Time to improve the Endangered Species Act

May 18, 2012 - When the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was signed into law in 1973 by President Nixon, he spoke about the importance of preserving “the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed.” I believe that goal is as important today as it was back then. However, after nearly 40 years, it’s time to take a fresh, honest look at the law and consider whether there are ways it could be improved to do a better job of protecting and recovering species.

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