In his County Administration Evaluation, Commissioner Gene Valentino called County Administrator Randy Oliver “unethical and insubordinate” in matter regarding “an open letter to the DEP secretary chastising a commmissioner’s stand on DEP’s oil spill performance.”
The Independent News made a public record request to find what the heck Valentino is talking about. Here is the story:
In late March 2011, tar balls washed up on beaches on Perdido Key. There was some emails exchanged between residents, Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the county about why the BP clean up crews weren’t working during the daytime. In one email, Commissioner Valentino described the efforts of the state, BP and federal government as “criminally negligent.”
From: Gene M. Valentino
Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2011 3:34 PM
To: KEITH T. WILKINS; pschibline@aol.com; laura.mager@bp.com; allison.marabella@bp.com; Kell, Sarah; District2; Patrick.F.Coleman@uscg.mil; Timothy R. Day; Sava Varazo; Chips Kirschenfeld; alison@davprop.com; hp@perdido-key.com; mthomas@perdido-key.com; mtremaine@perdido-key.com
Subject: RE: Continued Beach IssuesDear Keith (et al):
I support you position. It’s regrettable that these ‘smaller’ issues these last 11 months center around a complete abrogation of responsibility at the state and federal level to address the REAL issue of assessment and cleanup. Here you are stepping up to address something the state and federal folks should have been doing in the first place. In fact let me be more direct: I’m sick of the fact that my written requests to BP and Unified Command have still not been addressed. I’ve asked for a SPECIFIC PLAN to address the cleanup, not only of the beaches (inconsistent as our efforts may be with the state/federal beach policy), but the ‘near-to-shore’ floor of our waters from the shoreline out to about 200 yards.
I appreciate the leadership of the “Team†here at Escambia County and their willingness to step up when others didn’t. Discussions of personnel levels on the beaches, discussions/debates on levels of toxicity, discussions of methodologies of equipment and the scrubbing of the beach sands … masks and blurs the real issue … that we still have no leadership that can tell me today the regional approach plan necessary to clean the ocean floor (from the shoreline out 200 yards). Meanwhile, we continue to be distracted by the bureaucratic process which has been nothing better than disappointing.
Keith, you and your team here at the county are to be congratulated for your willingness to persevere. Remember the original peril, and proximate cause was in federal waters. Therefore THEY should have been forthright, timely, and have deployed a SOLUTION long before now. Criticism of our willingness to step-up and engage in various levels of remediation should NOT be criticized, when “THEY†have still no plan to clean the ocean floor.
As a corollary, we have worked so hard and have spent a lot of dollars mitigating state/federal concerns of the Beach Mouse and its migratory pattern, as it pertains to the widening of State Road 292. In walking distance from this very area, we the county are stopped by State and Federal folks from cleaning the very beaches which they will not touch below a few inches, which still have sub-surface layers of oil that will adversely effect the nesting process of the turtles and beach mice. Criminally negligent and inconsistent (emphasis added). Stay the course Keith!
Gene M. Valentino
Escambia County Commissioner, District 2
This email made its way to Mimi Drew, special advisor to the DEP secretary, and she was not amused. She wrote a letter to Oliver in which she said that her staff had been “as responsive as humanly possible to the continuing issues you are facing.” Drew went on to describe how she had personally arranged a teleconference for Commissioner Valentino with the DEP lab team to help understand DEP testing and how to interpret the results.
Drew asked Oliver and the Commissioners to give her their specific concerns with DEP. Read Ltr_from_Mimi_Drew_4-4-11.
Oliver and Board chairman, Kevin White, responded with a letter dated April 8. They assured Drew that Valentino’s email did not reflect the position of the Commission or County Administration. They wrote, “While we do not condone what was said, Commissioner Valentino’s District was impacted greatly by the Oil Spill. Consequently, he is passionate about the issue.”
White and Oliver told Drew that the county had a good relationship with DEP. “We look forward to continued agency and staff goodwill, cooperation and support.” Read mimi_drew__4-8-11.
Here is the email string that led to Valentino’s criminal negligent email:
March 2011 Emails
From: pschibline [mailto:pschibline@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2011 10:05 PM
To: laura.mager@bp.com
Subject: Fwd: Continued Beach Issues
Laura,
I have had some issues with my computer, so not sure that you received my email from Monday, since I have not received a response. I would like an answer as to why there was no BP support on our beach on Saturday, March 26th when the tar balls (submerged oil) came ashore on our section of the beach, FLES1-006. If you, or someone else at BP could respond to this issue, I would appreciate it.
Patrick Schibline
Perdido Key Resident
DEP RESPONDS
From: Boudreau, Darryl >
To: ‘pschibline’ >; laura.mager@bp.com >
Sent: Thu Mar 31 07:04:23 2011
Subject: RE: Continued Beach Issues
Pat. As I understand it, the issue was a miscommunication between the county and BP regarding the desire to have crews on the beach during Spring Break. BP was working under the understanding that the county wanted the beaches cleaned and cleared before the height of the day. Based on your letter it appears that is what they did. Having said that, the county and BP have had follow up discussions and I believe the current operating approach is more in line with your request.
Have a great day,
Darryl
Darryl Boudreau,
Northwest District DEP
COUNTY CLARIFIES
From: KEITH T. WILKINS
Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2011 2:08 PM
To: pschibline@aol.com; laura.mager@bp.com; allison.marabella@bp.com; Kell, Sarah; District2; Gene M. Valentino; Patrick.F.Coleman@uscg.mil; Timothy R. Day; Sava Varazo; Chips Kirschenfeld; alison@davprop.com; hp@perdido-key.com; mthomas@perdido-key.com; mtremaine@perdido-key.com
Subject: FW: Continued Beach Issues
I want to clarify that Escambia County has not requested for hours of BP operations to be altered. It is more important to have clean beaches rather than a small presence of BP workers. The change occurred to morning only during one of the “right-sizing†events. The County provided input only after this strategy failed first on Pensacola Beach and then on Perdido Key. This is similar to the rumor that the County requested operations to conclude by March 1. This was requested by the National Park Service for Gulf Islands National Seashore property only. We need to make sure information is accurate to maintain credibility and assurance of actions.
The letter was generated because there was a disconnect between the call-in line and the Branch. After the third report by Mr. Schibline, Lt. Coleman (USCG) called the Branch to see what was going on. The Branch was not receiving any of the complaints and responded based on the Lieutenant’s call. That communication issue has been resolved and the Branch is now being copied on the complaints again. The Branch and Escambia County have communicated clearly and accurately and responded accordingly. The misstep was in communication from the national call-in line to Branch.
COMMISSIONER VALENTINO WEIGHS IN
From: Gene M. Valentino
Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2011 3:34 PM
To: KEITH T. WILKINS; pschibline@aol.com; laura.mager@bp.com; allison.marabella@bp.com; Kell, Sarah; District2; Patrick.F.Coleman@uscg.mil; Timothy R. Day; Sava Varazo; Chips Kirschenfeld; alison@davprop.com; hp@perdido-key.com; mthomas@perdido-key.com; mtremaine@perdido-key.com
Subject: RE: Continued Beach Issues
Dear Keith (et al):
I support you position. It’s regrettable that these ‘smaller’ issues these last 11 months center around a complete abrogation of responsibility at the state and federal level to address the REAL issue of assessment and cleanup. Here you are stepping up to address something the state and federal folks should have been doing in the first place. In fact let me be more direct: I’m sick of the fact that my written requests to BP and Unified Command have still not been addressed. I’ve asked for a SPECIFIC PLAN to address the cleanup, not only of the beaches (inconsistent as our efforts may be with the state/federal beach policy), but the ‘near-to-shore’ floor of our waters from the shoreline out to about 200 yards.
I appreciate the leadership of the “Team†here at Escambia County and their willingness to step up when others didn’t. Discussions of personnel levels on the beaches, discussions/debates on levels of toxicity, discussions of methodologies of equipment and the scrubbing of the beach sands … masks and blurs the real issue … that we still have no leadership that can tell me today the regional approach plan necessary to clean the ocean floor (from the shoreline out 200 yards). Meanwhile, we continue to be distracted by the bureaucratic process which has been nothing better than disappointing.
Keith, you and your team here at the county are to be congratulated for your willingness to persevere. Remember the original peril, and proximate cause was in federal waters. Therefore THEY should have been forthright, timely, and have deployed a SOLUTION long before now. Criticism of our willingness to step-up and engage in various levels of remediation should NOT be criticized, when “THEY†have still no plan to clean the ocean floor.
As a corollary, we have worked so hard and have spent a lot of dollars mitigating state/federal concerns of the Beach Mouse and its migratory pattern, as it pertains to the widening of State Road 292. In walking distance from this very area, we the county are stopped by State and Federal folks from cleaning the very beaches which they will not touch below a few inches, which still have sub-surface layers of oil that will adversely effect the nesting process of the turtles and beach mice. Criminally negligent and inconsistent (emphasis added). Stay the course Keith!
Gene M. Valentino
Escambia County Commissioner, District 2,
His position statement: District_2_-_Horizon_Position_Statement