Virginia’s chief environmental regulator, David Paylor, accepted lavish gifts from Dominion

[Corey Clift]

Another coal ash story.  Is there any hope?

http://chesapeakeclimate.org/press-releases/expose-shows-dominions-influence-clouds-top-levels-of-coal-ash-decision-making-in-virginia/

[Dalton Terrell]

Corey,

Thanks for posting this, the news of this broke on Monday and I've been working on an open letter inviting Mr. Paylor to a Beer Tie (with tab covered, of course). Just working to see if I violate any laws or ethical concerns at work before I push something out like this.

Dalton

[arthur noglak]

This is unreal. ....

How do these people get away with ?

Art

[namfos]

Apparently he accepted BEFORE the law changed in VA. Plus I'd take anything said by Tidwell with a large grain of salt. But then, that's my opinion, just as this article is Tidwell's opinion.

Mark

[Corey Clift]

Sorry to bring this up again, I probably should've shared an article that could not been seen as an opinion piece. I think the specifics about if or how to drain the ponds and under which permits is not the interesting part. The interesting part is the kickback. How can we trust DEQ? I've heard the pimento cheese sandwiches at the Master's are delicious, so I understand wanting to go, but come on, what was he thinking?

What follows is not opinion, it's a demonstrable fact:
"Public documents obtained by WAMU 88.5 show that in 2013, Dominion paid for David Paylor, the head of Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality to attend the Masters golf tournament in Georgia, one of the most sought-after sports tickets in the country.

The value of the trip was estimated to be $2,300, according to Paylor’s 2013 financial disclosure statement. Dominion also picked up the tab for a $1,200 outing to O’Toole’s, an Irish pub in Augusta that Paylor patronized along with nine others"

[namfos]

I'm not disputing any facts. IMO Paylor ought to have declined the invite to the Masters, but he didn't and as far as I know while it might have been "ethically questionable" at best, to my knowledge it was not against the law. IMO, if you hold a position of public trust you need to be seen as pure as Caesar's wife, purer than the driven snow. A trip to the Masters, while a hot ticket, is a pretty small potatoes deal compared to what many Federal officials (legislative and executive branch) get to partake of. But then again, I am deeply cynical about all on all sides of any public policy debate. ;-)

Mark 

[Richard Farino]

The problem is as a public official, ANY potential payola leaves lasting impressions that tend to incriminate them in the minds of the public.

You’re entrusted keep Virginia waterways clean.  You accept what looks like a bribe by a business.  Said business is accused of dumping millions of gallons of wastewater into the waterways you’re entrusted to protect.  The business denies it.  You deny it.  A year later evidence comes to light.  The business admits it dumped into the waterways you’re entrusted to protect.  You refuse to comment on whether or not they actually did it.  The public finds out about the thing that looked like a bribe.  What else is the public supposed to think about you?

Maybe public trust workers should start having to wear scarlet letters on their suits to let the public know they cater to special interests.  I suggest the following:

• B – if evidence is conclusive that person took a bribe
• S – if evidence is conclusive that person is a shill for a business or corporation

The list is endless.  On second thought, maybe it’s not a good idea.  I’m sure some would have so many letters on their clothing they’d look like a walking dictionary.

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[Misha Gill]

Mark I love the reference to Livia, Augustus Caesar's wife, whose public image was indeed that of the virtuous Roman mother. She was said to have raised a coop of all white chickens or something weirdly auspicious like that. Funny thing is, she was a prolific poisoner, killing off all of Caesar's potential heirs and leaving only her own son by another marriage, Tiberius, to take up the purple when the time came. So the comparison is really quite apt. The public official here, David Paylor, while publicly defending his image as the virtuous public official who technically did nothing wrong, is actually working counter to his mandate and poisoning us all. Ok, maybe that's a little bit of a stretch, but Mr. Paylor obviously does not give a shit about his responsibility to the public and will leave a poisonous legacy, while allowing Dominion to actually do the poisoning. I hate that I pay money to Dominion. 

[namfos]

Damn, Misha, I've been found out, exposed! At the very least it's good to know there's another one of the few, the proud, the literate. ;-)

[TurbineBlade]

Meh?

[cjthelder]

Mmmmm....

Wonder if anything will come of this.

http://news.maryland.gov/dnr/2016/02/16/maryland-challenges-virginia-coal-ash-permit/

[TurbineBlade]

That literancy is for the birds.  If I were him, I would have taken enough bribes to create a Scrooge McDuck vault --

Catch me if you can!  Coal ash doesn't really even sound that bad.  Didn't George Brett put it on his bat?

Gene ("nihilist") TB