Posted on 12/12/2003 8:10:05 AM PST by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
WASHINGTON -- The Interior Department has disciplined four officials behind a Utah land swap and reformed its land appraisal process after an investigation revealed they concealed details that showed the exchange would have shortchanged taxpayers.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, had singled out the actions of the attorneys and negotiators behind a proposed land exchange in Utah's San Rafael Swell, saying they misled Congress and top Interior officials. He also demanded to know whether the Interior Secretary Gale Norton considered such behavior acceptable.
"The Department of Interior is responsible for ensuring that we present accurate facts to the Congress, decision-makers and the public," Norton's chief of staff, Brian Waidmann, wrote Wednesday in a reply to Grassley.
In this case, Waidmann wrote, Congress should have been provided with a clearer picture of the value of land being exchanged. But had members of Congress or the public read two documents -- the legislation and the agreement spelling out the swap -- the terms of the exchange would have been clear.
Waidmann said appropriate personnel action has been taken by the department but did not elaborate.
The department has also sought to restructure its appraisal process to insulate appraisers from political pressures and install more checks on the process.
"I appreciate that the secretary has been responsive to my concerns. I'm satisfied with the action she's taken," Grassley said. He said the land exchanges "need more scrutiny to ensure that land valuations are fair and accurate, and that the taxpayer doesn't get the short end of the stick."
The Utah land swap was intended to consolidate federal land in the scenic San Rafael Swell to make it easier for President Bush to designate the area a national monument.
But the deal was scuttled after Bureau of Land Management appraisers in Utah told The Associated Press last year that the deal amounted to a giveaway of as much as $117 million in valuable federal mineral reserves on land being turned over to the state of Utah.
Last week, a letter from the Office of Special Counsel indicated that the case had been referred to the Justice Department for possible prosecution.
The letter cited "evidence of criminal violations" as a grounds for not releasing a report prepared in response to allegations raised by BLM appraiser Kent Wilkinson.
But Mary Monahan, a spokeswoman for the office, said this week that the report in question was the Interior Department's inspector general report, which has been available for months.
Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list.
I don't get offended if you want to be removed.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.