DOE Plan To Reorganize Environment Office May Complicate EPA Efforts

A preliminary Department of Energy (DOE) plan to reorganize its Office of Environmental Safety & Health -- whose responsibilities include department compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) -- is drawing concern from Capitol Hill lawmakers and others who say it could reduce high-level attention on environmental issues and complicate discussions among DOE, states and EPA. The critics of the draft plan say it appears to subordinate environmental concerns within a larger office charged with overseeing security issues, citing...