Low morale bedevils the Department of Homeland Security, a #GAO study finds.

No surprise, perhaps, but the 80-page study also concludes that the sprawling federal agency could be doing a better job at tracking the morale problem and correcting it.

Citing a broader federal government survey, the Government Accountability Office report notes that "DHS employees had 4.5 percentage points lower job satisfaction and 7.0 percentage points lower engagement in their work overall." Engagement measures how much employees are immersed in their work and spending extra effort on job performance. 

It may further surprise absolutely no one who has had to pass through airport security in recent years to learn that, of all the Homeland Security components, the Transportation Security Administration has the lowest job satisfaction and engagement level. Screeners, those poor TSA grunts who have to repeatedly ask travelers to remove their belts and shoes, have the lowest morale of all.

#Environmental groups have won a challenge to #Interior Department policies that permit planting of genetically modified corn and soybeans on National Wildlife Refuge land.

In an 11-page ruling Tuesday, U.S. District Judge James E Boasberg handed a victory to Beyond Pesticides, the Center for Food Safety, and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. The three groups had sued over Fish and Wildlife Service policies in the 430,000 square-mile Southeast Region, spanning 128 wildlife refuges in 10 states.

The Fish and Wildlife Service allowed the planting of genetically engineered crops on some 44,000 acres of refuge land in the Southeast Region. Typically, these crops were corn and soybeans that have been developed to be resistant to the broad application of the herbicide Roundup. The environmental groups assert use of such genetically engineered herbicide-resistant crops has numerous adverse environmental impacts.

Interior officials tried to make the challenge go away by agreeing not to allow the plantings any more pending full environmental study. Not good enough, the judge ruled. Reasoned Judge Boasberg:

"Although Defendants have indicated that they will no longer permit farming of genetically modified crops in Southeastern Refuges after the 2012 growing season, Plaintiff’s case is not moot because this decision has not completely and irrevocably eradicated the effects of the alleged violation."

Next up: a Nov. 5 hearing to discuss potential remedies, which could range from specifying clean-up procedures to public disclosures of the treated fields.

An #Aspen #Skiing Co. plan to cut trees for a new #Snowmass ski run has now cleared a court hurdle.

In a 20-page decision, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg dismissed a lawsuit brought by a Wyoming-based environmental group called the Ark Initiative. In doing so, the judge also offered a more general lesson for environmental advocates: get involved early in administrative proceedings.

The Ark Initiative and its founder Donald Duerr sued to stop tree-cutting underway for the new Colorado ski run, contending that the parcel where the trees grow should be designated “roadless" and therefore off-limits to timber cutting.

The Forest Service denied the request, explaining its reasoning in two short letters,and the Ark Initiative complained the agency did not adequately explain the denial.

The roadless area inventory for Colorado excluded lands within ski area permitted boundaries. The Forest Service reasoned that even if the affected area on Burnt Mountain had roadless characteristics, the parcel is inside Snowmass Ski Area.

Judge Boasberg concluded "it was not arbitrary and capricious" for the Forest Service to read rules governing roadless areas as excluding the Burnt Mountain parcel. And now, listen up for the broader lesson:

"The Colorado Roadless Rule was not off-the-cuff rulemaking (but) the result of extensive public involvement. More than 310,000 public comments, over a 6-year period, were reviewed and considered in the development of the final rule.Plaintiffs chose not to comment on the Rule and thus cannot challenge it now. If Plaintiffs wanted roadless designations in ski areas, they should have participated in the rulemaking."

 

 

An unhappy #judge pummeled DC's #lawyers this week, in a long-running free-speech case.

The Act Now to Stop Racism and End War Coalition and the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation filed the initial challenge to Washington, D.C.'s refusal to allow political posters on lampposts. The District's attorneys asserted no discovery was needed, and said it would seek none.

Uh oh. You do NOT want to mess with U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth on stuff like this.

In a sharply worded decision -- and, really, is there any other kind from Judge Lamberth? -- the court slapped D.C.'s lawyers for their "hypocrisy" and "disingenuous arguments" and "ridiculous" positions and "complete ignorance" and "baseless arguments that fly in the face of reality and common sense" of what was allowed. Stated the judge:

"Sadly, in this instance, (D.C.'s) counsel demonstrated neither prudence nor honesty."

It seems that, contrary to their prior position and contrary to a court order, the District propounded eleven interrogatories and a related request for document production.

Then, Judge Lamberth went on, "instead of admitting its mistake, the District decided to go all in" with discovery requests. And the judge was just getting started, going on to say:

"Given the history of this litigation, the District’s position and arguments are as untenable as they are ridiculous. Defendant asks this Court to enter an Orwellian world where all arguments are devoid of context, and all Court orders magically mean whatever the District wishes them to mean. The Court rejects this invitation."