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One of Trump's Top EPA Officials Was Just Indicted on State Ethics Charges
Onis Glenn is accused of taking part in an effort to block the cleanup of a polluted Alabama neighborhood.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/11/onis-glenn-epa-alabama-indictment/
A senior Environmental Protection Agency administrator responsible for nine southeastern states has been indicted by an Alabama grand jury on charges he conspired to violate ethics laws, reportedly in connection with a messy bribery scandal with links to former Attorney General Jeff Sessions that has roiled local politics.
The Alabama Ethics Commission announced Tuesday morning that a grand jury had indicted Onis “Trey” Glenn, the EPA official, and Willie Scott Phillips, his former business partner, on a variety of state ethics charges. The press release was short on details, but the charges include inappropriate solicitation or receiving of money or other items of value, and allegations that Phillips violated rules against the “use of office for personal gain.” Glenn was indicted separately from Phillips on multiple counts of conspiracy or complicity.
AL.com reported that the charges stem from Glenn and Phillip’s involvement with an effort by the Drummond Coal company to block an EPA cleanup of the 35th Avenue neighborhood of north Birmingham—an impoverished, mostly African-American area that suffered decades of pollution from neighboring industrial sites. Under the Obama administration, the EPA—specifically its southeastern Region 4 office currently led by Glenn—had sought to hold Drummond and several other companies responsible for the pollution, but Alabama state officials tried to block the move. The campaign to stop the EPA’s cleanup efforts was orchestrated by Drummond and its powerful Birmingham law firm, Balch & Bingham
The company eventually enlisted the aid of then Senator Jeff Sessions, whose office worked closely with the coal company and law firm to stymie the EPA’s efforts. Sessions has long had close ties to Balch and Drummond—the companies respectively ranked as his second- and third-biggest contributors during his Senate career, collectively donating nearly a quarter of a million dollars to his campaigns.
The Alabama Ethics Commission announced Tuesday morning that a grand jury had indicted Onis “Trey” Glenn, the EPA official, and Willie Scott Phillips, his former business partner, on a variety of state ethics charges. The press release was short on details, but the charges include inappropriate solicitation or receiving of money or other items of value, and allegations that Phillips violated rules against the “use of office for personal gain.” Glenn was indicted separately from Phillips on multiple counts of conspiracy or complicity.
AL.com reported that the charges stem from Glenn and Phillip’s involvement with an effort by the Drummond Coal company to block an EPA cleanup of the 35th Avenue neighborhood of north Birmingham—an impoverished, mostly African-American area that suffered decades of pollution from neighboring industrial sites. Under the Obama administration, the EPA—specifically its southeastern Region 4 office currently led by Glenn—had sought to hold Drummond and several other companies responsible for the pollution, but Alabama state officials tried to block the move. The campaign to stop the EPA’s cleanup efforts was orchestrated by Drummond and its powerful Birmingham law firm, Balch & Bingham
The company eventually enlisted the aid of then Senator Jeff Sessions, whose office worked closely with the coal company and law firm to stymie the EPA’s efforts. Sessions has long had close ties to Balch and Drummond—the companies respectively ranked as his second- and third-biggest contributors during his Senate career, collectively donating nearly a quarter of a million dollars to his campaigns.
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