JEFFERSON CITY 鈥 When Attorney General Josh Hawley took office in January 2017, he eliminated his agency鈥檚 agriculture and environment division.
For years, the state described the division in its 鈥溾 as one that 鈥渁ggressively protects Missouri鈥檚 natural resources and agricultural productivity.鈥 Some of the office鈥檚 best lawyers were assigned to the division, which handled some of the state鈥檚 most complex cases, ranging from Missouri River water rights to dealing with pollution left behind after generations of lead mining.
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Hawley, a Republican who won election as attorney general after 25 years of Democratic administrations, startled at least some state lawyers when he cut the division.
鈥淚 was surprised that that was one of his first administrative moves in the office,鈥 said Joseph Bindbeutel, who was the consumer protection division鈥檚 chief counsel before Hawley took office. 鈥淚 think it sent a really chilling message to staff 鈥 that that was no longer what he considered to be an important part of the mission.鈥
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think environmental problems have gone away,鈥 added Bindbeutel, who resigned on Hawley鈥檚 inauguration day.
鈥淭hat was a big red flag to me,鈥 one attorney who still works in the office, and who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said of the division鈥檚 elimination. After Hawley鈥檚 inauguration, 鈥減oof, it was gone.鈥
When asked about his office鈥檚 reorganization, and the environmental team鈥檚 dissolution, Hawley, now running for U.S. Senate, spoke only in general about the reorganization.
鈥淲e pursued a fairly significant reorganization of the office,鈥 Hawley told the Post-Dispatch. 鈥淲e consolidated the many different divisions in the office, which had sort of proliferated 鈥 you know, they gathered over the years 鈥 add a division, add a division, add a division.鈥
Mary Compton, Hawley鈥檚 office spokeswoman, said in a statement: 鈥淭he Office carefully reviews all referrals and enforces Missouri鈥檚 environmental laws.鈥
Reorganization
Out of nine divisions that existed under Democrat Chris Koster, Hawley鈥檚 predecessor, Hawley dissolved only the environmental division. He downgraded the remaining eight divisions into sections and placed the various sections under two general divisions: civil and criminal.
Critics say Hawley's administration bled staffers and dedicated limited resources to firing salvos toward the federal government. Hawley said a reorganization was long overdue.
Scott Pruitt, a Republican who became attorney general in Oklahoma in 2011, upon taking office, according to E&E News, which covers energy and environmental issues. Like Hawley, Pruitt also formed a Federalism Unit that was dedicated to challenging federal laws and regulations.
Pruitt later served as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Donald Trump. Critics say Pruitt worked to dismantle the agency from the inside.
Former Attorney General Jay Nixon, a Democrat who later became governor, . In so doing, he elevated environmental issues to the highest organizational status within the office.
鈥淚 think clean air and clean water and a good environment to work in 鈥 hunt, fish, live, breathe 鈥 are important,鈥 Nixon said in explaining the move.
Attorney General Jay Nixon speaks at a blazing tire dump about the importance of a state account that funds environmental cleanup efforts. The…
Having a division focused on environmental and agricultural issues 鈥渁llowed folks to get expertise, not only in a certain area concerning air and water and permits and whatnot,鈥 Nixon said, 鈥渂ut equally importantly, to make sure that when the state was needing something that it was done in a strong and consistent way.鈥
When Hawley dissolved the division, he split its duties between the office鈥檚 government affairs and litigation sections.
The Post-Dispatch and The New York Times have reported that the litigation section of the attorney general鈥檚 office has been plagued by departures since 2017. Michael Quinlan, who worked in the office for less than a year, left weeks after a female employee complained that Quinlan had lectured her about her sex life, .
While his adversaries portray him as someone more interested in headlines than actual results, Hawley lists a number of actions in the two years he's been in office.
When asked about the environmental team鈥檚 dissolution, Quinlan said in an interview: 鈥淚t鈥檚 emphatically not the case that environmental matters were given less attention or handled any less vigorously.鈥
Enforcement
Even after Hawley鈥檚 changes, the attorney general鈥檚 office remained in charge of handling environmental cases.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources, which also came under Republican leadership in 2017, said the attorney general鈥檚 office was handling about 180 of its cases; many of them take years to resolve.
Compton said the DNR made 58 enforcement referrals in 2015 and 48 enforcement referrals in 2016.
She said DNR had made 36 enforcement referrals to the office since January 2017. The attorney general鈥檚 office has 鈥渢aken action鈥 on 25 of those referrals and is preparing actions on the remaining 11, Compton said.
鈥淭he Attorney General鈥檚 Office does not have original jurisdiction over most environmental matters and relies on client agencies to refer matters for enforcement,鈥 she said in a statement.
Past staffers said that while the office generally does wait for referrals before taking action, the attorney general can push for referrals behind closed doors; or, the office can take action unilaterally on environmental matters.
Bill Bryan, who served in Nixon鈥檚 environmental division before working for his gubernatorial administration, said the attorney general鈥檚 office could act independently of regulators to enforce environmental laws.
鈥淚t is always an answer to say that 鈥楴obody鈥檚 asked me to do that,鈥 but that doesn鈥檛 mean it鈥檚 the right thing to do,鈥 Bryan said. 鈥淭here are mechanisms for the attorney general to be an advocate for the people and protect the environment when they think it鈥檚 necessary.鈥
When asked for highlights of Hawley鈥檚 environmental record, Compton pointed to a settlement with the owners of the Bridgeton Landfill; a letter Hawley wrote to Illinois regulators in opposition to proposed levee rules; continued legal action water project; finalizing a trust connected to a settlement with Volkswagen over its emissions; St. Joseph-based HPI Products continued to clean up hazardous waste.
The Post-Dispatch reported in October that under then-Gov. Eric Greitens and current Gov. Mike Parson, both Republicans, the DNR has emphasized compliance checks over enforcement measures.
For example, the number of 鈥渘otices of violation鈥 peaked at 4,266 in 2014 before trending downward. Last year, there were 2,360 notices of violation; through Sept. 26 this year, that figure stood at 1,283.
While critics worry that the state is going soft on polluters, the DNR contends that its role is to partner with industry to ensure compliance.
In a Senate debate this month, Hawley acknowledged that humans cause climate change and then segued into a defense of cutting government regulations.
鈥淲e should look at science and see what the outcomes can be,鈥 Hawley said. But, he said, 鈥淚 am very concerned about environmental regulations coming from the EPA and elsewhere that choke off family farms, that choke off small businesses.鈥
Post-Dispatch coverage of the 2018 race for Missouri's U.S. Senate seat.