Shoring Up a Shaken EPA

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The White House moves to pump in some professionalism

Anxious to counter the rapidly spreading perception that safeguarding the environment has not exactly been one of its highest priorities, the Reagan Administration last week began a refurbishing of the Environmental Protection Agency. First, EPA Administrator Anne Burford showed up in Missouri with a dramatic offer to buy out the homes and property of residents of the dioxin-poisoned town of Times Beach. Then, after Burford left for speaking engagements in California and Arizona, the Administration put the broom to the EPA, sweeping out of office two top officials who were under investigation and appointing five top deputies. Democratic congressional leaders dubbed it the "Wednesday-night massacre." The White House called it "a fresh start."

Despite these moves, several congressional leaders clamored for the sacking of Anne McGill Burford, who was known as Anne Gorsuch until her marriage to Robert Burford, an aide to Interior Department Secretary James Watt, two days before her appearance in Times Beach. But there was no gratis honeymoon period for her on the Hill. Investigators for congressional subcommittees probed charges of political favoritism, conflict of interest and mismanagement at the EPA. They began to focus on Burford's role in overseeing the Superfund, a $1.6 billion program to clean up the nation's worst toxic dumps. Some Administration officials, unhappy with her handling of the mess at her agency, also favored jettisoning the "Ice Queen."

But President Reagan gave every indication of being determined to keep Burford. One top White House aide offered a sarcastic assessment: "We have nothing against her except that she might not have managed the agency properly." Officials described the new talent at EPA as calculated to strengthen top management, particularly in the Superfund program. "We're going to surround her," said a Reagan adviser.

The top-management changing of the guard came after several days of intense debate among senior presidential aides on the best strategy for regaining control of the politically damaging situation. Twice last week the President tried to down-play the problems, blaming the press for exaggerating the story. Said Reagan: "We're falling into that trap of running as if the sky is falling, just on the basis of accusations, without... any substance back of it. The EPA has, in truth, done a fine job." But White House insiders conceded that the Administration was hurting. Said one: "We may have handed the Democrats another good issue."

The two officials dismissed on Wednesday were EPA Inspector General Matthew Novick, whose job was to police waste and misdeeds in the agency, and John Horton, the agency's director of administration. Novick is being investigated by the General Accounting Office on allegations that he used Government employees to do personal work for him during office hours; the Justice Department is looking into accusations that Horton used his EPA office to run private businesses.