Panel backs nominee to head DEP Littell vows to restore public trust in agency

AUGUSTA – Gov. John Baldacci’s choice for commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection said Tuesday that restoring public trust in the agency would be his top priority if appointed to the cabinet post.

Acting DEP Commissioner David Littell inched closer to taking over leadership of the department Tuesday when he received the unanimous endorsement of the Legislature’s Natural Resources Committee.

One lawmaker jokingly called the nomination hearing a “lovefest” as representatives of environmental groups, regulated industries and law firms praised Littell’s professionalism, fairness and scientific knowledge.

The full Senate could take up Littell’s nomination today. Committee co-chairman Sen. Scott Cowger, D-Kennebec, said he does not expect any surprises given Littell’s reception so far.

Littell, who previously worked as deputy commissioner, acknowledged that he would take the helm at a dicey time for the agency.

The 38-year-old former attorney said his first priority would be to restore the credibility of the DEP in the public’s eyes after weeks of controversy.

Littell’s predecessor, Dawn Gallagher, resigned last month after questions were raised about agreements the DEP negotiated with paper mills. Gallagher was also accused of offering a deal to a legislator in return for his support on legislation.

“It is crucially important that the public know that the DEP is doing its job,” Littell said. Asked later by a committee member how the DEP can avoid becoming bogged down by “political distractions,” Littell said the department can still be effective even when dealing with sensitive issues.

“We do deal with important issues,” he said. “People do feel very strongly about them on both sides, and I understand that. But I feel we need to turn the decibel level down.”

Representatives from a diverse collection of groups – from Maine Audubon to the Maine Wastewater Control Association – testified in support of Littell’s nomination.

David Van Slyke, an environmental attorney from Yarmouth, told the committee that he has served alongside and opposite the nominee when Littell worked at the law firm Pierce Atwood and later at DEP.

“Whether as an attorney or as an adversary, he has earned my respect … and he has never given me any reason to doubt his intellect or his forthrightness,” Van Slyke said.

The committee only received one letter urging them to reject Littell. Stockton Springs residents Michele and Joseph Greenier wrote that Littell’s employment with Pierce Atwood, which often represents industries regulated by the DEP, constituted a conflict of interest and therefore would undermine his effectiveness.

During questioning from the committee, Littell indicated that he would recuse himself in the rare instances where issues he handled in private practice came across his desk at the DEP.

Littell said he believes that strong environmental protection and economic development go hand in hand and are key to Maine’s future.

He also pledged to ensure the DEP’s activities and dealings with private industry remained open to the public. The department was heavily criticized and eventually scolded by the Attorney General’s office for allowing documents from negotiations with IP and Rumford Paper to be kept from public view.

Baldacci said last month that he hoped to appoint Gallagher to another position within his administration.

The governor was working on his State of the State address and could not be reached Tuesday evening, but a spokesman for his office said Gallagher is currently not a state employee.

Reached Tuesday night, Gallagher said she accepted ultimate responsibility as head of the DEP for any wrongdoing within the department. But Gallagher said she believes she had become a “lightning rod” for the DEP.

“The only way for the department to heal and move forward was for me to leave,” she said.

Gallagher would not comment about any future position with the administration, but said she was pleased that the state Ethics Commission has been asked to look into the charges of political influence and deal-making within the DEP.