Jim Shively

 

Jim was the lead person on the NMED permit-writing team until he refused to give Intel everything they wanted.  At that point Jim was reassigned.

This is the letter that Jim Shively wrote after he retired. 

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January 5, 2004

 

 

Mr. Ron Curry

Secretary, New Mexico Environment Dept.

1190 St. Francis Dr .

P.O. Box 26110

Santa Fe , New Mexico   87502-0110

 

RE:       Intel Air Quality Permit – NSR Permit No. 325M9

 

Secretary Curry:

 

This letter is a follow-up to a meeting I had with Jim Norton and Jon Goldstein on October 24, 2003 regarding the Intel air quality permit and Air Quality Bureau problems in general.  This meeting was prompted by a reporter's request for an interview with me prior to my retirement on December 31, 2003 .  The reporter made the request because I was a Program Manager of the New Source Review permitting unit of the Air Quality Bureau from June 1994 until March 2001.  The reporter was denied the interview and I requested the meeting with Jim Norton to at least inform him of how I expected the interview to go.

 

The Intel permit (No. 325M9) is a sham based on an EPA memo date June 13, 1989 , and the process that produced the permit was a farce.  The permit is impractical and unenforceable.  This has been repeated and emphasized many times and by many people during the review process and since.  It is written with the emission factors provided by Intel that have never been independently validated.  The Department cannot determine Intel's air emissions nor can the factors or emissions be determined with any real confidence or precision.  Imagine trying to measure the diameter of a human hair with a yardstick.  Intel can't be found in violation of the emission limits in the permit.  Only Intel knows the origin or validity of the factors.

 

This permit, like many others, was granted due to pressure from the permittee, but worse than that, by an inappropriate desire internally to accommodate them to any extent possible.  These actions reflect poorly on the entire Bureau, and as a result, it has become severely compromised and lacks integrity and credibility.

 

The Bureau has now, and has had in the past, many conscientious, competent, and dedicated employees, who if provided with competent and quality leadership and management could serve the public well.  One manager in particular that I do believe you can have faith in, and trust her judgment, is Mary Uhl, manager of the Planning and Policy Section.  I have worked with her for many years, and worked for her the last three years, and know that she is a very fair and knowledgeable person.

 

If accountability, experience, and diversity are truly important to your administration, the Department's upper management will finally pay attention and do its homework.

 

The Department needs to rescind and reissue the permit and conduct the review appropriately and in such a way that people know what is done, how it's done, and what it's done.

 

If you are interested in meeting to discuss specifics I'll make myself available.  I have already provided Jim Norton with a list of 16 former employees who have agreed to be contacted by the Department.  I think you would appreciate their perspective.

 

Here's hoping that 2004 is a good year for the Department.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Jim Shively

 

Cc:       Derrith Watchman-Moore, Deputy Secretary, NMED

            Jim Norton, Division Director, Environmental Protection Division

Max Coll, Representative, District 47, Santa Fe , NM

Fred Marsh, CRCAW, Corrales , NM

U.S. EPA, Air Permits, Region VI, Dallas , TX