Administration Reportedly Forces Out EPA Official

In a floor speech yesterday morning, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) decried Gade's departure and cited it as "just the latest in a growing pile of evidence of a troubling and destructive force at work within our government, one with serious consequences for our environment, our natural resources and our public health.

"We do not yet know all the details of Ms. Gade's firing or everything that may have gone on between EPA and Dow Chemical. But from all we have heard and seen, Mary Gade's story seems like deja vu all over again from an administration that values compliance with a political agenda over the best interests of the American people," Whitehouse added.

S. William Becker, executive director of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies, has known Gade for years, and wrote in an e-mail that her decision to step down testifies to her professional commitment.

"Mary Gade is a strong leader and a woman of principle, and her actions on this issue have reinforced this point," Becker wrote.

In the meantime, many Michigan residents are wondering when someone will remove the dioxin in their soil and waterways. Joy Cooper, who has lived in Saginaw for 40 years, said she "would like to see a solution" to the impasse.

"We've been tested and retested. They've been taking our blood samples; they've taken samples out of our home; they've taken samples out of our yard," Cooper said. Her husband, Lloyd, had colon cancer in 1992 and she suffers from arthritis, but Cooper said she is unsure whether those are linked to the dioxin that permeates their environment.

"We raised four children here," she said. "We fish; we boat; we're exposed to that river all the time. Sometimes in the back of my mind, I think, 'Gee, did this cause something?' "

Lydersen reported from Chicago.