EPA has been accused of hacking into a private e-mail account in order to interfere with and/or block investigation of its conduct related to the Superfund cleanup of asbestos-contaminated Libby, Montana. The veracity of the allegation has been confirmed by an investigator with the EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG).
Based on JunkScience.com’s investigation, the EPA Region 8 office had apparently hacked into a private individual’s G-mail account in order to intercept, trap and block e-mail intended for the EPA OIG. JunkScience.com confirmed the discovery of the hacking/trapping with EPA OIG staff.
Below is the late-February complaint filed with the National Security Agency by the individual who discovered the hacking.
Confirmation of the hacking, which occurred in 2010, is provided by the e-mail below from an investigator in the EPA OIG’s office.
Developing…
EPA or Homeland security same, more and more big brother protection its own power
Does EPA Region 8 have drones? She might want to limit her cafe experiences for the time being.
Does the letter mean that there have been 400 deaths due to asbestos exposure in a town of 2,000 over the past 10 years? If so, how did that escape the notice of our ever diligent press corps?
The press hasn’t missed this issue, but there is a need for some in-depth investigation into the efficacy of the remedy. EPA has botched the cleanup, even to the point of using contaminated soil to replace the contaminated soil they remove.
The email trapping was part of an effort to disrupt communications on these issues.
EPA management of superfund site cleanups during several decades qualifies as a criminal enterprise. The types of malfeasance are numerous. The cover-ups have been effective.
The EPA isn’t concerned about the cost or the time. They have a blank check and can make a career cleaning up one of these sites. So why shouldn’t they be after anyone who tries to interfere with the gravy train.