CONTRACTORS GET EDWARDS DUTIES, SUIT SAYS WORKERS CHARGE COMPLIANCE JOBS ARE ILLEGALLY HANDED OUT.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE - Two Edwards Air Force Base employees are suing the Air Force, alleging Edwards officials are illegally turning over to private companies the responsibility for overseeing that the base complies with environmental regulations.

Tom Hagan, the base natural resource manager and wildlife biologist, and Wanda Deal, assistant natural resource manager, say the Air Force has steadily stripped away environmental oversight from government workers and handed those duties over to private contractors.

The lawsuit also claims the Air Force has retaliated against them for speaking out.

``Edwards Air Force Base management has used contractors to take over natural resource management functions, in part, because contractors are more likely to do whatever it takes to please management,'' said the lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in Los Angeles. ``When Air Force civil service employees insist on a proper course of action in a particular project, and that approach is perceived to be burdensome or restrictive by management, the project often is then transferred to a contractor.''

Edwards officials said they have not seen the lawsuit and that it is Air Force policy not to address litigation. In general, however, base officials said, they work closely with all appropriate environmental regulatory agencies and that all environmental project and program managers are civilian government employees.

``All the programs are under the direction of the government,'' said base spokesman Gary Hatch. ``Those program managers are under the direction of a branch chief or a division chief. There are two or three layers of oversight.''

Whenever Edwards starts a construction project or a program that could affect the environment, the base conducts assessments following regulations set up by state and federal regulators. Those environmental assessments also provide for public comment, Hatch said.

Joining Hagan and Deal in filing the suit is a group called Public Employees for Environment Responsibility, a nonprofit organization comprised of government scientists, land managers, environmental law enforcement and other natural resource workers.

The lawsuit states Edwards is in violation of the Sikes Act, a federal law aimed at promoting wildlife and plant conservation on military bases. The act prohibits the military from contracting out environmental oversight, PEER officials said.

``The law is clear - natural resource management in Defense is a core government function that cannot be contracted out,'' said PEER General Counsel Dan Meyer. ``This lawsuit means the Air Force can no longer evade its environmental responsibilities.''

PEER officials said the lawsuit is centered on actions at Edwards, but the legal action might block the Defense Department from contracting out duties of civilian biologists, botanists and archeologists to save money. In all, civilian government employees watch more than 25 million acres on military bases.

The lawsuit seeks a court order blocking any retaliatory action against Hagan and Deal. The lawsuit also seeks an order directing Edwards to hire more natural resource management personnel and transfer all natural resource management planning and implementation done by contractors to trained civilian government employees.

Edwards has turned one full-time natural resource manager position over to a contractor. Duties that would have been handled by the equivalent to five to seven other natural resource managers were also over to contractors, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit also states that Deal's position has been determined to be an ``over hire'' and is slated for elimination in the near future. Most of her duties have been transferred, or are in the process of being transferred, to contractors.

Harassment includes reprimands, removal of responsibilities, poor performance evaluations, and moves to eliminate their positions, according to the lawsuit.