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THE FOX PROTECTING THE HENHOUSE
Revolving Doors
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Thomas Block, Middlefield, OH
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he revolving door between the puba puerta giratoria entre los sectores lic and private sectors in business público (el gobierno) y privado (las El Zorro Cuidando and government is very busy. The empresas) está muy transitada. El equidel Gallinero luggage that the interlopers carry from each paje que llevan y traen los involucrados de un sector is very valuable and strategic. sector al otro es muy valioso y estratégico. Case in point is Bill Wehrum. In the priEl caso en cuestión es el de Bill Wehrum. vate sector, he was a partner in the law firm of En el sector privado, formaba parte del bufete Hunton Andrews Kurth where he was a utility de abogados de Hunton Andrews Kurth, donde lobbyist coordinating the utility industry’s fue un mercader de influencia en servicios efforts against President Obama’s environpúblicos, coordinando los esfuerzos de esa mental regulations. Using the Utility Air industria para oponerse las regulaciones amRegulatory Group (UARG), Wehrum stratbientales del presidente Obama. Utilizando egized “to change federal policy through the el Grupo Regulador de Impacto del Aire en installation of friendly personnel as regulators”1. los Servicios Públicos (UARG), Wehrum diseñó The UARG, a “voluntary, ad hoc, not-for-profit una estrategia para “cambiar la política federal association of individual electric generating mediante la inserción de funcionarios regucompanies and industry trade associations”2 ladores leales a la industria”1. El UARG, una includes various utilities such as Duke Energy, asociación “voluntaria, ad hoc y sin fines de American Electric Power, Southern Company, lucro de empresas generadoras de electricidad Salt River Project, etc. and trade organizay gremios de intercambio en esa industria,”2 tions such as the Edison Electric Institute, the incluye variadas empresas prestadoras de serNational Mining Association, the Tennessee vicios públicos como Duke Energy, American Valley Authority, etc. Electric Power, Southern Company, Salt River During one of UARG’s meetings in June of Project, etc. y asociaciones empresariales como 2017, convened at Hunton Andrews Kurth and The Edison Electric Institute, la Asociación prior to Wehrum’s appointment to the EPA, Nacional de Minería, la Jurisdicción del Valle Mandy Gunasekara, an EPA air official, was de Tennessee, etc. present at Wehrum’s request in which Wehrum Durante una de las reuniones del UARG en and the UARG requested Gunasekara’s parjunio de 2017, convocada en Hunton Andrews ticipation in discussions of regulatory issues Kurth y antes del nombramiento de Wehrum such as the Clean Power Plan, the Mercury para la EPA, Mandy Gunasekara —funcionaria and Air Toxics Standard (MATS), etc.: “We are de control de contaminación de la EPA— esinterested in any Clean Air Act regulatory issue tuvo presente cuando Wehrum y el UARG solicitaron su participación de en las discusiones that you are willing and able to address... We sobre regulaciones sobre temas tales como el Plan are not asking you to address pending litigation on de Energía Limpia, la Normativa sobre Mercurio y any of these issues. We are interested in discussing only possible future regulatory action”1. During his Tóxicos del Aire (MATS), etc.: “Estamos interesados tenure at the EPA, Wehrum continued to meet with en tratar cualquier tema regulatorio de la Ley de Aire his former client, UARG, in which at one particular Limpio que estén dispuesto y puedan abordar... No meeting he presented an “overview of efforts at the estamos pidiendo que se aborde litigio pendiente EPA to roll back some of the rules [he and] his alguno sobre estos temas. Estamos interesados former law firm had helped” establish —rules that, en debatir solo futuras y posibles acciones reguhe stated, “would be repealed”3. latorias”1. Durante su gestión en la EPA, Wehrum Since that meeting, Wehrum and Gunasekara continuó reuniéndose con su ex-cliente, UARG, en la have basically traded places bumping into each other as each passed que en una reunión en particular presentó una “descripción general de through that revolving door. As Gunasekara was resigning from the la estrategia de la EPA para revertir algunas de las reglas que [él] y su EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, Wehrum ex-bufete de abogados habían logrado” insercontinued on next page continúa a la vuelta
Puertas giratorias
january 2021 Joaquín 19
