Can You Repeat That … Please?

Today’s House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the National Park Service (NPS) included testimony by Director Jonathan Jarvis and Department of the Interior Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall.  The purpose of the hearing was to examine how the NPS handles cases of misconduct and unethical behavior and it examined serious issues such as sexual harassment.  To say the hearing was eye-opening and disturbing is an understatement.  Little has been done by the NPS to take any disciplinary action in regard to serious misconduct by employees.

A question came up during the hearing concerning a side issue that Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has been following, which does underscore the leadership problems at the NPS.

CAGW has been concerned for some time about a NPS December 14, 2011 Memorandum that allowed parks to ban the sale of water in disposable plastic bottles in a supposed effort to reduce solid waste in the parks.  However, other beverages that are contained in plastic have not been subject to a sales ban, such as soda or fruit juices.  CAGW has questioned the wisdom of the policy and submitted a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request to the NPS on March 2, 2016 asking for data that would enable us to determine whether the ban was indeed reducing plastic waste.  In fact, the December Memorandum requires “a system for annual evaluation of the program, including public response, visitor satisfaction, buying behavior, public safety, and plastic collection rates.”

As of today, CAGW has received no information that proves plastic waste has been reduced.  In fact, any information we have been able to obtain shows that the park cannot quantify whether plastic waste has been reduced, which we discussed in a May 25, 2016 blog, “CAGW to NPS: Show Me the Data.”

Furthermore, in May 2016, the NPS provided to CAGW an answer to another FOIA request that had also asked for data concerning any effects from the annual evaluations the parks are supposed to undertake regarding the ban.  The NPS said, “A Search of the Sustainable Practices Report database has found that those parks that have discontinued plastic water bottle sales do not separately report their recycling quantities based on type (plastic, glass, aluminum, paper, etc.)  As a result they do not have data available to conduct a post-ban analysis.”

Yet a month later, in today’s hearing the following exchange (at 51.00) took place between Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) and NPS Director Jarvis:

Rep. Walberg:  Director Jarvis, in December of 2011, you issued an NPS Memo establishing a ban on plastic water bottles sales in the national parks.  Is it true that most if not all of the parks that have implemented the plastic bottled water ban still sell other plastic packaged beverages – soda, enhanced water, juice, etc.  Is that still the case? 

Director Jarvis: Yes Sir, they still do.

Rep. Walberg: Do you feel it is safe and healthy to ban the sale of bottled water? 

Director Jarvis:  When the public are provided an ample opportunity to get that water from a variety of sources, which we’ve built in, that’s a requirement of the policy, they have to have filling stations throughout the park in order for them to refill reusable bottles.

Rep. Walberg: Can you say with absolute certainty, that this ban on plastic water bottles has reduced the garbage in national parks? 

Director Jarvis:  Yes, with certainty, absolutely. 

Rep. Walberg:  What analysis has been conducted? 

Director Jarvis:  We collect data on our solid waste management, I don’t have that in front of me, but I would be glad to get back to you specifically on the reduction of waste in the waste stream. 

Rep. Walberg:  I’d like to see that on reduced waste, I’d like to see it on decreased disposal costs – information on that, I’d like to see it on increased recycling since implementation, those are issues I’d like to see, because frankly the question still remains.  We get rid of the water in bottles and the sales of those water bottles, but we don’t get rid of the sale of pop in the same bottles, energy drinks in the same bottles, juices in the bottles, as well.  My concern is that we know that we need water.  I’ve hiked enough of the national parks all across this nation to know that that’s important, and the fact that the cost of putting in water-filling stations leaves me concerned that there are contractual issues that we ought to be concerned with, opposed to simply letting the sales take place to people that need the water.  Again, I’m not certain at this time that the necessary studies have been done to show that we have had an impact, other than stopping the sale of water bottles – water in water bottles – in the national parks for whatever reason that may be.  I think there certainly ought to be questions that are raised about that subsequent to the needs of our visitors as well as contracting issues.

So now, a month later, the NPS director says he has proof the ban is working to reduce waste?  Is that true?  Only Congress is going to be able to make such a determination.