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US closes whistleblower file
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has determined that allegations
made by a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) whistleblower do not
warrant further investigation and that the file for this case will be
closed. NMFS biologist Michael Kelly alleged a violation of law, rule, or
regulation and gross mismanagement by agency employees during the 2002
formal consultation on Klamath Project operations with the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation. Kelly filed for protection under the federal Whistleblower
Statute last year, in a move that was highly publicized by environmental
advocates immediately after the lower Klamath River fish die-off.
In a March 5, 2003 letter to Kelly, OSC declined to take further action on
Kelly’s claims, including:
Kelly’s allegation that a there was a substantial likelihood that NMFS’s
decision to adopt its Klamath River flow regime represented a violation of
law, rule or regulation.
His claim that the fish die-off that occurred last September provides the
proof that NMFS engaged in “gross mismanagement”.
Kelly’s charge that NMFS engaged in a “gross waste of funds”.
“After careful review of your comments and the materials previously
submitted, and consideration of the issues discussed in our recent telephone
conversations, we have determined that our original decision to close the
case was warranted,” OSC stated in its letter to Kelly.
Environmentalist plaintiffs in PCFFA v. USBR have relied upon Kelly in their
arguments, claiming that U.S. defendants do not address his allegations.
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