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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 7, 1998
CONTACT: Danielle Brian (202) 347-1122 EPA National Ombudsman to Receive POGO's "Beyond the Headlines Award" WASHINGTON, DC - EPA National Ombudsman Robert J. Martin will receive the Project On Government Oversight's (POGO) "Beyond the Headlines Award." The award will be presented Tuesday, December 8th at 5:30 in the Sewall-Belmont House, 144 Constitution Avenue, NE. POGO proudly honors Mr. Martin for his history of placing public interest over private gain and more specifically, for his work on EPA Superfund sites. His major reviews of several EPA Superfund sites, including Times Beach, MO; Vertac, AR; Brio, TX; and Drake Chemical, PA, have resulted in improved environmental protections while at the same time resolving long-standing conflicts between government, industry, and communities. 80% of the major cases Mr. Martin has investigated have resulted in criminal referrals or the impanelment of a Federal Grand Jury. Danielle Brian, POGO's Executive Director, commended Mr. Martin for his special service: "We are proud to recognize a federal worker who is virtually unknown in Washington, yet is so wildly popular outside the beltway. His willingness to take shots from all sides in the interest of pursuing environmental justice makes him a national treasure." Marta Salinas, a lifelong farmworker and environmental justice activist, will present the award. Ms. Salinas has been instrumental in exposing the high incidence of childhood cancer and birth defects in McFarlane, California. Sandra Jaquith, a lawyer active in the monitoring of the "clean-up" of Rocky Mountain Arsenal for the past twelve years, will be making the closing remarks. In 1986 she founded a citizen action committee when high levels of hazardous solvents were reported in the groundwater in her community. The reception Host Committee is Chaired by Ed Begley, Jr., and includes Ed Asner, Mike Farrell, Jeff Goldblum, and Dennis Weaver. POGO's "Beyond the Headlines Award" recognizes a person who is devoted to advancing the public interest over private gain, and who has initiated substantial public policy improvements. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) was the 1997 "Beyond the Headlines Award" recipient. The Washington Post ran a story about Martin on the occasion of his award, December 8, 1998, p.A19. For more information about the Beyond the Headlines Award, click here. POGO investigates, exposes, and seeks to remedy systemic abuses of power, mismanagement, and subservience by the federal government to powerful special interests. Founded in 1981, POGO is a politically-independent, nonprofit watchdog that strives to promote a government that is accountable to the citizenry. ###
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