ADEM commissioner's qualifications questioned

The attorney general's office issued an opinion Tuesday on Pat Byington's qualifications to sit on the Environmental Management Commission, two weeks after Byington moved to fire the director of the state's environmental agency.

Tuesday's opinion, issued in response to a legislator's request, stated that Byington was appointed to serve as the ecologist or biologist on the board and must hold a degree in ecology or biology. Byington graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in environmental studies.

"Whether this degree meets the specifications or whether Mr. Byington has the right type of degree, we can't answer," said attorney general's spokeswoman Joy Patterson.

The opinion defines biology as "the study of living organisms," and ecology as "the branch of biology dealing with the relations of organisms to one another and their physical surroundings." It goes on to list the universities in and near Alabama that offer such degrees.

Byington said he was not aware that his qualifications were under question.

"I was vetted by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate nearly three years ago," Byington said. "Is there anyone who doubts why this is being done now?"

He said it is a clear attempt to remove him from the commission by Jim Warr, former director of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, and his allies.

State Rep. Steve McMillan, a Bay Minette Republican, requested the opinion. Efforts to reach him for comment Tuesday were unsuccessful. McMillan is a real estate agent and twin brother of John McMillan, executive vice president of the Alabama Forestry Association.

An attorney general's opinion does not bear the force of law, although acting in defiance of it can open someone to a lawsuit.

At an Environmental Management Commission meeting two weeks ago, Byington moved to dismiss Warr as director, saying he failed to protect Alabama's beaches and had other problems as director.

Warr was dismissed by a 4-3 vote, and one of the commissioners stated that, under state law, Deputy Director Marilyn Elliott would take his job.

Since that time, Warr has refused to step down from the job, saying state personnel rules guarantee him the job of second-in-command. And the No. 2 person in the department, he argued, automatically becomes acting director.

Commissioner Ken Hairston, who chairs the board's Personnel Committee, has called for another meeting of the body. The chairman, who voted against Warr's dismissal, has not called a meeting.

E-mail: kbouma@bhamnews.com