ELEVETH SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEFThis is a featured page

MUTUAL AID SOCIETY OF AMERICA, INC. 103 Methodist St., Cecilia, KY 42724 Cell) 270-307-4857; Office) 270-862-4537 Skype) 270-872-4493; Fax. 270-862-4379 email) jimmiller5417@gmail.com
September 9, 2011
Mr. Joseph Williams
Associate Regional Counsel
Office of Regional Counsel
USEPA Region 5 (C-14J)
77 West Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604-3590
(312) 886-6631(phone)
(312) 692-2965(fax) Email) Williams.Joseph@epamail.epa.gov

Re: Notice of Dispute on behalf of Mutual Aid Society of America, Inc.; Eleventh Supplemental and Post-Closing Brief, EPA GLNPO-2011-is-2-1356
Dear Mr. Williams: Yesterday, I emailed you copies of:
  • LETTER to National Freedom of Information Officer re FOIA appeal
  • LETTER -- OPENING BRIEF to National Freedom of Information Officer re FOIA appeal
It is unlikely that the FOIA appeal will be resolved before your deadline of September 19th, thus depriving me of the opportunity to rebut any adverse facts or comments by any of the reviewers and your opportunity to directly read and consider the reasoning for the lowest score for the MASA application. Since time is of the essence, I am not in favor that you defer your decision awaiting the resolution of the FOIA appeal. Accordingly, I request that you review, en camera, all of the written or recorded statements by all of the reviewers. If there are no such statements, or your request for such a review is not honored, then I request that you personally interview each of the reviewers to ascertain their reasoning for giving the five awardees' application high marks and the MASA application, the average lowest ranking. If such interviews do not take place to your satisfaction, then I request you impose on the grant unit, the burden of proof and production of evidence, and make the finding that that unit failed to sustain the burden of production of evidence and burden of persuasion, find in favor of MASA's application, vacate the awards made, and direct the award unit to award MASA a grant of $500,000. As I have established, there is a dichotomy within the agency with one faction intentionally and totally ignoring the Asian carp threat to the Great Lakes as evidenced by the two major studies of AIS, neither of which even mentioned Asian carp, and the opposing faction which has joined in two studies, both of which found that the Asian carp invasion was likely into the Great Lakes and the consequential harm such invasion was likely to occur. Such division is of the nature that it must have originated and has been sustained at the highest policy level within EPA. Thus, this division has greatly impacted EPA's ability and willingness to effectively deal with the Asian carp invasion threat. I have concluded that the down-grading of the MASA application has little to do with the actual merits of the application, but more to do with the turf battles within EPA. You can plainly see this division reflected by the relatively high score given by Reviewer A and the extremely low score given to Reviewer B. As you are no doubt well aware, members of Congress from the Great Lakes States have been prominent in pushing for various solutions to the Asian carp invasion. Even in the contentious climate, this issue has enjoyed unusual bi-partisan support. We have seen much discussion and little action at the top end of the Federal government directed to the depopulation of Asian carp in the Mississippi River Basin National Waters. Is that because no one has develop a plan for depopulation of Asian carp in their current habitat which is logical, well engineered, involves good environmental management, and is self-sustaining? Most likely, the MASA application will break the log-jam on this issue. Whether the current MASA application is voted up or down, it will engender a discussion directed at the massive depopulation of Asian carp by the use of commercial fisheries such as proposed by MASA. Thus, your decision and report to Congress will provide an important “stepping-stone” for this issue – the division within EPA will be aired, discussed and dealt with at the legislative and executive level, above the fray within EPA. I have not heard from Dave Cowgil nor from Michael Russ (or anyone else) whether and to what extent they will respond to the numerous points set forth in my notice of appeals and several briefs. If they have no intention of making any response, then the matter is ripe for your decision, sans the benefit of the materials withheld by the FOIA office. I request that you inquire of Dave Cowgill and Michael Russ as to their intentions to make a reply to my briefs, and if not, that you then proceed with your decision.

Respectfully submitted, James E. Miller, BA, BS, JD President, Mutual Aid Society of America, Inc.
Cc: Michael Russ: russ.michael@epa.gov; Dave Cowgill, Phone: 312-353-3576; Email: cowgill.david@epa.gov'



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