Air pollution control group sets special meeting

Fri., Sept. 23, 2005

By Karen Dorn Steele karend@spokesman.com

Spokane’s clean-air board has scheduled a special meeting Monday in the wake of the resignation of Eric Skelton, the Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority director.

The board will take action on an interim executive director, set up a search committee to look for Skelton’s successor and discuss other recent controversies at the agency.

Skelton submitted his resignation on Sept. 9, effective Sept. 30. He said the SCAPCA board had pressed forward with a “continued pattern of adverse actions” against him, and he felt he could no longer serve effectively as agency director.

SCAPCA board chairman Matthew Pederson said he was out of town when Skelton sent his resignation notice and was surprised and disappointed. He said Skelton was to blame for recent communications problems, not the board.

However, recent allegations by two local contractors that SCAPCA staff had fraudulently altered asbestos reports proved to be unfounded, Pederson said. The accusation, made at an Aug. 18 special meeting, was referred to county prosecutors by Spokane County Commissioner Phil Harris before the SCAPCA staff could conduct an internal review of the controversy.

“There was no wrongdoing. It was a flawed process,” he added.

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