Living In A Privatized Idaho

By Joan McCarter, 5-06-08

One of the slogans that resonated most strongly throughout the 2006 campaign season in Idaho was Jerry Brady’s “Idaho is Not for Sale.” Two years after his defeat, someone observing recent political news from the state has to wonder if a chunk or two of it hasn’t been sold.

First there’s the news, broken by New West’s Jill Kuraitis, that Idaho was the intended recipient of 6,700 tons of highly contaminated--and potentially highly dangerous--Kuwaiti sand. First, let’s just consider the insanity of actually shipping 6,700 tons of contaminated anything the thousands of miles from it’s current home in Kuwait to Owyhee County, Idaho.

The AP, picking up the story after New West broke it, adds this sharp insight from the contractor behind this whole deal:

The company has previously disposed of low-level radioactive waste and hazardous materials from U.S. military bases overseas at facilities in Idaho, Nevada and Texas, said American Ecology spokesman Chad Hyslop, who is based in Boise.

“As you can imagine, the host countries of those bases don’t want the waste in their country,” Hyslop said.

Go figure!? Hard to imagine that the Kuwaitis aren’t anxious to have sand contaminated with depleted uranium and lead staying behind when the U.S. military (maybe someday) leaves. But it gets better.

Some samples of the sand registered lead levels of 19 parts per million, Hyslop said. He characterized that measurement as “extremely low,” but Environmental Protection Agency standard classify anything over five parts per million as hazardous waste.

EPA officials say they’re not alarmed by the presence of lead because that is one of the materials American Ecology is permitted to handle in Idaho.
“Whether it’s hazardous or not doesn’t matter,” said Cheryl Williams, an EPA specialist in Seattle.

It might not particularly matter to the EPA specialist in Seattle whether the sand is hazardous, but chances are it does to the people in Grandview, and maybe even in Boise, just 70 miles away. They probably would have liked to have had some discussions with some elected officials and representatives from the company, American Ecology Corp. before finding out that the shipments were a done deal. And speaking of deals, this aspect of the story is disturbing:

Most recently, the firm’s PAC, AEC PAC, gave $2,300 to Idaho Republican Jim Risch’s U.S. Senate campaign and $500 to the re-election campaign of state House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star. Both those contributions were in November. Since 2002, AEC PAC has donated $3,000 to Sen. Larry Craig; $4,500 to Sen. Mike Crapo, $1,750 to U.S. Rep. Bill Sali; and $3,000 to U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, all Republicans. The PAC also gave $1,000 to Risch’s lieutenant governor campaign in 2006; $5,000 to Gov. Butch Otter’s gubernatorial campaign in 2005; $3,100 to Otter’s congressional campaigns from 2002 to 2004; and contributions to an array of state legislative candidates from both parties.

This is not to suggest that Idaho’s elected officials haven’t done due diligence on this plan because of campaign donations, but given the fact that this project only now came to light--as the sand is being shipped--the people of Idaho deserve some assurance that yes, due diligence has been done.

Luckily, Idaho has received forewarning of another government contractor hoping to find a happy and profitable home in Idaho. But this is a much more high profile, and much more controversial, company:

COEUR d’ALENE—Blackwater Worldwide, a private security company, wants to build a regional law enforcement training center in North Idaho.

The North Carolina-based company is negotiating a contract with the Idaho Peace Officer Standards & Training Academy to provide space and instruction to law enforcement personnel.... Sheriff Rocky Watson expressed concern that Blackwater, which has big military contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense, partnering with Idaho POST will create the wrong impression with the public.

“The perception that our law enforcement officers will be trained by mercenaries is a problem,” Watson said. “Our jobs are totally different. We’re not paramilitary. The perception is important to our customers.”

Blackwater officials strongly maintain that no military training will take place at the facility here.... The company has faced media scrutiny about its role in Iraq. Blackwater is one of three big contractors providing security services to key U.S. personnel. DynCorp., and Triple Canopy also have employees deployed there.

Blackwater personnel are accused of gunning down 17 people, including women and children last September in Iraq. The FBI is investigating claims made by witnesses that Blackwater guards shot and killed without provocation.

Blackwater has already been proven to have committed fraud in its accounting system for its no-bid, multimillion dollar Iraq contract. Further allegations of waste, fraud, and abuse against Blackwater should be enough to make any government turn tail when approached by the company offering its training services. Seriously, are these the folks that should be telling future Idaho law enforcement officers how to operate?

One of disadvantages of Idaho’s long years of one-party rule might be the idea that it’s an easy target for some of these politically well-connected private contractors--the reception by Idaho lawmakers and officials seems to be pretty friendly, until you get to the local level, where folks like Sheriff Watson are involved. These are the people that have to deal with the consequences of the decisions made by more powerful political leaders.

It’s time for Idaho to think about whether they want their state to be the nation’s toxic waste dump or one of the operating bases for the Bush administration’s unaccountable mercenary police force. It’s also time for Idaho’s citizens to think about whether they want to keep the leaders who’ve allowed these contractors into the state around much longer.

Editor’s note: Joan McCarter’s weekly blogs are part of NewWest.Net/Politics’ “Diary of a Mad Voter” feature, a group blog, published in partnership with the Denver Post’s Politics West intended give a glimpse into the hearts and minds of several independent-minded voters and thinkers in the Rocky Mountain West in the ‘08 election cycle. For more columns check in with www.newwest.net/madvoter. And for more information on each of the bloggers, click here.