The two men walked back to their vehicle in the parking lot of a small Indian restaurant near downtown Fayetteville, North Carolina. Both worked for the North Carolina environmental agency's Division of Air Quality. Their offices were located in the Systel Building on Green Street in downtown Fayetteville, across the street from St. John's Episcopal Church and adjacent to the Cross Creek which flows into the nearby Cape Fear River. One of the men was the Fayetteville office supervisor for air quality, while the other was the new air quality permits coordinator.
The two agency employees had just finished having lunch with the environmental manager for DuPont Fayetteville Works. Because the coordinator was new to the Fayetteville office and assigned to be the agency inspector for the various chemical manufacturing facilities in the Fayetteville region, arrangements had been made for the three men to meet for lunch. This type of introductory lunch meeting was unusual for an existing chemical manufacturing company that already had its various permits and was operating. The three men mostly talked about the food. They agreed that the Indian dishes were spicy and tasty.
Clearly, these three men were not rookies or beginners in the field of environmental science & engineering and the control of pollution.
The agency supervisor, Steven Vozzo, had previously worked in the Raleigh regional office before being promoted several years ago to the Fayetteville supervisor position. He had a master's degree in science from North Carolina State University in Raleigh. The Dupont Fayetteville Works environmental manager, Mike Johnson, had many years of experience working for DuPont. He had a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Missouri at Rolla. The new coordinator, Tom McKinney, had previously worked in both the Raleigh headquarters office and the Winston-Salem regional office prior to his promotion to the coordinator position in Fayetteville. He had a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
It did not take long for the new coordinator to feel relaxed while lunching with these two outgoing and entertaining men. He could see that both of these middle-aged professionals were bright and articulate with engaging personalities. It reminded the coordinator of the team of talented faculty and researchers he interacted with during his years as a research associate at Louisiana State University's Institute for Environmental Studies in Baton Rouge.
After the lunch as the two agency employees approached their vehicle for the drive back to the office, the supervisor suddenly stopped and turned, looking directly at the new coordinator. "You need to have a good relationship with him," he said with a tone of seriousness and importance. This was unusual.
Of course, it was essential for an individual to have a good working relationship with everyone, including state and local officials, company officials, and the concerned citizens in the surrounding communities. It might even be spelled out in the job descriptions. In addition, any environmental manager at a manufacturing company is more likely to be successful in his job if he maintains a good working relationship with the agencies and regulators.
Although unusual for North Carolina, the arranged lunch and the clear concerns of the boss provided important information. It suggested to the new coordinator that the environmental manager and his company had a considerable amount of clout in North Carolina.
The coordinator had acquired first-hand experience with this sort of thing from his years working in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in the 1980s.
He had chaired a state commission responsible for the implementation of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986, legislation addressing hazardous material emergencies and chemical spills or releases to air, water, or land. This statewide effort involved working at the intersection of the chemical industry, the transporters and handlers of hazardous materials, the public agencies, the surrounding local communities, and the general public. The Community Right-to-Know aspects of the law meant that the public would have access to a large amount information on the identities and quantities of chemicals stored, released, or discharged to air, water, and land.
As chairman, he found himself in the middle of a considerable amount of controversy, including an effort by two mid-level bosses in Louisiana state government to have him removed from the position. The unsuccessful attempt to remove him included a surprising phone call from a well-known official with a large and powerful company who told him it was time for him to "step down from the position."
The chairman notified top officials in Louisiana state government. After investigating, they explained the underlying driving forces and counseled him on how best to handle the challenging situation, which included industry and government sensitivity about transparency and Community Right-to-Know, agency turf wars, men jockeying for power, and the egos of some self-important men in positions of authority. As it turned out, the two state government bosses had worked up a scheme to try to become the new co-chairs of the commission. The scheme was unsuccessful. The notification of top officials in Louisiana state government eventually produced a fair and successful outcome. Importantly, the top officials in Louisiana were respectful, curious, and professional problem-solvers.
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