Read the entire memo that got Grannis removed from office.
Peter IwanowiczAn official in Gov. David Paterson's office confirmed today that the administration plans this week to name Peter Iwanowicz acting commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation in the wake of last week's firing of Pete Grannis.
Iwanowicz has been deputy secretary to the governor on a variety of policy issues, including the environment, energy and agriculture, according to the official who asked not to be named.
Grannis was fired last week following the leak of a controversial memo he wrote criticizing the governor's plan to cut an 209 addition staff from DEC ranks.
In the memo, DEC says the department has had to deal with more than its fair share of earlier budget and staff cuts and warns of "potential serious risks to human health and safety and environmental quality" if the department is forced to go through with the additional cuts.
"Many of our programs are hanging by a thread," the memo said."The public would be shocked to learn how thin we are in many areas."
"We no longer have a general capacity for incremental reductions," the memo continues. "All the meat has been stripped to the bones, and some of the bones have disappeared."
Read the entire memo below
Memo from former state DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis criticizing staff reduction plan