Improvement Commission.
     He has run afoul of the commission in the past few years, since a group appointed by Gov. Don Siegelman gained a majority and began espousing the concerns of more activist individuals and businesses over those who saw ADEM’s main job as issuing permits.
    They called for more openness and formed a committee of individuals, business-people and special interest representatives to examine the agency. The committee concluded that ADEM had enormous credibility problems and needed to establish better relationships with the governor, Legislature, the public and regulators.
     Warr did move to appease the new coalition, sometimes appearing openly annoyed by their questions and dismissing them in open meetings. On the other occasions, he ignored requests such as notifying them whenever the department or commission was sued. Instead, he instructed department attorneys to move forward with appeals and responses to lawsuits without attorneys to move forward with appeals and responses to lawsuits without informing the  seven  commissioners who

were his bosses.
     He continued to fight the commission late Tuesday. After the commission said that Deputy Director Marilyn Elliott would serve as acting director during a search period, Warr reminded it that under Alabama’s merit system he is guaranteed a fall-back job as deputy director.
     Elliott later said he told her that meant he was acting director now.      Byington said commissioners consulted with their lawyer, who said Elliott is, in fact, acting director.

TOUGH REPUTATION:
     Warr had a reputation as a demanding boss who brooked no opposition in getting permits issued on time and rules written on schedule. Even during his years as second-in-command at the agency, he was often called the power behind the director.
     But he several times lost control of the department’s basic functions. Twice the agency suspended the issuance of water pollution permits because its legal positions were struck down in court. Warr’s bosses on the commission found out about them from the media.

    Once, 60 landfill permits were put on hold for a year after a judge determined the agency had violated the Solid Waste Management Act. Again, commissioners did not know until it had appeared in the news.
     The commission also asked Warr to more aggressively lobby the Legislature to staunch the department’s budget decline. ADEM has had to rely more and more heavily on federal grants, cutting programs not funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as the Legislature cut the agency’s funding each year.
     Warr has not lobbied the Legislature for funding or bills that were propriety to the commission. He has said he prefers to let the Business Council of Alabama or others carry his water in the Legislature because his unpopular department’s endorsement can be enough to kill a bill.
     “I think Jim did the best he could with what he had,” Hairston said after Tuesday’s vote. “But we’ve got to move forward to serve the people of Alabama and protect the environment.”

in Decatur then traveled to Union Grove.
     The Burden Childers Dairy Farm in Union Grove gave the group a look at one of the few dairy farms still in production in Alabama and the tour ended with a visit to the McDonald cotton farm in Madison.
     “I think those who attended the tour found it both enjoyable and informative to take a careful look at the hard work that is happening on the agriculture sites in our area,” Aderholt said.
     The 4th Congressional District of Alabama includes the counties of: Blount, Cullman, Dekalb, Etowah, Fayette, Franklin, Lamar, Marion, Marshall, Morgan, Walker, Winston, and areas of Pickens and St. Clair counties.