California Air Board (CARB) Takes Page Right Out of CRU/IPCC 'Climategate' Fiasco

Huge Changes to California Diesel Regulations May Be Thrown Out Following the Admission of A Cover Up At the State Air Board.
The Bakersfield Californian | Friday, Nov 20 2009 07:31 PM

It's not the lie, it's the cover up that'll get you.

How many times does this wisdom have to be pounded into the heads of bureaucrats?

The scandal over how a lead researcher behind California's new diesel truck rules lied about his credentials continues to grow.

At Thursday's California Air Resources Board meeting, one of the board members said the legitimacy of the rule is in question because of the lie and subsequent cover up and asked for a legal opinion on what should be done next.

The problem started with Hien Tran, the lead author of the report on which the new diesel rules were based, who lied about having a Ph.D. degree in statistics from U.C. Davis.

Though the lie was brought to some CARB bureaucrats' attention well before the vote on the draconian rules last December, it was kept "in house" until I and an editorial writer for the San Diego Union Tribune got wind of it and started hammering on it early last spring.

Turns out, not all the board members, who voted on the rules based on Tran's report, were told of his lies.

But some were -- and kept mum.

The issue was brought to the full board's attention at its September meeting in Diamond Bar by regular citizens.

At the time, board member John Telles, a medical doctor, was quite upset, saying, "This is the first time I've actually been apprised that there was fraud in the organization here.

"In my world, if an article was published by somebody who didn't have a Ph.D. and said he had a Ph.D., the whole thing would be nixed...I just find it incredible."

Well, he did some of his own digging and at this week's meeting he asked that CARB's legal counsel issue an opinion on what more should be done.

Telles also laid out a stunning chronology that revealed many CARB muckey-mucks, including chair Mary Nichols, knew about the lie before the vote and never said anything.

Tran's lie was first brought up by Dr. Stan Young in November 2008 to the California Secretary of the Environmental Protection Agency, who sent Young a letter dated Nov. 4, 2008, assuring him of Tran's credentials.

Then on Dec. 3 and 4, 2008, UCLA professor Jim Enstrom contacted three CARB board members telling them of Tran's indiscretion.

One of those board members, who I've reported was John Balmes, asked CARB staffers to investigate.

By Dec. 10, Tran had confessed. Those in the know included Nichols, Balmes and at least five other top CARB members.

The vote on the diesel rules using Tran's report was the next day, Dec. 11, 2008 and the full board wasn't told.

Even after the cat was out of the bag at last September's meeting, Telles said, "Staff never mentioned that they had this information prior to the vote."

Based on all that, Telles said, the legitimacy of the vote is in question as well as the legitimacy of the truck rule "and CARB itself."

"How we handle this reflects on the future credibility of CARB."