Virginians might have gotten that impression a few days ago when Gilmore announced that by the middle of next year his administration will put pollution data, permit applications and other such information on the Internet. Too bad his predecessor, Gov. George Allen, didn't take that approach instead of hiding public information from everyone, including curious Environmental Protection Agency officials. The public furor caused by that recent revelation has persuaded Gilmore to remove padlocks from the files kept by the Department of Environmental Quality. Putting such information on the Internet is not an original idea. Twenty-one other states are in the process of doing the same thing with the help of EPA grant money.
Progress is always worth noting in Virginia, however.
The mere disclosure of public information will not make Jim Gilmore an environmentalist. He must do some things in the public realm if he wants to demonstrate a sincere commitment to environmental protection. So far he is hiding in the woods. Take Gilmore's squishy stand on wetlands, for example. He is all talk and no action.