AUGUSTA — A Whitefield woman has dropped a claim that the state retaliated against her by demoting her after she testified at a legislative hearing about maintaining regulations on toxic chemicals.
Andrea Lani, who still works for the state Department of Environmental Protection, filed a dismissal of her claims last week in U.S. District Court in Bangor. The state admitted no wrongdoing in a settlement signed April 19 with Lani, according to the Associated Press.
A woman who answered the phone in the commissioner’s office Wednesday said the department had no comment on the case, but confirmed that Lani still works there.
Lani, who did not respond to requests for comment, was represented by attorneys David Webbert and Elizabeth Burnett. Webbert on Wednesday would not confirm published reports saying Lani received a $65,000 settlement in exchange for dropping the complaint.
Webbert said state residents are “getting our money’s worth out of her.”
“It’s a great deal for the state of Maine to have her working here,” he said. “She is someone who really believes in the environment and in protecting the environment.”
Lani sued the department as well as Commissioner Patricia Aho and Ronald E. Dyer, director of the Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management, saying she was exercising her free speech rights as a private citizen when she testified before a legislative committee on March 29, 2011.
The lawsuit said Lani had been rated as an exceptional and outstanding employee as recently as December 2010.
In October, Lani claimed she was demoted two days after testifying as a private citizen. At the time, she was implementing the Safer Chemicals in Children’s’ Products program under the Kid-State Products Act.
A state investigation concluded she did not use state resources to develop her testimony, according to her complaint.
Webbert said Lani grew up in the Denver, Colo., area, and went to College of Atlantic in Bar Harbor. He said she lives “off the grid” in Whitefield.
“She’s a true believer in the environment,” Webbert said.
Lani also authors a blog, remainsofday.blogspot.com, and describes herself as “a writer, a public servant, a mama of three boys, a tree-hugger and nature lover.”
“In my spare time I try to live lightly on the earth and strive for mindfulness in all I do … and I hope to teach my kids to do the same,” she wrote.
Betty Adams — 621-5631
badams@centralmaine.com
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