PHOENIX - Gov. Janet Napolitano is slipping in her support of environmental issues - at least according to the Sierra Club.

The organization's Arizona chapter gave the state's chief executive just a B for her record in the 2007 legislative session. That compares with Napolitano's A- score for 2006.

But at least it's better than the C grade she got the year before after Sierra Club lobbyist said the governor signed "a bunch of bad bills.''

Bahr said Napolitano got points this year for her support of - and signature on - legislation designed to clean up the air in central Arizona.

The governor also got credit for signing legislation which restricts the ability of homeowner associations to limit the installation and use of solar devices as well as her veto of a measure that would have provided some exemptions from conservation requirements for irrigation districts that were serving municipal customers.

But Napolitano irked the Sierra Club for putting her signature on a new law to provide financial assistance to water providers. Bahr said that funding would be available to communities "despite the fact that they might be doing things that would destroy our rivers and streams in Arizona.''

Bahr acknowledged that the governor's grade is based on her decision to sign or veto measures which are presented to her by the Legislature. But she said that Napolitano could have affected the plan - at least indirectly - before it ever got to her desk. "We think that the Department of Water Resources, which is an agency that works for her, could have been more active in getting a good bill through the Legislature and in insisting on some environmental protections in the bill,'' Bahr said.

But gubernatorial press aide Jeanine L'Ecuyer said Napolitano does not believe the legislation is as flawed as the Sierra Club believes.

"We just have a different point of view,'' L'Ecuyer said. Bahr acknowledged that Napolitano got no credit in the Sierra Club's scoring system for her initiatives on other environmental issues. That includes her executive order last year to have the state purchase vehicles with reduced carbon dioxide and other bases that contribute to global warming.

She said, though, the fairest fair way to grade all elected officials - the report also rates legislators - is to measure only actual legislation. But Bahr said that doesn't mean the

Sierra Club is ignoring other things done by the governor or other lawmakers.

"We do recognize it,'' she said. "We regularly send a thank you letter when appropriate.''

The Sierra Club handed out a grade of A+ or A to four senators and 21 representatives, with Sen. Tom O'Halleran of Sedona the only Republican on the list.