Lisa Jackson Nominated to Head EPA

Date: December 11, 2008

Source: News Room

President-elect Barack Obama has nominated Lisa P. Jackson to head the US EPA in his administration, citing her past experience as head of New Jersey's environment department (DEP) and her political skills necessary to strike deals between industry and activists. Most recently she has been serving as chief of staff to Gov. Jon S. Corzine, who happens to be leading Obama's transition team. Obama was said to have also been considering California Air Resources Board chief Mary Nichols, former Pennsylvania environment department head Kathleen McGinty, and activists' preferred candidate, environmental attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Industry groups, including the NSWMA, are strongly receptive to Jackson on the premise that she would not be beholden to environmentalists' interests. Jackson, who is a chemical engineer, comes highly qualified for the job with twenty years of experience as an environmental regulator and a reputation as a consensus builder. During her 33 month tenure as commissioner of the DEP, the state began initiatives to crack down on polluters in environmentally ravaged areas of the state, ended the agency's bear hunts and unveiled an ambitious carbon reduction plan. Jackson also spent 16 years at the US EPA where she oversaw hazardous waste cleanup projects in New Jersey.

Sign up to receive our free Weekly News Bulletin