EPA administrator to step down from post
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| Lisa Jackson (AP) |
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WASHINGTON – EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said Thursday she is stepping down from the Cabinet-level post after four years in which she won new federal regulations for carbon dioxide emissions but also sparred often in bitter partisan fights with Republican lawmakers and industry executives.
The first African-American to hold the position, and a chemical engineer by training, Jackson gave no signal on what she plans to do next. But sources close to Jackson, 50, hinted that she may be headed back to her former home in New Jersey, either for a chance to become president of Princeton University or to run for governor.
Reaction was largely muted among industry leaders and Republican lawmakers, as they instead viewed the opening at the Environmental Protection Agency as a rare opportunity to push back on many regulatory policies they see as intrusive and harmful to the stumbling economy.
“Lisa Jackson and I disagreed on many issues and regulations while she headed the EPA,” Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., the senior Republican on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, said in a statement. “However I have always appreciated her receptivity to my concerns.”
Now, he said, her leaving “provides President Obama with an opportunity to appoint an EPA administrator who appreciates the needs of our economy.”
Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, a top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in an interview that “in terms of who would replace her, that is one of the more difficult jobs” in Washington.
“There’s such an emotionalism about the issue,” he said. “If you get someone good on science and facts, they may not have quite the passion the environmental extremists want. And if you get someone who’s got the passion, they will tend to make decisions not based on the facts and hurt our economy and ability to create jobs.”
Jackson told the president after his November re-election that she no longer wanted to continue running the agency, and suggested she would be gone after his State of the Union address in January.
In speaking to her staff Thursday, she recalled telling Obama four years ago about the need to address climate change, as well as other issues like air pollution, toxic chemicals and waste-site cleanups. However, the president backed away from major climate-change efforts, as well as other issues like ozone pollution, leading to reports of tension between Jackson and the White House. Nevertheless, Jackson said in her statement that “I leave the EPA confident the ship is sailing in the right direction.”
At the White House, Obama praised Jackson for her “unwavering commitment to the health of our families and our children.” He said she has been instrumental in implementing standards to reduce mercury pollution and fuel economy standards to bring down gas pump prices. “Lisa has been an important part of my team,” the president said.
Robert Perciasepe, the deputy administrator, will temporarily run the EPA. In addition to Perciasepe, others being mentioned as candidates include Gina McCarthy, head of the EPA’s air pollution division, and Mary D. Nichols, chairman of the California Air Resources Board, though she recently disavowed any such suggestion.
Whomever Obama offers as a replacement, Republican lawmakers and others said they will insist on someone willing to un-tether industry from environmental regulations they said strangle private enterprise.
Last week, for instance, the National Association of Manufacturers decried new regulations requiring industrial, commercial and institutional boilers across the nation to meet new emission limits and work practice standards.
Barton gave another example, saying Jackson pushed through a new finding that carbon dioxide is a hazardous material that can be regulated under the Clean Air Act.
But many in the environmental field praised Jackson.
S. William Becker, executive director of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies, called her “an extraordinary leader.” Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, thanked her for “her exceptional service.” Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said there was “no fiercer champion of our health and our environment.”
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