[Regulatory Update] Obama Nominates EPA Administrator

President Barack Obama has nominated Lisa Jackson, a 16-year veteran of EPA, to head that agency under his new administration. The New Orleans native has degrees in chemical engineering and a reputation for working cooperatively with industry.

NO STRANGER TO WASHINGTON. Jackson is no stranger to the capital, or EPA. She spent 16 years with the agency, initially at its Washington headquarters and later at its regional office in New York. During her EPA tenure, Jackson worked in the federal Superfund site remediation program, developing hazardous waste cleanup regulations, overseeing hazardous waste cleanup projects throughout central New Jersey and directing multimillion-dollar cleanup operations. She later served as deputy director and acting director of the region’s enforcement division.

Then in 2002, she moved to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, serving as assistant commissioner of compliance and enforcement, and eventually became commissioner of that department, where she led a staff of 3,400.

In December 2008, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine appointed her chief of staff. Soon after, Obama nominated her to head up EPA. If confirmed by the Senate, she would become the first African-American to head the agency.

IMPACT ON THE INDUSTRY. Ed Bradbury, president of Bridgewater, N.J.-based Viking Termite and Pest Control, said that Jackson didn’t deal directly with pesticides or the pest management industry while at the New Jersey DEP — she spent more time working on soil and air contamination projects — so it is difficult to predict how she might treat the industry as head of EPA. But, he said, she has a record of being even-handed, which bodes well. “I can tell, from the things I know of her, she’s been very fair. I think she’s a very intelligent, hardworking type of person (and) has a lot of ethics. I believe she listens to both sides when there’s a complex issue. I think our industry will be able to work with her,” Bradbury said. “She didn’t really get into (issues that impact) our industry. (But on) other issues I have seen, she seems to be fair and has an ear to listen. That’s a start to anything.”

ON-THE-HILL ANALYSIS. The incoming Obama administration — as well as the raft of Democrats recently elected to Congress — has many in the industry worried about potential changes to the regulatory side of the business. NPMA Senior Vice President Bob Rosenberg said the new faces in Washington were a “mixed bag.”

“I’m sure that it will be a more activist EPA under Lisa Jackson,” he said. “But that probably would be true for anybody that (Obama) appointed. We want to give them the benefit of the doubt.”

Some groups have called Jackson “too friendly” with industry, Rosenberg said, which he takes as a good thing. “I hope that’s true. I hope she is willing to work with industry,” he said.

But even with a more liberal-leaning White House and Congress, Rosenberg said other topics — like climate change — will receive more attention when lawmakers get to work in 2009.

“In the scheme of things, I don’t think pesticides are going to be a big, high priority for this administration,” Rosenberg said. “Of all the laws, (those dealing with pesticides have) been modernized most recently. There’s not a startling need to go back and revisit that.”

Other “boutiquey issues” are also on the table, Rosenberg said, such as how pesticides might impact water quality and endangered species, and such technical issues as endocrine disruption and estrogen mimicry. But, those topics are only just starting to come to the forefront of discussions in Washington. 

“We’re not sure what it will mean,” he said. “That just started, and we don’t have a clear idea of where that’s going. We got through (FQPA), but there’s a lot of other issues EPA is legally required to look at.”

The author is assistant editor of PCT magazine.

Bio Box

Name: Lisa Jackson
Age: 46
Position: Appointed by Barack Obama to be administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
Education: Earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University; graduated summa cum laude from Tulane University’s School of Chemical Engineering.
Job History: 16 years with EPA; commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection; chief of staff to New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine
Family: Husband, Kenny Jackson; two sons