U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson announced last week she will resign her post after President Obama?s State of the Union address, scheduled for Jan. 29.
No replacement has been announced, but the Washington rumor mill has is speculating on Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe and Gina McCarthy, head of EPA?s Office of Air and Radiation. Perciasepe was chief of the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water in the Clinton Administration.
It?s not unusual for Cabinet-level officials to resign after a president?s first term, and Jackson?s resignation was not a complete surprise. Most public attention on the EPA in recent years has centered on new air regulations. However, in March 2010, Jackson announced a new ?Drinking Water Strategy? with specific areas of focus. It is unknown if this strategy will continue under the next administrator.
?I want to thank President Obama for the honor he bestowed on me and the confidence he placed in me four years ago this month when he announced my nomination as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency,? Jackson said in a statement released by the EPA last week.
?At the time I spoke about the need to address climate change, but also said there is much more on the agenda ? air pollution, toxic chemicals and children?s health issues, redevelopment and waste-site cleanup issues, and justice for the communities who bear disproportionate risk. As the president said earlier this year when he addressed EPA?s employees, you help make sure the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat are safe. You help protect the environment not just for our children but their children. And you keep us moving toward energy independence. We have made historic progress on all these fronts. So, I will leave the EPA confident the ship is sailing in the right direction.?
