State Environment Heads Top Obama List For EPA Administrator

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Interesting article -- rumors. See discussion about Grumet comments on "endangerment" etc. Carbon Control News Amid expectations of quick action on CO2 rules State Environment Heads Top Obama List For EPA Administrator Posted October 22, 2008 The Obama campaign is reportedly narrowing its slate of potential nominees to serve as EPA administrator in anticipation of an election victory, with former and current state environment chiefs topping the list of contenders for what sources expect to be a vastly rejuvenated EPA in an Obama administration. The list could have significance for national climate change policy because some of the names are campaign advisers who have recently suggested that an Obama administration would be prepared to move quickly on regulating carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions if Congress drags its feet on the issue. Speculation over picks for an Obama administration has increased since national polls have suggested Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) has a substantial lead over Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) heading into the final weeks of the presidential campaign. One source close to the Obama campaign says the list for possible administrator if Obama wins the Nov. 4 election is down to four choices: former New Jersey environment chief Bradley Campbell; former Pennsylvania environment secretary Kathleen McGinty, current California air board chairwoman Mary Nichols; and Jonathan Lash, president of the non-profit environmental group World Resources Institute. However, a second source familiar with the campaign notes that because two Bush EPA heads were governors, Obama may also consider a higher-ranking official for the post, depending on who is available as a result of the election. "If [Democratic] members of the House or Senate unexpectedly leave their jobs," they could be brought into contention, the source says, adding the same holds true for governors. For example, Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) has been mentioned as a contender should she lose to her Republican challenger in what is shaping up to be a tight contest. Barring a loss by Gregoire, however, the source believes Obama will choose an EPA head from a state environment chief and says current New Jersey environment chief Lisa Jackson, who recently accepted a position as chief of staff to Gov. John Corzine (D), is also under consideration. Other Obama Choices Other names being floated for high-ranking environment slots in an Obama administration-either at EPA, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) or elsewhere-include environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; David Hayes, a former deputy interior secretary under Clinton; Robert Sussman, a key Obama advisor and Clinton-era deputy EPA administrator; Houston Mayor Bill White; Peter Lehner, executive director for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) who until 2006 was then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's top environmental lawyer; and NRDC climate attorney David Doniger, who worked at the Clinton EPA and CEQ. On the Republican side, speculation over a McCain administration is more restrained in part because of lingering concerns about recent poll numbers and a stated desire to remain focused on the upcoming election. Nevertheless, some names are surfacing as possible candidates, including former New York Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R) who now works as a D.C. lobbyist, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) and Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT), should the latter lose his re-election bid. The second source familiar with the Obama campaign says that while a list is being developed, it is "not exclusive. Anyone who tells you they know who it's going to be, I can guarantee you they are lying through their teeth." Of the four names on the candidate's reported shortlist for EPA administrator, one GOP source says McGinty appears to have "the inside track" due to her close ties to the Clinton White House-where McGinty served as CEQ chief-because former Clinton chief of staff John Podesta is heading up the Obama presidential transition team. But the first source close to the Obama campaign says McGinty does not appear interested in the job because "she is making money for the first time" since leaving the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) this summer. The source says that McGinty is now serving on boards and doing consulting work, though she has advised the Obama campaign on energy and environmental matters. The second source close to the campaign points out, however, that McGinty has not taken a new job since leaving DEP, meaning she is available to take the EPA chief slot should a President Obama offer it. Nichols is also a former Clinton appointee who served as EPA air chief. When asked in an interview earlier this spring about her interest in heading EPA in an Obama administration, she demurred, saying she wanted to focus on her role as chair of the California Air Resources Board. Additionally, Campell served as Region III EPA administrator for Clinton as well as an associate CEQ director. Since leaving the New Jersey DEP in 2006, he has been working in private practice. Clinton Factor But the sources close to the campaign downplay the notion that Clinton insiders will have an edge. "They have to keep in mind they can't just be a Clinton administration re-tread," the second source says. "My sense is you will not see a huge number of Clinton administration officials get put into similar jobs they held before." For example, the source says former Clinton EPA Administrator Carol Browner is "not at all" interested in resuming her role. The first source close to the campaign agrees, noting, "This is Obama's team. I don't think former Clinton folks will be in the second tier, even," despite Podesta's involvement. One activist says all four names on the reported short list "sound plausible" but notes a "difference in style. Campbell seems a little more abrasive. McGinty did a great job in taking an un-progressive state in a more progressive direction. Nichols is imminently qualified, having run the [EPA] air program and understands how D.C. and the federal government work. And Lash has undergone a truly remarkable journey from the early 1980s when he was a firebrand" lawyer for the NRDC aggressively battling Reagan-era environmental policies. "And now he's basically really astute and . . . able to sit down and get along with Fortune 500 types." Many sources expect EPA to play a far more prominent and active role in an Obama presidency than it has under the Bush administration, notably on the issue of regulating greenhouse gases (GHGs). Obama environment and energy adviser Jason Grumet said last week that an Obama EPA would move quickly to regulate GHGs under the Clean Air Act within 18 months if Congress fails to act-sparking a backlash from some conservatives and a scathing Wall Street Journal editorial critical of the plan. Sources say despite Grumet's high-profile campaign role, they do not believe he is under consideration to head up either EPA or CEQ. The GOP source says Grumet instead would likely be named an assistant or deputy administrator at EPA or the Energy Department, because of his young age and experience running the bipartisan National Commission on Energy Policy. Should Obama win the election, he is expected to move quickly to announce his cabinet in the weeks following the election, with announcements for nominees for deputy positions expected in January and picks for assistant administrator slots expected for announcement between April and September, the source close to the campaign says. Meanwhile, Grumet's statements that an Obama EPA would move quickly to regulate GHGs under the Clean Air Act prompted widespread reaction, including the scathing Journal editorial that accuses Obama of trying to blackmail-or "greenmail"-lawmakers "into falling in line with his climate agenda." But the GOP source is critical of the editorial, saying the newspaper "went off the deep end . . . Under either administration this is going to happen" because of the Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA. "It will happen faster and with more gusto with Obama perhaps," the source says. Grumet's comments have also drawn attention to an emerging debate on whether Clean Air Act GHG rules are the best approach or only a stop-gap measure to be pursued to prod Congress to pass a broad, economy-wide, cap-and-trade plan. An article in the October issue of Environmental Finance makes the case for an EPA regulatory scheme under the act as the best approach. The piece, Clean Air Jump Start, says, "It could easily take more than seven years to get a federal carbon trading mechanism up, running and working to stabilize emissions. It is also possible that congressional compromise will water down cap-and-trade emissions targets and worse, undermine existing state and regional efforts." However, such an approach is not favored by many environmental groups. "We would disagree with those folks," a Sierra Club source says. "We are convinced that legislation is the best way of dealing with things, but if legislation is not forthcoming we would take second best. It is up to Congress." Additionally, one conservative expresses "shock" at Grumet's comments on regulating under the Clean Air Act, noting he had positioned himself as the moderate middle at the energy policy commission, insisting that any GHG legislation include a price safety valve.-Dawn Reeves Kymberly Escobar Senior Communications Officer Pew Environment Group| The Pew Charitable Trusts p: 202-887-8814 | c: 202-441-9995 | skype: kymesco [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> | www.pewtrusts.org <http://www.pewtrusts.org>