Wisconsin Environment Applauds Nomination of Gina McCarthy for EPA Administrator

Madison, WI — Today, President Obama nominated Gina McCarthy for the next administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, replacing outgoing Administrator Lisa Jackson. McCarthy is currently the assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation at the EPA, and previously held top environmental positions in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Megan Severson, state advocate for Wisconsin Environment, issued the following statement in response:

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Wisconsin Environment

Wisconsin Environment Applauds Nomination of Gina McCarthy for EPA Administrator

Madison, WI — Today, President Obama nominated Gina McCarthy for the next administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, replacing outgoing Administrator Lisa Jackson. McCarthy is currently the assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation at the EPA, and previously held top environmental positions in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Megan Severson, state advocate for Wisconsin Environment, issued the following statement in response:

“Wisconsin’s air, water, open spaces and public health will be in good hands with Gina McCarthy. McCarthy’s stellar work under two Republican governors as well as her excellent work over the past four years at the EPA is proof that when it comes to protecting our health and environment, it isn’t about who you work for or what party you represent. It’s about whether you can get the job done. And Gina McCarthy can get the job done. I urge senators to support her nomination so that she can get to work tackling the environmental challenges facing us today.

“During her tenure Administrator Jackson ushered through several historic initiatives, including new, cleaner car standards that represent the biggest step the U.S. has ever taken to get off oil and tackle global warming, the first-ever federal limits on mercury pollution from power plants, and the first-ever proposed federal limits on carbon pollution from power plants—all while enduring numerous attacks from polluters and their allies in Congress. Gina McCarthy was integral in securing several of these victories, building on her already impressive resume of work at the state level.

“Gina McCarthy served as an environmental policy adviser to Governor Mitt Romney in Massachusetts, and helped launch the state’s Climate Protection Action Plan. Starting in 2004, she was head of Connecticut’s Department of Environmental Protection under Governor Jodi Rell, where she coordinated the state’s involvement in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a regional program to limit global warming pollution from power plants.

“As thrilled as we are by the impressive victories Administrator Jackson secured for our environment, we know there is still much more to be done, and Gina McCarthy has the resume and commitment to meet these challenges head on. In the next four years, we’re counting on the EPA to move ahead with carbon limits for new and existing power plants so we can address the largest sources of global warming pollution, to secure protections for all our waterways from the pollution endangering drinking water for 117 million Americans, and to move ahead with other much-needed environmental initiatives. My colleagues and I look forward to working with Gina McCarthy and the EPA to address these challenges, and we sincerely thank Administrator Jackson for an incredibly successful four years.”

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Wisconsin Environment is a statewide, citizen-funded environmental advocacy organization working toward a cleaner, greener, healthier future.