Jackson to step down as Obama's environmental chief

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Lisa Jackson, who spearheaded the Obama administration's crackdown on carbon emissions, said on Thursday that she will be stepping down after almost four years of battles with Republicans and big industry over her proposed regulations.

Under her leadership, the agency declared for the first time that carbon dioxide was a danger to human health and could be regulated under the Clean Air Act, leading the EPA to develop a new regulatory regime to limit carbon emissions.

But many environmental activists felt that measures to address climate change by the Obama administration were too timid, and it is unclear if that will change in the president's second term, regardless of who succeeds Jackson.

Leading the list of potential replacements are Bob Perciasepe, the current deputy EPA administrator, who will take over the agency on an interim basis; and Kathleen McGinty, a former head of Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection and a prot?g? of former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.

Also said to be in the mix are Gina McCarthy, the EPA's assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation; and Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board.

Jackson's departure was not a surprise. Analysts had not expected her to stay for President Barack Obama's second term.

She had faced withering attacks from industry groups and Republicans, who hauled her in for numerous hearings in Congress, as well as some pushback from within the Obama administration.

Obama thanked Jackson for her service, praising her work on mercury pollution limits, fighting climate change and helping set new fuel economy standards for vehicles.

"Under her leadership, the EPA has taken sensible and important steps to protect the air we breathe and the water we drink," Obama said in a statement.

Jackson, 50, is expected to leave the EPA after Obama's State of the Union address in early 2013. The post of EPA administrator is a Cabinet-level job.

The administration is expected to face a tough fight to get any potential nominee, and especially one seen as being in the mold of Jackson, confirmed by the Senate.

Jackson is the first major energy policy official to step aside since Obama's re-election last month. There has been speculation that the similarly embattled Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a Nobel prize winning physicist, may not stick around for Obama's second term. Ken Salazar, the U.S. Interior Secretary, may also depart.

BRUISING ENCOUNTERS

Jackson's years at the agency were marked by some bruising encounters with Republican lawmakers, who accused her of orchestrating massive government overreach that they said was choking U.S. economic growth.

Republican lawmakers passed numerous bills aimed at undoing Jackson's regulations. None of these measures were signed into law, but the White House did begin to pull back or delay rules in the face of the relentless onslaught.

For example, Obama's decision in 2011 to delay rules to restrict emissions of smog-forming chemicals from power plants led to speculation that Jackson would step down at that time in response to the setback.

"From an energy and consumer perspective, it has to be said that the Jackson EPA presided over some of the most expensive and controversial rules in agency history," said Scott Segal, director of the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council, which lobbied against many of the EPA's proposed regulations.

States and governors have also fought Jackson's rules in the courts. In a major win for opponents, a U.S. appeals court in August overturned the EPA's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, aimed at reducing harmful emissions from coal-burning power plants.

In a statement, Jackson, the first black administrator of the 17,000-strong EPA, said she was "confident the (EPA) ship is sailing in the right direction."

While tensions ran high with industry, Jackson's tenure has been hailed by many environmentalists and public health advocates, who say she leaves a legacy of cleaner air.

"Administrator Jackson has been one of the most effective leaders in the history of the Environmental Protection Agency," Larry Schweiger, president of the National Wildlife Federation.

Reports in recent weeks have suggested that Jackson, a chemical engineer by training, might be under consideration for the post of president of Princeton University in New Jersey.

Media reports also indicate that the one-time chief of staff to former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine might be mulling a run for governor in that state.

Despite her contentious dealings with Congress, Jackson maintained a surprisingly cordial relationship with one of her biggest critics, Senator Jim Inhofe. She even kept a photo of the Oklahoma Republican and his grandchildren in her office.

"Lisa Jackson and I disagreed on many issues and regulations while she headed the EPA, however, I have always appreciated her receptivity to my concerns, her accessibility and her honesty," said Inhofe, who has called climate change a hoax, chided the Obama administration for a "far left green agenda" and vigorously opposed carbon regulations.

Inhofe said Jackson's departure offers the White House the chance to appoint someone "who appreciates the needs of our economy."

UNFINISHED AGENDA INCLUDES FRACKING

A self-described pragmatist, Jackson passionately fought to limit air pollution. She often described her two sons' struggles with asthma when discussing the importance of clean air.

Jackson also rejected her critics' complaints that stronger environmental rules were incompatible with a robust economy.

When broad climate change legislation sputtered in Congress in 2010, the EPA became the White House's main vehicle for addressing carbon emissions.

Since then the agency has finalized rules outlining restrictions on carbon emissions for new power plants, effectively prohibiting the construction of new coal-fired plants without carbon-capture and storage technology.

"Her successor will inherit an unfinished agenda that begins with the issuance of new health protections against carbon pollution from existing power plants - the largest remaining driver of climate change that needs to be controlled," said Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The EPA will also have a major role in the federal response to the shale oil and gas boom. The agency's study of the booming but controversial drilling practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is due out in 2014.

Most regulation of fracking has fallen to the states, but the EPA has said it plans to propose standards on wastewater from gas wells by 2014 and is considering rules that would require more disclosure about the chemicals used in fracking.

(Additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Ros Krasny, Will Dunham and Mohammad Zargham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jackson-step-down-obamas-epa-chief-161702143.html

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