News Releases from Headquarters
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
Bipartisan Environmental Leaders Praise Susan Bodine's EPA Nomination
WASHINGTON – Prior to Susan Bodine’s confirmation hearing in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee tomorrow, environmental leaders, including former DOJ and EPA officials who served in both Republican and Democrat administrations, are offering praise for Bodine’s nomination to serve as EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. Bodine currently serves as Chief Counsel for the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) committee. She previously served as EPA’s Assistant Administrator of the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response in the George W. Bush Administration, and possesses nearly 29 years of environmental law experience.
What They’re Saying About Susan Bodine’s Nomination ...
Senate EPW Chairman John Barrasso: “She has extensive experience working both on Capitol Hill and previously in leadership at the EPA. Susan is committed to finding commonsense ways to protect America’s land, air, and water. In this new role, I know that she will work to help communities and small businesses comply with the law, while holding polluters accountable.”
John Cruden, President-Elect of the American College of Environmental Lawyers and Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice (12/2014-1/2017): "I have worked with Susan over a number of years as she has had significant leadership positions in environmental law and practice. Susan is dedicated to the rule of law, a lawyer with great integrity, and she understands the critical importance of effective and timely enforcement."
Marcus Peacock, EPA Deputy Administrator (08/2005 – 01/2009): “I have known Susan for over 20 years. I can think of no better person to lead the enforcement office at EPA. She understands the mission of the agency and the office and how important it is to protecting human health and the environment. A perfect pick.”
Scott Fulton, President of The Environmental Law Institute and EPA General Counsel (08/2009-01/2013): “During the Obama Administration, when I served as EPA’s General Counsel, Susan and I worked collaboratively on matters of shared concern to the Administration and the Congress. … Through these various intersections, I have found Susan to be fair minded, clear thinking, and strategic in her approach, as well as effective in her leadership. She has a deep understanding of EPA and the EPA-State relationship, which will equip her well to lead OECA.”
Avi Garbow, EPA General Counsel (08/2013-01/2017) and Deputy General Counsel, EPA (09/2014-08/2013): “Based on my experience, Ms. Bodine possesses a strong intellect, a keen understanding of environmental law and policy, and is respectful and responsive. She is a seasoned environmental lawyer and a skilled advocate. It is also my view that Ms. Bodine’s prior service at EPA is an important – though not indispensable – factor to be considered in her nomination. Her familiarity with the Agency and its talented staff would be of service to OECA and Administrator Pruitt, should she be confirmed.”
Roger Martella, EPA General Counsel (08/2006-04/2008): “Susan epitomizes all the best character and traits we can ask of public servants: tireless and unflappable commitment to the mission of environmental protection and promoting human health, protective of transparency and process in her decision making, objective and apolitical approach to leadership, and empowerment of career decision makers in government.”
Granta Nakayama, EPA Assistant Administrator, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (07/2005-01/2009): [Bodine is a] “fine environmental attorney” who “reads the statutes and parses the words and does the hard work. She's . . . rigorous in that sense.” “[She is also] “an experienced hand in Washington and knows how to get things done. She is very practical and looks for solutions that are going to be workable for everybody.”
Mathy Stanislaus, EPA Assistant Administrator, Office of Land and Emergency Management (06/2009-01/2017): “[Susan] understands both the internal side of the agency and the proper balance of enforcement.”
Marianne Horinko, EPA Acting Administrator (07/2013-11/2013) and EPA Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (10/2001-06/2004): “Susan Bodine is extremely qualified to run EPA’s enforcement office. As a dedicated public servant with years of experience in environmental policy, she brings a vast understanding of both the agency and the community it regulates. Susan is well suited to carry out the mission of the Administration, and to protect clean air, land and water for the American people.”
Elliot Laws, EPA Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (1993-1997): “While I don't envy her challenge, I think bringing Susan back to the agency is an excellent idea.” “Having a familiar face back at EPA in a senior role is a plus for staff morale. Bringing in someone with her knowledge of the agency and the issues facing it can only be a positive.”
Ben Grumbles, Secretary, Maryland Department of the Environment (03/2016-present), EPA Assistant Administrator, Office of Water (11/2004-01/2009): “She’s tough and fair and committed to public service. [Bodine] embodies a compliance-first approach, but also will bring enforcement actions when needed.”
G. Tracy Mehan, III, EPA Assistant Administrator, Office of Water (08/2001-12/2003): “Susan Bodine brings a commanding intellect and a vast reservoir of experience in environmental policy to the job of running EPA’s enforcement office. The Agency and the American people will benefit tremendously from her legislative, executive and legal expertise across the spectrum of air, land and water. The Administration has made an outstanding selection.”
Cliff Rothenstein, EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (04/1997-06/2000): “I have known Ms. Bodine for almost 20 years where she served as committee counsel to the House Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Environment and Public Works committees, and as Assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. She is a dedicated public servant and is well-qualified to lead EPA’s office of Enforcement and Compliance Assistance. Ms. Bodine has proved herself time and again to be fair, competent, professional and well respected by those who have had the pleasure to work with her. As an added benefit, Ms. Bodine knows EPA well and is known and respected by EPA employees.”
Tom Cochran, CEO and Executive Director, U.S. Conference of Mayors: “Many Mayors, as well as my senior staff, have worked with Ms. Susan Bodine over the past 20 plus years. … Throughout these years, working with Ms. Bodine has been a real pleasure and she has been an asset in every job she has done. She is extremely thoughtful, knowledgeable and professional and has an understanding of the importance of protecting the environment and public health and to do so in an economically responsible way. Her common sense approach to environmental protection and infrastructure investment is widely respected among her peers and my Mayors. While we are sorry to lose her in her current role, she would be a welcome asset at the EPA.”
Zippy Duvall, President, American Farm Bureau Federation: “Susan Bodine’s breadth and depth of experience in environmental protection make her an outstanding nominee to lead OECA. … In her decades of experience in private practice, for Congress and EPA, Susan Bodine has proven her leadership skills and her deep understanding of our nation’s environmental laws and how they affect ordinary citizens and small businesses. She has shown leadership in working toward solutions with groups on all sides of the many controversies that entangle environmental protection. We believe she will strictly enforce our nation’s environmental laws, using the hammer when necessary. We also believe she will bring back an effective yet underutilized tool in EPA’s toolbox – compliance assistance. Farmers and ranchers across the nation look forward to a new era of firm, but fair enforcement.”