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EPA Announces Regional Administrator for Region 8

Release Date: 04/21/2010
Contact Information: Wendy Chipp, 303-312-6603, chipp.wendy@epa.gov

Regional Agency Headquarters in Denver

DENVER – Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced President Barack Obama’s selection of James B. Martin to be the Agency’s Regional Administrator for EPA’s Region 8. This region encompasses Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming and 27 Tribal Nations.

"I look forward to working closely with James Martin on the range of urgent environmental issues we face, in Region 8 and across the nation," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "At this moment of great challenge and even greater opportunity, I'm thrilled that James will be part of our leadership team at EPA. He will certainly play an instrumental role in our Agency's mission to protect our health and the environment."

Regional Administrators are responsible for managing the Agency’s regional activities under the direction of the EPA Administrator. They promote state and local environmental protection efforts and serve as a liaison to state and local government officials. Regional Administrators are tasked with ensuring EPA's efforts to address the environmental crises of today are rooted in three fundamental values: science-based policies and programs, adherence to the rule of law, and transparency.

James B. Martin has worked in the environmental field for more than 20 years, most of them spent in Colorado. He most recently was the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, managing and administering a department of more than 2,000 employees that oversee the state’s environmental protection policies. He was also the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. There he managed an organization of 1,225 employees with a budget of $470 million, with responsibility over both state environmental and public health programs. From 2005 to 2007, he managed a non-profit organization that focuses on energy, public lands, and water issues. In 2004, he headed the Natural Resources Law Center at the University of Colorado School of Law where he managed an interdisciplinary public policy think tank with a staff of lawyers, economists and scientists. He also taught advanced seminars on energy law and policy and land use planning. Martin spent a decade as the senior attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund in Boulder, Colorado and Oakland, California. Earlier in his career, he was State Director for then U.S. Senator Tim Wirth. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Knox College and his J.D. from Northwestern Law School, Lewis and Clark College.