Outlining President Obama's Agenda for the Environment

On January 23, 2009, Lisa P. Jackson, US EPA Administrator-designate, sent a memo to US EPA employees introducing herself and outlining the President's agenda for the environment. According to the memo, President Obama has articulated three values that he expects EPA to uphold. These include 1) science must be the backbone for EPA programs, 2) EPA must follow the rule of law and 3) EPA’s actions must be transparent. Both the regulated community and environmental groups alike should be satisfied with these values. As Ms. Jackson states in the memo, "When scientific judgments are suppressed, misrepresented or distorted by political agendas, Americans can lose faith in their government to provide strong public health and environmental protection."

According to the memo, the administration's priorities for the environment include: 1) reducing greenhouse gas emissions, 2) improving air quality, 3) managing chemical risks, 4) cleaning up hazardous-waste sites and 5) protecting America’s water.

Cox-Colvin is very involved in the cleanup of hazardous waste sites, with many of these sites on the EPA's 2020 universe of sites to be cleaned up by the year 2020. The driving force for the cleanup of the hazardous waste sites falls under two general categories, real estate development driven cleanups and agency driven cleanups. Real estate development driven cleanups are entered into more or less voluntarily by developers that are looking to profit from the redevelopment and re-use of the property. Over the past ten years, real estate market forces have resulted in the cleanup and the productive re-use of many former hazardous waste sites. However, in today's economy, few developers are willing to take on the risks associated with former hazardous waste sites. We should, therefore, expect to see an increase in agency driven cleanups, through orders and permits, as EPA struggles to meet its priorities addressed by the new Director and identified in the RCRA Corrective Action 2020 Initiative. For assistance in cleanup of hazardous waste sites, look to the leader in agency driven RCRA Corrective Action: Cox-Colvin & Associates, Inc.

You can view the full memo at http://www.epa.gov/administrator/memotoemployees.html .