Lisa Jackson made few friends in the nation’s capitol as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). On Thursday, Jackson announced she was stepping down after President Obama’s annual State of the Union address in January.
From attempts to impose spurious environmental regulations on agriculture, including dust rules on farms, to denying strong pleas from politicians and producers alike to waive the federal Renewable Fuels Standard mandate, Lisa Jackson made few friends in the nation’s capitol as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
On Thursday, Jackson announced she was stepping down as the first African-American to head the agency. Jackson will leave EPA after President Obama’s annual State of the Union address in January.
The New Orleans native was a frequent target of Republicans, who called her before Capitol Hill to testify at numerous congressional hearings for regulations that would prove burdensome to the coal industry, manufacturers, as well as agriculture.
Under Jackson, the EPA completed the agency’s first greenhouse gas emissions regulations.
National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) CEO Neil Dierks says, “NPPC worked well with Lisa Jackson on a number of issues. But the administration now has an opportunity to take a significant step toward fixing the broken waiver process in the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).”
A coalition of livestock, poultry and dairy organizations agreed in mid-November that the RFS was broken after Jackson turned down their request to waive a federal law that requires corn to be turned into ethanol for gasoline in the wake of the worst drought in more than half a century.
“America’s pork producers urge the president to put forth a nominee to be the next EPA administrator who is committed to finding the essential balance between protecting the environment and pursuing energy independence and ensuring the global competitiveness of our nation’s livestock industry,” Dierks says.
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