EPA feels like home to new administrator

In her second stint at the agency, Lisa Jackson talks about getting to work on climate change and water quality.

In her second stint with the Environmental Protection Agency -- the first spanned four presidential administrations -- Lisa Jackson has some perspective on what changed during the George W. Bush years and what the new president expects. Speaking about the $10.5 billion that Barack Obama has requested for the EPA in fiscal 2010, Jackson says: "I always remind people that that 30 percent increase comes after a 27 percent decrease over the last eight years." In an interview with National Journal's Margaret Kriz, Jackson discussed what's on the EPA's plate beyond climate change. Edited excerpts follow.

NJ: I notice that you were on "The Daily Show" -- how'd that come about?

Jackson: That was a really good press shop. It was really fun. I'm still getting really funny e-mails from my friends.

NJ: When you took the EPA job, did you realize you'd have such a high profile?

Jackson: I really didn't.... I thought more about the policy implications, like, "Wow, implementation of the Clean Air Act." But the high profile comes with the job because environment and energy issues are so important to the president's agenda.

NJ: Last time we talked, in February, you said you'd live with the budget you received. Now you've got the president asking for a big increase, to $10.5 billion.

Jackson: It's definitely not an abundance of riches yet. I always remind people that that 30 percent increase comes after a 27 percent decrease over the last eight years. Some people would say, "Well, you're being made whole." But the interesting thing about the budget is that most of the increase goes to the state revolving funds and to a Great Lakes effort. So most of it, although it's coming to EPA, is heading right back out to the American people. A lot like the Recovery Act money.

NJ: Are those the areas that suffered the budget cuts in the past eight years?

Jackson: No, not entirely. EPA suffered a lot of across-the-board cuts that really affected its ability to hire outside experts, keep the science strong, to keep a focus on climate. So we're also investing in climate change. There are investments in research and development. The only places that we won't be able to invest a whole bunch of new resources is in bodies. The budget anticipates about 130 more FTEs [full-time equivalents], and that probably is OK because EPA did its best not to cut staff during the lean years. So now we get to take those staff and make them more productive. But we don't necessarily have to add a lot of staff.

NJ: You've been focusing on climate change. But what's the next big thing on your plate?

Jackson: In all the discussions on climate, which are great, we're also looking at water. We're starting to see lots of discussion on the Hill and lots of concern among the American people about the fact that water quality, although it's gotten better from point sources -- we still have major issues with non-point sources. Storm water runoff, agricultural runoff. Lots of concern about that. Lots of concern about toxics, about chemical assessment and management of risk associated with toxic chemicals. Lots of concern about non-climate aspects of the Clean Air Act. We have a huge regulatory agenda there.

So this budget also -- I should point out we're investing in each one of those priority areas and we're very much about making sure that our resources are lined up with our priorities.

NJ: You've had to hit the ground running here. How's your family taking the change?

Jackson: They've been great. My two sons are actually really excited about moving to Washington. Some of that is the attraction power of President Obama, who really appeals to young people; they're really excited and hopeful. My kids are no exception to that. It is hard -- the physical move and trying to get things up and running means time away from the family. But they know it's short-term, and hopefully within a month, we'll all be together. So we're going to make it.

NJ: So you're waiting for the school year to be over before you move them?

Jackson: Yeah. They're still in New Jersey, and I go home on weekends. I've only missed, I think, two weekends since January. Their school year ends the third week in June, and the boys will be up right after that. My husband will take a bit longer. Our house is on the market, all that kind of stuff.

NJ: People have talked a lot about the fact that Barack Obama is African-American and you are African-American. Does it make a difference as you approach your job at EPA?

Jackson: I do think there's a responsibility on my shoulders to make sure, to constantly remind EPA that we need to be looking toward the future. And one of the clear messages for that future is that future generations are going to be demographically different, and they have different attitudes about environmental protection than when EPA came to be [in 1970].

So the primary responsibility is just constantly being vigilant about reaching out to people of color, to communities across the country, and making sure that environmental protection is expanding its reach in who it communicates with, not contracting. We don't want environmentalism to be the province of a few. We actually -- the more successful we are at making everyone care about the environment and taking responsibility for it, the cleaner the environment will become.

NJ: Is there anything you want to add?

Jackson: You can't underestimate the fact that for me, it's a return. I worked at EPA at various jobs for 15 years, and that's been a tremendous advantage. I know the programs, but more importantly, I know a lot of the people. A lot of the senior managers have really stepped up because of those personal relationships, and because they're so grateful to have a president who values our mission. It's been a hard personal transition with family. But it hasn't been at all hard professionally, because of the attitude of the EPA staff, and I'm really grateful for that.

NEXT STORY: Mediation

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.