L.A. Attorney Confirmed as Head of Air Quality for EPA
The U.S. Senate has confirmed Los Angeles environmental attorney Mary D. Nichols as an assistant administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in charge of the Clinton Administration’s air pollution programs.
Nichols has held posts as senior staff attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, California secretary of environmental affairs and chairwoman of the state Air Resources Board from 1979 until 1982.
As head of the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, Nichols is the nation’s top air quality official and will report directly to EPA Administrator Carol Browner. One of her most pressing tasks will be to lead the Administration’s effort to implement new provisions of the Clean Air Act that target urban pollution.
Almost immediately, she will be responsible for ensuring that California’s Smog Check program is overhauled. The EPA, which is locked in a battle with the state Legislature, has threatened to impose economic sanctions on the state early next year unless the auto inspection program is revamped.
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