OT: Former pesticide executive to head EPA office

[Guest guest]

Good Lord.....this is like putting the Fox in charge of the Chicken

Coop....ACCKKKKKKKKKKKKkkkkk.....Where will it all end???????

 

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Former pesticide executive to head EPA office

Dow Chemical was among employers, environmental group wary

The Associated Press

 

Updated: 8:48 a.m. PT Oct 10, 2006

 

SEATTLE - A former pesticide industry executive

has been selected to lead the Environmental

Protection Agency's regional office here.

 

Elin Miller, 46, will serve as regional

administrator for the EPA's Region 10, which

includes Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Idaho.

 

She's scheduled to start work Oct. 30, taking

over from Ron Kreizenbeck, who has served as

acting regional administrator since July.

 

Miller will oversee regional operations on issues

from water quality to toxic cleanup and pesticide

safety. The agency handles cleanup of polluted

sites such as the Duwamish River and the Asarco

smelter near Tacoma.

 

While Miller can advocate for the regional office

if conflict arises in Washington, D.C., she won't

be free to set policy, said Bill Dunbar, a former

EPA spokesman now working as a private consultant.

 

Miller was chief deputy director of the

California Department of Pesticide Regulation.

She was appointed by Republican Gov. Pete Wilson

in 1995 to head the Department of Conservation,

which oversees oil and gas production.

 

Worked for Dow, Arysta

She worked as an executive at Dow Chemical from

1996 to 2004, overseeing public affairs and the

global pest-management and Asia Pacific

operations, according to an EPA news release.

Miller most recently served as president of the

North American arm of Arysta LifeScience, a

Tokyo-based pesticide maker.

 

While working in the pesticide industry, Miller

served on the boards of two leading industry

lobbying groups, CropLife and Responsible

Industry for a Sound Environment.

 

Pesticide industry officials said Miller is smart

and evenhanded, with experience as both a

regulator and a businesswoman.

 

" The people in government I know that worked for

her had a lot of admiration for her, because she

took off her industry hat when she went in and

went to work there, " said Jay Vroom, president of

CropLife America, a group representing the

pesticide industry.

 

" I think she's a consensus builder, " he said.

 

Some environmental groups are wary, however.

 

" It doesn't bode particularly well for her taking

a strong stance on improving protections, " said

Carol Dansereau, director of the Farm Worker

Pesticide Project, a nonprofit that works on

pesticides and farmworker rights in Washington.

 

Miller, who lives in Umpqua, Ore., could not be

reached for comment Friday, but in a statement

expressed interest in hearing everyone's opinion.

 

" The best solutions to difficult challenges are

those developed locally and collaboratively, with

all parties actively engaged in the process, " she

said.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights

reserved. This material may not be published,

broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15208048/

© 2006 MSNBC.com