New air-board chief nominated

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday named a staunch environmentalist with deep Democratic ties to take the helm of the state's air-quality enforcement agency, perhaps dulling criticism that he was stalling implementation of California's landmark global-warming legislation as a way to appease the business community.

His selection of environmental lawyer Mary Nichols, a former appointee of two former Democratic governors and President Clinton, won wide praise from business and environmental groups alike for her even-handed approach to air quality.

It also took some heat off of Schwarzenegger, who a week ago fired the board's chairman, Robert Sawyer, after Sawyer pushed more aggressively on pollution curbs than the administration could abide. The firing set off a firestorm of criticism from Democrats and environmentalists, who said he was doing the bidding of business by urging a go-slow approach to implementing A.B. 32 - the greenhouse-gas reduction law Schwarzenegger has touted around the world.

Schwarzenegger called Nichols a "real powerhouse" player in the environmental movement who will bring credibility to his plan to reduce emissions through a mixture of air- quality standards and market- based incentives.

"She was unafraid to make bold decisions," Schwarzenegger said in introducing her, "and was fearless in introducing new technologies to get past old excuses to clean up our air."

Nichols, 62, has served as director of the UCLA Institute of the Environment since 2004. She was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to chair the air-resources board from 1978-1983, leading the state's effort to ban lead in gasoline and requiring catalytic converters in automobiles.

"I can't resist this: I'm back," said Nichols, a longtime environmental lawyer. "One of the messages I got very clearly in my interviews with the governor is that he expects me to reach out to all of the affected communities in the state."

Nichols served as the secretary of the California Resources Agency from 1999 to 2003 under Gov. Gray Davis. Before that, she served as assistant administrator for Air and Radiation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under Clinton.

As an environmental lawyer for the Center for Law in the Public Interest, she initiated some of the first test cases under the Federal Clean Air Act and the state's air-quality laws. She worked as a senior staff attorney for the Natural Resource Defense Council and headed the Environment Now Foundation.

Ann Notthoff, the California advocacy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, called her an "enforcer and advocate for a healthy environment and public health" who knows the air-resources board well and "is committed to its science- based independence. It would be hard to find a stronger chair of the board."

Businesses who have expressed fears that strict emission standards could be ruinous were hopeful that Nichols will balance the need for a strong economy and environmental protection.

"She has worked to bring environmentalists and industry together," said Alan Zaremberg, president of CalChamber, "to balance and achieve these twin goals."

She will face a confirmation hearing next week in the Senate.

Source: San Bernardino County Sun
July 4, 2007

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