By Michael V. Marzal, USCM Intern
September 8, 2003

Utah Governor Mike Leavitt was nominated on August 12 by President Bush to become the new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Governor Leavitt, a Republican, co-chaired the Western Regional Air Partnership and is the creator of the "Enlibra Principals" which includes the use of Smart Growth and Sustainable Development.

Confirmation will commence soon as the Senate returns from its summer break. If confirmed, Leavitt will become the 10th full-time administrator of the EPA and will replace former EPA Administrator Christie Todd Whitman, former New Jersey Governor, who resigned in May.

The President said, "As co-chair of the Western Regional Air Partnership, Governor Leavitt has been a leader in applying high standards in air quality, and he understands the importance of clear standards in every environmental policy."

Governor Leavitt's environmental background includes an air-quality partnership that helped to clear haze in southwestern Utah and a continuing effort to protect open spaces from future development. He has also opposed plans to build a nuclear-waste storage facility on a Utah Indian reservation. Leavitt is a supporter of shifting environmental regulation to the states and wants to increase environmental cooperation among federal, state and local officials.

Leavitt has been Governor of Utah for the past decade, making him the longest serving Governor in America. He went to Southern Utah University where he earned his bachelor's degree in business and economics. In the past, he was the president and CEO of his family's insurance firm and also served as an outside director of several corporations. Governor Leavitt served as a former chairman of the National Governors' Association. He was appointed to the president's advisory committee on homeland security. He has also been a member of the Utah State Board of Regents, which oversees Utah's nine colleges and universities. During his tenure, Utah has been named the "Best-managed State" in America and in 1999, "Public Official of the Year" by Governing magazine.