Obama to nominate deputy chief at EPA

President Obama said he will nominate the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) acting deputy chief to take the position officially.

Stan Meiburg came back to the EPA as its acting deputy administrator in October. He had worked at the agency for nearly four decades before retiring earlier in 2014 as the head of the EPA’s Atlanta office.

{mosads}Meiburg would replace Bob Perciasepe, who was deputy administrator throughout the Obama administration until he resigned last year. Lisa Feldt briefly acted in the No. 2 spot before Meiburg came back.

“His experience spans the agency, having worked closely on air, enforcement, toxics, operations and countless other EPA issues,” EPA head Gina McCarthy said in October. “He’s literally done it all, and I know he’ll be a great addition to the team.”

Meiburg is the first Senate-confirmed EPA nominee Obama has named since Republicans took control of the Senate.

The GOP has promised to scrutinize Obama’s nominees closely, and EPA nominees are likely to see the most contentious probing. In objecting to the policies of the EPA under Obama, Republicans have given some of the agency’s nominees a hard time.

Republicans boycotted McCarthy’s confirmation hearing, for instance, and then sent her more than 1,000 questions for the record.