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PR EPA ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATORS CONFIRMED FOR AIR WATER, RESEARCH, ADMINISTRATION AND INSPECTOR GENERAL

Release Date: 10/30/98
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The U.S. Senate has confirmed five Clinton Administration appointments for EPA. They are:

•Romulo Diaz, Jr. as Assistant Administrator for Administration and Resources Management;
•J. Charles Fox as the Assistant Administrator for Water;
•Norine E. Noonan, Ph.D., for the Assistant Administrator for Research and Development;
•Robert Perciasepe for the Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation; and
•Nikki L. Tinsley as the Inspector General.

“I am pleased to have these outstanding people in our senior management ranks. They bring extensive expertise to their new jobs that will help us protect public health and the environment for all Americans,” said EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner.

Diaz was the Director of Regulatory Coordination at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) since 1995. Prior to this position at DOE, Diaz was the Deputy Chief of Staff and Counselor to the Secretary of Energy and the DOE Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Affairs. From January 1981 to December 1992, he was the Director for International Operations in the DOE Office of Emergency Planning and Operations. Diaz received his bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Texas and has studied at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Fox was the Associate Administrator for EPA’s Office of Reinvention since February 1997, where he helped lead EPA’s effort to make environmental regulation less burdensome and more protective through common-sense, cost effective reforms. Through these efforts, EPA has streamlined regulatory paperwork to save the regulated community more than 20 million hours in reporting requirements. From 1995-1997, he was the Assistant Secretary and Chief Operating Officer for the Maryland Department of the Environment. Fox served as the Chief of Staff for the Agency’s Office of Water and as a Special Assistant to Administrator Browner from 1993 to 1995. He is an alumnus of the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Noonan was the Vice President for Research and Development and the Dean of the Graduate School at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne since 1992. Prior to this position at Florida Tech, Dr. Noonan was at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for nearly 10 years. Her positions at OMB included Chief of the Science and Space Programs Branch of the Energy Sciences Division, where she was responsible for legislative programs with budgets of nearly $20 billion dollars. Dr. Noonan received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont, summa cum laude, in zoology and her master’s and doctorate degrees in cell biology from Princeton University.

Perciasepe, the former Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Water, managed the Agency’s water program, with a budget of $2.6 billion and 2,680 employees, since October 1993. During that period, there have been significant water quality milestones, including the reauthorization of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Perciasepe developed the Clean Water Action Plan, directing the national water program toward watershed management to further clean the nation’s rivers, lakes and streams. He is an alumnus of Cornell University and received a master’s degree in planning from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University.

Tinsley has been EPA’s Acting Inspector General since January 1997. She is a member of the President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency and serves on its Investigation and Legislation Committees. Prior to becoming Acting Inspector General, she served as the Deputy Inspector General from 1995 to 1997, and from 1990 to 1995 she was a Divisional Inspector General in the Central Division. Before coming to EPA, Tinsley worked for 15 years in various audit capacities in the Department of Interior and in the U.S. General Accounting Office. Tinsley has a master’s degree in management and is a certified public accountant.


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