Download PDF
September 18, 2017

Senate EPW Committee to Hold Hearing on Nominations of EPA Officials

Lynn L. Bergeson

The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) has announced that it will hold a hearing on the following U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) nominations on Wednesday, September 20, 2017, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (EDT):

  1. Michael Dourson, Ph.D., for Assistant Administrator of the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP).  Dr. Dourson is a professor in the Risk Science Center, Environmental Health, at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, College of Medicine.  He founded the nonprofit Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment and has previously worked at EPA as the Associate Director of the Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office, among other positions.  Dr. Dourson has served in multiple positions at the American Board of Toxicology, Society of Toxicology, Society for Risk Analysis, and Toxicology Education Foundation. 
  2. Matthew Leopold, Esquire, for General Counsel.  Mr. Leopold is currently Of Counsel at Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, P.A., and focuses on federal and state administrative cases, federal and state enforcement actions, natural resource matters, and pollution cleanup issues, especially as they relate to electric utilities.  He previously served as General Counsel for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection from 2013 to 2015 and as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division, from 2007 to 2013. 
  3. David Ross, Esquire, for Assistant Administrator for Water.  Mr. Ross currently serves as the Director of the Environmental Protection Unit for the Wisconsin Department of Justice where he is responsible for representing the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the State of Wisconsin in federal and state court, including defending agency decisions, prosecuting environmental enforcement cases, and providing legal and policy advice on environmental and natural resources issues.  Prior to this, he served as the Senior Assistant Attorney General in the Wyoming Attorney General’s Office from 2014 to 2016, and from 2002 to 2014, he practiced law at three Washington, D.C. law firms in their environmental groups.
  4. William L. Wehrum, Esquire, for Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.  This position’s jurisdiction includes climate change programs.  Mr. Wehrum is currently a Partner at Hunton & Williams LLP, and focuses on the regulation of oil and gas production and refining operations.  He has a long history with EPA, serving as Counsel to the Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation from 2001 to 2005, and as the Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation from 2005 to 2007.