Bush Picks Leavitt to Head EPA

President Bush late Monday selected Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt to succeed Christie Whitman as head of the Environmental Protection Agency, news services reported.

Leavitt, a Republican, is currently in his third term as governor. Senate confirmation hearings are expected to be held soon after Congress returns from its August recess.

Although many Republicans were pleased with the choice, environmental groups immediately criticized Leavitt for past public statements where he called for more federal environmental regulation to be ceded to states. Reuters reported.

During Whitman’s brief tenure, she was involved in several major rules affecting the trucking industry.

Whitman was in charge of ensuring the consent decrees that diesel engine makers signed in 1998 were implemented on Oct. 1, 2002. She personally intervened when some manufacturers asked for delays, de-nying all requests.

She was also in charge of ensuring compliance with the 2006 ultra-low sulfur diesel rule, and the 2007-2010 on-road diesel engine rule, the latter requiring engine manufacturers to reduce emissions to negligible levels.