EPA: Brownfield-cleanup expert tapped to head solid waste division
EPA: Brownfield-cleanup expert tapped to head solid waste division
First published in Greenwire, April 1, 2009
President Obama yesterday nominated a lawyer with an extensive background in environmental justice and solid waste issues to head U.S. EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response.
Mathy Stanislaus, who has more than 20 years of experience working with environmental issues such as Superfund projects and brownfields, currently co-directs the New Partners for Community Revitalization (NPCR), a New York-based organization focused on revitalizing brownfields around New York's low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.
Previously, Stanislaus served as assistant regional counsel for EPA's Region II Office in New York, where he was in charge of all of the enforcement cases brought under the Superfund law and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.
If confirmed, Stanislaus would come to the agency at a time when cleanup operations face enormous challenges because of the economic climate, said Roger Martella, who served as EPA general counsel under President George W. Bush.
"The role of the next OSWER head will be one of most challenging positions in the agency in the upcoming years," Martella said. "The economic situation could impact OSWER's programs harder than other parts of the program. More than past heads, he's going to have to be keenly aware of the current economic situation and realize both public and private resources to accelerate hazardous cleanups are not at the level they were in prior years."
In addition, the agency is likely to be confronted with more bankrupt companies that leave behind contaminated sites, Martella said.
Stanislaus likely will have to address whether to impose a Superfund tax. Obama proposed plans to reinstate polluter fees that generate revenue for cleaning up toxic waste sites. The taxes would not kick in until 2011, however, to allow the nation time to recover from the economic downturn (Greenwire, Feb. 26).
But Martella cautioned that a tax on industry now, on top of discussions surrounding climate change and the price of carbon, would be complicated and difficult.
Stanislaus would also face challenges on environmental justice and how to focus resources on communities that are disproportionally affected by contaminated lands -- an area where he has focused much of his work.
In addition to directing and co-founding NPCR, Stanislaus also serves as a board member of the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance. There, he successfully lobbied to include community planning and financial incentive programs in New York's brownfield law.
He also served for three years as a member of EPA's National Environmental Justice Advisory Council under Clinton, where he worked on the waste and facility siting subcommittee. There, he focused on advising EPA on how to integrate environmental justice into federal environmental programs.
Jody Kass, who co-founded and co-directs NPCR with Stanislaus, said his nomination highlights Obama's commitment to change by bringing in someone with a solid background in environmental justice as it relates to contaminated sites.
"In naming Mathy, I think it's a clear signal that things are going to change," Kass said. "I think we're going to see a much stronger focus on low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, as well as partnerships between federal agencies and at the municipal and state levels, as well as public-private partnerships."
This background will be invaluable to Stanislaus in his new role, Kass said.
"Mathy's signature way of looking at things is bringing diverse interests together to come up with richer, win-win solutions on what many have previously viewed as intractable problems," Kass said.