Washington, DC - Clean Water Action praised President-elect Obama'sannouncement today that he has selected NewJersey's Lisa Jackson to join his cabinet as head ofthe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency(EPA).

"Lisa Jackson will bring a breath of fresh air to EPA thatis critical given the abysmal record of the Bush administration," said JohnDeCock, Clean Water Action president. "Her life experience makes her eminentlyqualified. She has seen the impact of Hurricane Katrina on herown family. She has direct career experience with theSuperfund at EPA. Her management of the Department of EnvironmentalProtection in New Jersey,the birthplace of so many of the nation’s environmental laws, gives her aunique and valuable perspective on the serious challenges we face."

Jacksonran the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection from 2006 until lastmonth when she became chief of staff to Governor Jon S. Corzine. Anengineer by training who grew up in NewOrleans' 9thWard, she worked her way up thecareer ladder at EPA for more than a decade and since 2002 at New Jersey DEP.

"Lisa is an environmentalist with the right combinationof smarts, savvy, good government, and pragmatism to advance strongscience-based, environmental policy," said Amy Goldsmith, state directorof Clean Water Action in New Jersey.Goldsmith noted that federal Right to Know, Superfund and clean air laws underEPA jurisdiction were modeled after NewJersey's.

Goldsmith said three of Jackson's top accomplishmentsas head of DEP were: passing the Global Warming Response Act; new rules thatlimit development in flood-prone areas to help keep people out of harms way,and; being a strong environmental advocate within a state administration andlegislature that has not prioritized the environmental protection and sometimesweakened efforts.

"We’re extremely hopeful that the President and Congresswill provide strong support for the EPA and its new administrator," saidDeCock. "Lisa Jackson will need to restore protection for human health andthe environment to counteract the tremendous failures of the Bushadministration. It is important to the health of our communitiesthat the our new leadership take the initiative quickly to restore the CleanWater Act’s original intent and meet the challenges posed by globalwarming, our water and transportation infrastructure and our over-reliance ontoxic chemicals."

"While we may not have agreed with Jackson on everything,those disagreements have mostly been about strategy not substance," saidGoldsmith. "We look forward to working with Lisa Jackson in her newrole."