The administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is the head of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and is thus responsible for enforcing the nation's Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, as well as numerous other environmental statutes. The administrator is nominated by the president of the United States and must be confirmed by a vote of the Senate.
Lee Zeldin is the current administrator of the EPA.
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Rank in the Cabinet
Since the Clinton administration, the EPA administrator has been accorded cabinet rank by the president. The administrator of the EPA is equivalent to the position of minister of the environment in other countries. There have been various proposals to make the EPA a full executive department.
List of administrators
The following persons served as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency:
Table notes:
List of deputy administrators
The following persons served as deputy administrator:
Acting administrators
Acting administrators usually assume the office in the interim period between the resignation of a previous administrator and the confirmation of his or her successor, including during the transition period between two presidential administrations, before the successor has been nominated and confirmed. Acting administrators come from within the EPA and usually hold an office that is subject to Senate confirmation before becoming the acting administrator. Linda Fisher and Stephen L. Johnson had served as Deputy Administrator when they became acting administrator. Marianne Lamont Horinko was an assistant administrator at the time. They are not subject to Senate confirmation to serve as the acting administrator, though to continue to serve as a full-fledged administrator (as in the case of Lee M. Thomas or Stephen L. Johnson), they must be confirmed by the Senate.
Line of succession
The line of succession for the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is as follows:
Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
General Counsel
Assistant Administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management
Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention
Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation
Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water
Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
Chief Financial Officer
Assistant Administrator for the Office of Research and Development
Assistant Administrator for the Office of International and Tribal Affairs
Assistant Administrator for the Office of Administration and Resources Management
Assistant Administrator for the Office of Environmental Information
Regional Administrator, Region 7 (Kansas City, Kansas)
Principal Deputy General Counsel
Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance