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Carol Rushin
Acting Regional Administrator
Carol Rushin is the Acting Regional Administrator for Region 8. From January to June 2008, she was Deputy Regional Administrator or ‘Chief Operating Officer,’ for the Region, managing an organization of 770 employees, with an annual budget of approximately $320 million, with responsibility for environmental programs in six states and 27 Indian reservations.
From January 2007 through January 2008, Ms. Rushin was the Assistant Regional Administrator (ARA) for the Office of Ecosystems Protection and Remediation (EPR). The ARA for EPR position encompassed: (1) cleanup of sites contaminated with hazardous substances or oil, under CERCLA and the Clean Water Act, and restoration of areas to productive use, including remedial, removal, Federal Facilities and Brownfields programs; (2) watershed protection and restoration under the CWA and SDWA, including water quality standards, total maximum daily loads, nonpoint source, wetlands, and source water programs; (3) review and rating, under NEPA and CAA 309, of environmental impact statements prepared by other federal agencies regarding major federal actions, including energy, water supply, transportation and forest management projects; and (4) homeland security, including preparing, planning and training to respond to incidents of national significance that could involve releases of biological, industrial chemicals, chemical warfare agents or radiological material. As ARA for EPR, Ms. Rushin directed a staff of 182 and a budget of $198 million.
Prior to that, Ms. Rushin served for 11 years as the ARA for the Office of Enforcement, Compliance, and Environmental Justice in EPA, Region 8. Her office was a unique blend of both legal and technical staff who were responsible for: compliance monitoring, compliance assistance, civil enforcement actions, assisting on criminal enforcement actions, maintaining most national data systems for the Region, coordinating within the Region, and–with our state partners–enforcement planning and targeting, developing and supporting environmental justice activities in Region 8, and oversight of our delegated state enforcement programs including capacity building efforts where program deficiencies are noted. Ms. Rushin came to this position from EPA, Region 10, Seattle, Washington, where she held the positions of Associate Director of the Hazardous Waste Division, Acting Associate Regional Administrator for Alaska Operations Office, Chief of the Superfund Remedial Branch, Deputy of National Priorities List Operations, and a served on a detail to EPA Headquarters as the Acting CERCLA Compliance Branch Chief.
Prior to joining EPA in 1984, Ms. Rushin was sanitary engineer with the Washington State Department of Ecology. She also held a position as Supervisor of the Naval Blood Research Laboratory’s Biochemistry Division.
She graduated magna cum laude in 1976 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from St. Lawrence University. She received her Master’s Degree in 1983, from Harvard University School of Public Health with dual majors in Environmental Health Management and Air Pollution Control.
