The Smokestack Effect: Toxic Air and Americas Schools

Enlarge By Jack Grubner, USA TODAY Lisa Jackson said "science will be the backbone of what EPA does." The Smokestack Effect: Toxic Air and America's Schools What might be in the air outside your school? Search for a school to see the toxic chemicals that government data indicated were in the air outside. School Name City/County Select a State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Required field

"Science will be the backbone of what EPA does," Lisa Jackson, the nominee, testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. She added that decisions by the chief environmental watchdog will "reflect the expert judgment of the agency's career scientists and independent advisers."

Her comments follow repeated criticisms — by the committee's chairwoman, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and advocacy groups such as the Union of Concerned Scientists — that the Bush administration had given assessments by government scientists a back seat to political judgments. Her statements also pointedly suggested that she intends to break with some controversial EPA decisions of the past eight years.

At a wide-ranging confirmation hearing, Jackson won almost unanimous praise from lawmakers. Boxer said she hopes to "move quickly" to bring Jackson's nomination before the full Senate, where she could be confirmed as early as next week.

Jackson said cutting emissions of chemicals that contribute to global warming and other types of air pollution will be among the Obama administration's top five environmental goals. The others, she said, are cleaning up hazardous waste sites, protecting water quality and dealing with toxic chemicals.

"These five problems are tough, but so is our resolve to conquer them," Jackson said.

The confirmation hearing served partly as a forum for Democratic lawmakers to batter the EPA's conduct during the Bush administration. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., called the agency "a disgrace to our country." Boxer said the agency "has hurt the American people, made them less safe."

The panel's Republicans generally praised Jackson but criticized the new administration's plans to regulate carbon dioxide, linked to global warming. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., warned that such regulations could further damage the economy.

Jackson also said the Obama administration would:

• Immediately assess hundreds of coal ash piles nationwide, following a pair of spills in Tennessee and Alabama.

• Revisit controversial EPA rules, including a decision by outgoing administrator Stephen Johnson that prevented California and other states from imposing their own limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

• Bolster the government's commitment to children's health.