EPA Administrator
On December 15, 2008, President-elect Barack Obama officially designated Jackson as the nominee for Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. She was confirmed by voice vote in the U.S. Senate on January 22, 2009. Jackson is the first person of African American descent to serve as EPA Administrator, along with being the fourth woman and second New Jerseyan to hold the position. Her Deputy Administrator is Bob Perciasepe, and additionally she has three Associate, twelve Assistant, and ten Regional Administrators overseeing some 17,000 agency employees.
By the EPA's own statements, Administrator Jackson has pledged to focus on core issues of protecting air and water quality, preventing exposure to toxic contamination in U.S. communities, and reducing greenhouse gases. She has pledged that all of the agency's efforts will follow the best science, adhere to the rule of law, and be implemented with unparalleled transparency. By the same statements, she has made it a priority to focus on vulnerable groups – including children, the elderly, and low-income communities – that are particularly susceptible to environmental and health threats. She has promised that all stakeholders will be heard in the decision-making process.
She has become the first EPA administrator to focus on reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, which regulates the introduction of new or already existing chemicals. Indeed, she has called this the issue "closest to my heart ... The law and the structure of the law in no way is modern enough or has enough teeth."
On December 8, 2009, Jackson said in a written statement that the finding, which declares carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases a threat to public health, marks the start of a U.S. campaign to tackle greenhouse gas emissions. As of 2009, this has been the action as administrator that she is best known for.
Speaking at Power Shift 2011, Jackson promised that she was more energized than ever to keep America on a path towards a more green and environmentally sustainable future.
Since that time, she has often been noted for her support of hydraulic fracturing. Media outlets continue to quote her testimony in a May 2011 Senate Hearing Committee that she is not aware of any cases where hydraulic fracturing itself has contaminated water. A 1987 EPA report and reports released since May 2011, however, have identified hydraulic fracturing as the likely source of water contamination in several cases.
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