By Patrick Rucker

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After a long career in public service including work for two Republican governors, Gina McCarthy is expected to win confirmation as the next head of the Environmental Protection Agency, thanks to her reputation as a practical, fix-it regulator.

If confirmed, she will have her work cut out heading an agency that is a magnet for controversy as it seeks to balance the need for economic growth with the impact of development on human health and the environment.

In the next few months, the EPA is due to present rules for curbing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and it is now investigating the impacts of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

Nevertheless, when President Barack Obama said on Monday that McCarthy was his pick to lead the EPA, leaders of the energy and industry quickly signaled their acquiescence.

"We congratulate Gina McCarthy on her nomination," Jack Gerard, president of the American Petroleum Institute, said in a statement. [More]














Source: Gina McCarthy's Republican History Should Smooth Path to Head of EPA