Nomination of Lee M. Thomas To Be Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

The President today announced his intention to nominate Lee M. Thomas to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. He will succeed William D. Ruckelshaus, who has resigned.

Since July of 1983 Mr. Thomas has been serving as Assistant Administrator of EPA for Solid Waste and Emergency Response. For a time, from March until August 1983, he had served as Acting Deputy Administrator of EPA. Previously he served as Associate Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (State and Local Programs and Support), from 1981 to 1983. As such, Mr. Thomas managed all disaster relief efforts at FEMA and was Chairman of the President's Task Force on Times Beach, Missouri. Prior to this, he was director, division of public safety programs, office of the Governor of South Carolina, from 1979 to 1981; an independent consultant from 1977 to 1979; and executive director, office of criminal justice programs, office of the Governor of South Carolina, from 1972 to 1977.

Mr. Thomas graduated from the University of the South (B.A.) and received a masters of education at the University of South Carolina. He is married with two children and lives in Woodbridge, VA. He was born June 13, 1944, in South Carolina.