EPA Administrator’s Resignation Letter Touts CAFO Rule Among Environmental Achievements

EPA Administrator Christie Whitman tendered her resignation to President Bush on May 20, citing her wish to return to her home and family in New Jersey. Whitman praised the Bush Administration's “strong belief that environmental protection and economic prosperity can and must go hand-in-hand.” She also specifically identified EPA's revised CAFO regulations among several key accomplishments of the agency during her tenure. According to Whitman, “[i]mprovements to the rules governing Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations will protect surface water by requiring reductions of at least 25 percent in runoff of nitrogen and phosphorous from those large agricultural operations.” Administrator Whitman's resignation letter is posted on EPA's website.