Administrator Lisa 

Jackson

Administrator 

Lisa P. Jackson

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Memo to EPA Employees

en español

MEMORANDUM

DATE: January 23, 2009

TO: All EPA Employees

FROM: Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator 

I can think of no higher calling or privilege than rejoining EPA as your 

Administrator. I am grateful and humbled that President Obama has 

given me this honor. With his election and with my appointment, 

President Obama has dramatically changed the face of American 

environmentalism. With your help, we can now change the face of the 

environment as well.

During my 21 years in public service, I have witnessed firsthand the 

dedication and professionalism of EPA’s workforce. Thousands of 

committed, hard-working and talented employees for whom 

protecting the environment is a calling, not just a job, have made 

EPA a driving force in environmental protection since 1970. 

EPA can meet the nation’s environmental challenges only if our employees are fully engaged 

partners in our shared mission. That’s why I will make respect for the EPA workforce a 

bedrock principle of my tenure. I will look to you every day for ideas, advice and expertise. 

EPA should once again be the workplace of choice for veteran public servants and also 

talented young people beginning careers in environmental protection – just as it was for me 

when I first joined EPA shortly after graduate school. 

In outlining his agenda for the environment, President Obama has articulated three values 

that he expects EPA to uphold. These values will shape everything I do. 

Science must be the backbone for EPA programs. The public health and environmental laws 

that Congress has enacted depend on rigorous adherence to the best available science. The 

President believes that when EPA addresses scientific issues, it should rely on the expert 

judgment of the Agency’s career scientists and independent advisors. When scientific 

judgments are suppressed, misrepresented or distorted by political agendas, Americans can 

lose faith in their government to provide strong public health and environmental protection.

The laws that Congress has written and directed EPA to implement leave room for policy 

judgments. However, policy decisions should not be disguised as scientific findings. I pledge 

Administrator Lisa Jackson

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that I will not compromise the integrity of EPA’s experts in order to advance a preference for 

a particular regulatory outcome.

EPA must follow the rule of law. The President recognizes that respect for Congressional 

mandates and judicial decisions is the hallmark of a principled regulatory agency. Under our 

environmental laws, EPA has room to exercise discretion, and Congress has often looked to 

EPA to fill in the details of general policies. However, EPA needs to exercise policy discretion 

in good faith and in keeping with the directives of Congress and the courts. When Congress 

has been explicit, EPA cannot misinterpret or ignore the language Congress has used. When 

a court has determined EPA’s responsibilities under our governing statutes, EPA cannot turn a 

blind eye to the court’s decision or procrastinate in complying.

EPA’s actions must be transparent. In 1983, EPA Administrator Ruckelshaus promised that 

EPA would operate "in a fishbowl" and “will attempt to communicate with everyone from the 

environmentalists to those we regulate, and we will do so as openly as possible." 

I embrace this philosophy. Public trust in the Agency demands that we reach out to all 

stakeholders fairly and impartially, that we consider the views and data presented carefully 

and objectively, and that we fully disclose the information that forms the bases for our 

decisions. I pledge that we will carry out the work of the Agency in public view so that the 

door is open to all interested parties and that there is no doubt why we are acting and how 

we arrived at our decisions. 

We must take special pains to connect with those who have been historically 

underrepresented in EPA decision making, including the disenfranchised in our cities and rural 

areas, communities of color, native Americans, people disproportionately impacted by 

pollution, and small businesses, cities and towns working to meet their environmental 

responsibilities. Like all Americans, they deserve an EPA with an open mind, a big heart and a 

willingness to listen. 

As your Administrator, I will uphold the values of scientific integrity, rule of law and 

transparency every day. If ever you feel I am not meeting this commitment, I expect you to 

let me know. 

Many vital tasks lie before us in every aspect of EPA’s programs. As I develop my agenda, I 

will be seeking your guidance on the tasks that are most urgent in protecting public health 

and the environment and on the strategies that EPA can adopt to maximize our effectiveness 

and the expertise of our talented employees. At the outset, I would like to highlight five 

priorities that will receive my personal attention:

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The President has pledged to make responding 

to the threat of climate change a high priority of his administration. He is confident 

that we can transition to a low-carbon economy while creating jobs and making the 

investment we need to emerge from the current recession and create a strong 

foundation for future growth. I share this vision. EPA will stand ready to help 

Congress craft strong, science-based climate legislation that fulfills the vision of the 

President. As Congress does its work, we will move ahead to comply with the 

Supreme Court’s decision recognizing EPA’s obligation to address climate change 

under the Clean Air Act. 

Improving air quality. The nation continues to face serious air pollution challenges, 

with large areas of the country out of attainment with air-quality standards and many 

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communities facing the threat of toxic air pollution. Science shows that people’s 

health is at stake. We will plug the gaps in our regulatory system as science and the 

law demand. 

Managing chemical risks. More than 30 years after Congress enacted the Toxic 

Substances Control Act, it is clear that we are not doing an adequate job of assessing 

and managing the risks of chemicals in consumer products, the workplace and the 

environment. It is now time to revise and strengthen EPA’s chemicals management 

and risk assessment programs. 

Cleaning up hazardous-waste sites. EPA will strive to accelerate the pace of cleanup 

at the hundreds of contaminated sites across the country. Turning these blighted 

properties into productive parcels and reducing threats to human health and the 

environment means jobs and an investment in our land, our communities and our 

people.

Protecting America’s water. EPA will intensify our work to restore and protect the 

quality of the nation’s streams, rivers, lakes, bays, oceans and aquifers. The Agency 

will make robust use of our authority to restore threatened treasures such as the 

Great Lakes and the Chesapeake Bay, to address our neglected urban rivers, to 

strengthen drinking-water safety programs, and to reduce pollution from non-point 

and industrial dischargers. 

As we meet these challenges, we must be sensitive to the burdens pollution has placed on 

vulnerable subpopulations, including children, the elderly, the poor and all others who are at 

particular risk to threats to health and the environment. We must seek their full partnership 

in the greater aim of identifying and eliminating the sources of pollution in their 

neighborhoods, schools and homes. 

EPA’s strength has always been our ability to adapt to the constantly changing face of 

environmental protection as our economy and society evolve and science teaches us more 

about how humans interact with and affect the natural world. Now, more than ever, EPA 

must be innovative and forward looking because the environmental challenges faced by 

Americans all across our country are unprecedented.

These challenges are indeed immense in scale and urgency. But, as President Obama said 

Tuesday, they will be met. I look forward to joining you at work on Monday to begin tackling 

these challenges together. 

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Last updated on Monday, June 22, 2009

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