Conservation Corner: November 5, 2001

Palmer Appointed To Lead Regional EPA Office
by James L. Cummins

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Todd Whitman recently appointed James (Jimmy) I. Palmer, Jr., as a new regional administrator. He will be over Region 4, which encompasses Mississippi, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama and Florida. The regional office is located in Atlanta, Georgia.

"Throughout his career as a lawyer focusing on environmental issues and during his tenure in state government, Jimmy has demonstrated an exceptional knowledge of environmental law and policy that will make him a valued member of our team," said Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Whitman.

According to Clarke Reed, Chairman of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation, "I have known Administrator Whitman and her family for over 30 years. She has made an excellent choice in choosing Jimmy to head the Southern Regional Office. He is a thoroughly professional administrator in a complicated field. He understands the necessity of balancing environmental protection and economic growth."

Prior to his appointment, Palmer practiced law as a member of Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens and Cannada, PLLC, where he practiced environmental, natural resources and energy law. Prior to that he served for 12 years as the Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality through the administrations of Governor Ray Mabus and Governor Kirk Fordice.

During his time at the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Palmer was a part of various efforts at the Environmental Protection Agency including the Policy Review Board and Management Committee for the Agency's Gulf of Mexico Program, the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force and the Small Towns Task Force. Palmer also served as Executive Director in the Office of General Services, part of the Office of the Governor in Mississippi.

Palmer holds a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Mississippi and a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Mississippi State University.

The mission of the Environmental Protection Agency, which was established in 1970 by The White House and Congress, is to protect human health and safeguard the natural environment - air, water and land - upon which life depends. For 30 years the agency has been working for a cleaner, healthier environment. The Environmental Protection Agency employs 18,000 people in Washington, D.C., 10 regional offices and 17 laboratories across the United States.

James L. Cummins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Stoneville, Mississippi. Known as "Wildlife Mississippi," the Foundation is a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi