Share
Los Angeles Times
Mary Nichols led the charge to clean up California’s smog and fight climate change through four governors, two Obama terms and the Trump administration.
So when Joe Biden was beginning to fill his cabinet, it was no surprise that Nichols quickly emerged as his top candidate to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
But Nichols, who cultivated a prestigious national reputation as chair of the California Air Resources Board, had her nomination derailed by critics at home. California environmental justice advocates campaigned fiercely against her candidacy and successfully enlisted national allies to join their effort. Ultimately, more than 70 groups wrote to the Biden transition team alleging that Nichols had championed policies that disproportionately hurt poor and underserved communities.
“She is not fit to lead an EPA that values environmental justice,” they wrote.
The environmental groups felt the Air Resources Board, under Nichols, didn’t move quickly enough to address local public health issues, such as poor air quality in communities near heavily industrialized areas and freight corridors.
Under Nichols, the agency had “failed to be responsive to the needs and petitions of environmental justice communities,” they wrote to the Biden team.
A key dispute was over the agency’s reliance on cap and trade, which critics say allows polluters to buy their way out of having to change their behavior. To Californians living near ports, oil refineries and rail yards, the program seemed designed for the benefit of the fossil fuel industry. Meanwhile, residents in their communities were still struggling with smog and high asthma rates.
“It was all about abandoning pollution in highly impacted communities and planting trees in Nebraska,” said Jane Williams, director of California Communities Against Toxics. “The offsets weren’t real. You got pollution reductions in Quebec, but how does that help my folks in South L.A.?”
The advocacy of Nichols’ critics succeeded when Biden named Michael Regan, North Carolina’s top environmental regulator, to run the EPA. When confirmed, he will become the first Black man to head the agency as part of a cabinet the president promised would “look like America.”
By Anna M. Phillips | 5 Feb 2021
RELATED TOPICS:
Will Gov. Newsom Call a Special Session to Deal With Gas Prices?
2 hours ago
Bettors Banking on Eagles Resurgence, Cowboys Regression as NFL Season Begins
13 hours ago
Abandoned Poodle Mix Adam Survives the Wild and Seeks a Forever Home
14 hours ago
Top Brazilian Judge Orders Suspension of X Platform in Brazil Amid Feud With Musk
1 day ago
How a Real Estate Boom Drove Political Corruption in Los Angeles
1 day ago
![Police officers secure the area and investigate the scene of a shooting at Union Square in San Francisco, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/31184052/piersall-shooting-1024x683.jpg)
49ers Rookie WR Ricky Pearsall Shot in Attempted Union Square Robbery
![Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at an event in anticipation of signing a bill on his proposed oil profit penalty plan in Sacramento on March 28, 2023. (CalMatters/ Miguel Gutierrez Jr.)](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/31175839/newsom-big-oil.webp)
Will Gov. Newsom Call a Special Session to Deal With Gas Prices?
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/16183042/Eagles-vs-49ers.jpg)
Bettors Banking on Eagles Resurgence, Cowboys Regression as NFL Season Begins
![A black poodle's face with his tongue sticking out](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/29135336/Rescued-from-an-abandoned-home-after-weeks-of-fending-for-himself-Adam-a-shy-but-sweet-poodle-mix-is-now-seeking-a-loving-forever-home.-Mells-Mutts-1024x538.jpg)
Abandoned Poodle Mix Adam Survives the Wild and Seeks a Forever Home
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/28091346/082824-Lede-1024x576.jpg)