EPA head to resign this month

EPA Chief Lisa Jackson announced in December that she is planning to resign her post sometime after President Obama’s State of the Union address this month. She cited a desire to pursue new challenges and spend more time with her family as reasons for her resignation.

According to the Washington Post, Jackson pressed for limits on emissions from coal-fired power plants during her four-year tenure and on dumping mining waste into streams and rivers near mines.

Obama has not picked Jackson’s successor but the Washington Post says two leading candidates are the EPA’s Bob Perciasepe and Gina McCarthy.