U.S. EPA´s top lawyer hands in resignation

WASHINGTON (Aug. 18) -- Robert E. Fabricant, general counsel of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has submitted his resignation effective Sept. 3 to President Bush.

Fabricant has served as the Bush administration´s top environmental lawyer for the past two years, providing legal advice and counsel to former EPA Administrator Christie Whitman.

Fabricant presided over the agency´s successful defense of strict new air quality standards for ozone and particulate matter. He played a key role in the defense of wetlands and other Clean Water Act jurisdictional decisions, assisted in passing the administration´s brownfields redevelopment legislation, and managed a law office with more than 300 attorneys at EPA headquarters and in the agency’s 10 regional offices.

Prior to being appointed to the EPA, Fabricant served as Whitman´s chief counsel during her tenure as New Jersey governor.

Fabricant will return to a private law practice in New Jersey