November 29, 1984
The President today announced his intention to nominate Lee M. Thomas to be Administrator of
the Environmental Protection Agency. He will succeed William D. Ruckelshaus, who has
resigned.
Since July of 1983 Mr. Thomas has been serving as Assistant Administrator of EPA for Solid
Waste and Emergency Response. For a time, from March until August 1983, he had served as
Acting Deputy Administrator of EPA. Previously he served as Associate Director of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (State and Local Programs and Support), from 1981 to 1983.
As such, Mr. Thomas managed all disaster relief efforts at FEMA and was Chairman of the
President's Task Force on Times Beach, Missouri. Prior to this, he was director, division of public
safety programs, office of the Governor of South Carolina, from 1979 to 1981; an independent
consultant from 1977 to 1979; and executive director, office of criminal justice programs, office
of the Governor of South Carolina, from 1972 to 1977.
Mr. Thomas graduated from the University of the South (B.A.) and received a masters of
education at the University of South Carolina. He is married with two children and lives in
Woodbridge, VA. He was born June 13, 1944, in South Carolina.