Local to lead Gulf spill cleanup
Environmentalist accepts request from the White House
y PETER GUINTA
President Barack Obama last week appointed a Crescent Beach man as executive director of a newly formed unit tasked with coordinating restoration teams from Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas with teams from federal and other agencies.
John H. Hankinson Jr., 62, confirmed reports Friday that a representative of the White House called and asked if he would lead the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force.
"I spent my childhood on the Gulf and have been working for the environment all my life," Hankinson said. "I'd have to know what (all the teams are) doing, link up state and federal efforts and identify things that can be done quickly."
He accepted the offer after talking to his wife Gail, an employee of St. Johns River Water Management District.
According to an Oct. 25 statement from the EPA, Lisa P. Jackson, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a New Orleans native, was named chair of the task force "due to her considerable involvement in the Obama Administration's immediate response efforts following the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and her knowledge and extensive experience in environmental issues."
Jackson said she was pleased that Hankinson had accepted the responsibility.
"And (pleased that he) is willing once again to step up and serve the people of the Gulf coast. He will play an instrumental role in fulfilling our commitment to a full and lasting restoration of this area."
The job
Hankinson said he'll spend a few weeks learning the myriad problems caused by the spill -- including some environmental problems existing in the Gulf before the spill.
"I'll have to know what everyone is doing, link up with state and federal efforts and identify the things that can be done," he said.
Some of those problems include wetland restoration and protection for barrier island areas, among others.
The release said he will be in charge of "regional ecosystem restoration strategy and ensure that science underpins the task force's efforts."
"There is a lot going on. I'm going to have to develop projects and push and drive those projects so they get implemented," he said.
The scientists and other specialists the task force will work with are "top notch," he said.
The task force itself won't be large, roughly a dozen people, but it will borrow staff from other agencies and be based in the New Orleans area.
"The task force will integrate local stakeholders, representatives from affected tribes, and the scientific and academic communities," the EPA said.
Hankinson said, "We want to make sure we're efficient and effective as we can be to get it done. Some work will be done in Washington, but I want to make sure we don't get detached from the coast. It's going to be a big challenge."
His background
A Florida native, Hankinson played on St. Petersburg Beach when he was a child because some of his family lived there, and afterward spent a lot of time fishing and enjoying Gulf waters.
Later, as a psychology student at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, he became involved with environmental issues. That may explain why his law degree from the University of Florida specialized on environmental law.
He took a job as a policy attorney with the Florida Legislature in 1979, becoming director of a regulatory reform committee.
In 1982, he founded and was director of the nonprofit Environmental Services Center, which provided a link between scientists and government to facilitate legislative decision-making.
According to the EPA, "He has worked on the National Estuary Program in the Gulf of Mexico and directed the development and implementation of a water quality protection plan for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. He (also) has over 10 years' experience overseeing the restoration and protection of the St. Johns River system in Florida."
Under Gov. Bob Graham, he worked on Florida's comprehensive plan, then worked on ecosystems as part of a state project buying up large tracts of farmland to restore the headwaters of the Everglades.
"I loved that job. At the end of the day, you felt you had accomplished something," he says now.
He worked on restoring the Oklawaha River basin, Lake Apopka and Lake Griffin during the early 1990s.
Hankinson said that he was appointed regional administrator for the EPA's Region 4 -- Florida, Alabama and Mississippi -- again working on the Everglades projects by adding 50,000 acres to grow the size of the headwater region.
"I enjoy getting all the parts of an ecosystem connected. You have to approach restoration as a system because one part affects another," he said.
He was employed by the EPA from 1994 to 2001. Since he left, he's worked as an independent environment and conservation lands consultant, "advising on land conservation, strategic land use decision-making, and constructive environmental management and policy projects across the Southeastern United States."
The future
"I really don't want to leave. There's no better quality of life than in St. Johns County," he said. But, he added, while on the job "I look forward to hearing from everyone on the Gulf coast -- from community groups to businesses to scientists -- as we go about restoring a national treasure that also happens to be an economic engine for the entire region."
On his own time, Hankinson plays a mean harmonica. His album "Chrome Blind" was recorded at St. Augustine's Eclipse Studios, where he is one of the partners.
He's even working on another album. But he may have to put his harp down for a while.
Jackson said, "John's longtime experience with these issues and this region, along with his proven ability to get things done, will be invaluable assets in what is sure to be a long-term, hard-fought battle to restore the waters of the gulf. I have every confidence in him."
*
EPA Administrator Jackson will hold the first meeting of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force on Nov. 8 in Pensacola. Details of that meeting have not yet been released, the EPA said.
No comments:
Post a Comment