Appointment of Lee M. Thomas as Acting Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

The President is today designating Lee M. Thomas to be Acting Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. He will succeed John W. Hernandez, Jr.

Since February 1983 Mr. Thomas has been serving as Acting Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for Solid Waste and Emergency Response. He served as Associate Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (State and Local Programs and Support) in 1981-1983. Mr. Thomas managed all disaster relief efforts at the Agency and was Chairman of the President's Task Force on Times Beach, Missouri. He was director, Office of Public Safety, Governor's Office, South Carolina, in 1980-1981; an independent consultant in 1978-1980; director, Office of Criminal Justice, Governor's Office, South Carolina, in 1972-1978; research analyst, South Carolina Department of Corrections, in 1970-1971; and probation officer, Richland County, South Carolina, in 1968-1970.

Mr. Thomas graduated from the University of the South (B.A.) and the University of South Carolina (M.Ed.). He has two children and resides in Ridgeway, S.C. He was born June 13, 1944, in South Carolina.