Marianne Lamont Horinko
Encyclopedia
Marianne Lamont Horinko served as Acting Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) from July 14, 2003 to November 5, 2003 during the first term of President
George W. Bush
. Prior to this appointment Horinko was Assistant Administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) at EPA, having been confirmed by the U.S. Senate
on October 1, 2001. She continued on as Assistant Administrator until June 1, 2004.
Horinko, an author and speaker on environmental cleanup policy, is currently the President of the Horinko Group, an environmental consulting firm focused on sustainability. She made an unsuccessful bid for a Virginia
state Senate seat in late 2009.
with a Bachelor of Science
in analytical chemistry
in 1982 and from Georgetown University Law Center
with a J.D.
in 1986.
and Superfund
litigation, and environmental audits in connection with business transactions. She was responsible for both the Superfund Settlements Project and the Information Network for Superfund Settlements, a policy group of over 120 companies, law firms, and other organizations headquartered in ML&B's Washington office.
During the George H. W. Bush
Administration, Horinko was Attorney Advisor to Don Clay, EPA's Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency Response. In that capacity she was responsible for Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
(RCRA) regulatory issues and Superfund reauthorization. Clay was a career EPA employee who was elevated to the assistant administrator position by William K. Reilly
.
After EPA, Horinko was president of Clay Associates, Inc., a national environmental policy consulting firm. She was responsible for launching the RCRA Policy Forum, a membership organization composed of federal and state governments, environmental groups, Capitol Hill
staff, and industries interested in furthering constructive dialogue to improve the nation's waste programs. Through July, 1998, Don Clay was serving as president of Don Clay Associates Inc., "a Washington, D.C.-based public policy consulting firm devoted to solid and hazardous waste regulation and environmental cleanup issues." At that time, he took the position of director of regulatory affairs with Koch Industries
, one of the companies DCA had been advising, to be based in Washington.
Back at EPA during her tenure as Assistant Administrator, Horinko refocused the goals of her office around five major priorities: Homeland Security/Emergency Response; One Cleanup Program; Land Revitalization; Energy Recovery, Recycling & Waste Minimization; a Retail Environmental Initiative (the Resource Conservation Challenge) and Workforce Development. Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, she spent her first few months at EPA in the role of assisting in environmental cleanup activities at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan
, the Pentagon
in Washington, D.C.
, and the anthrax attack
at the Hart Senate Office Building
.
In 2003, as national program manager, Horinko oversaw EPA's response to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
. The Brownfields
program was signed into law by President Bush in 2002. Under her leadership, the budget for the Brownfields program was doubled.
In mid-May, 2004, in the leadup to the 2004 election
, Horinko was questioned in the media relative to an EPA rule about industrial laundry and toxic waste, on the one hand, and gifts to the Bush campaign, particularly by Cintas Corporation founder and Bush Pioneer
fundraiser Richard T. Farmer
, on the other. Cintas, headquartered in the greater Cincinnati area in the electoral-battleground state of Ohio, was then the biggest company in the industrial laundry business. "In a summary of the rule, the EPA said it would improve 'clarity and consistency' of regulation, 'provide regulatory relief, and save affected facilities over $30 million'" by allowing industrial shop towels to be washed in water that would then go into municipal waste-water treatment systems. At the time, "3 billion of the [towels were being used to] sop up more than 100,000 tons of hazardous solvents such as benzene
, xylene
, toluene
and methyl ethyl ketone" per year. Horinko "said Farmer's campaign contributions had nothing to do with the agency's decision," and Farmer likewise denied he had lobbied EPA directly or contributed to the campaign for the purpose of affecting the EPA ruling. However, Farmer said in the report that he did complain about the rule to Ohio
Republican Sen. George V. Voinovich and Rep. Rob Portman
, a fellow Bush Pioneer and chairman of Bush's campaign in Ohio. And, "[a]bout the same time in 2002 that Farmer was making his calls and the trade groups
were contacting members of Congress, he made a major contribution. On March 19, 2002, Farmer gave $250,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee
." On June 1, Horinko left the agency.
Horinko made a bid for the Republican nomination for the Virginia
state Senate seat, 37th District, Fairfax County, Sully District, to replace then-Attorney General-Elect Ken Cuccinelli
(R) in a special election. Steve Hunt, who won the nomination and whom Horinko then endorsed, ultimately lost a close race in early January, 2010, to David W. Marsden
(D-Fairfax), a result which "def[ied] recent voting trends that saw several Northern Virginia Republicans win big in November."
Horinko is currently president of the Horinko Group, a Washington-based environmental consulting firm.
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
(EPA) from July 14, 2003 to November 5, 2003 during the first term of President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. Prior to this appointment Horinko was Assistant Administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) at EPA, having been confirmed by the U.S. Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on October 1, 2001. She continued on as Assistant Administrator until June 1, 2004.
Horinko, an author and speaker on environmental cleanup policy, is currently the President of the Horinko Group, an environmental consulting firm focused on sustainability. She made an unsuccessful bid for a Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
state Senate seat in late 2009.
Education
Horinko graduated from the University of Maryland, College ParkUniversity of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
with a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in analytical chemistry
Analytical chemistry
Analytical chemistry is the study of the separation, identification, and quantification of the chemical components of natural and artificial materials. Qualitative analysis gives an indication of the identity of the chemical species in the sample and quantitative analysis determines the amount of...
in 1982 and from Georgetown University Law Center
Georgetown University Law Center
Georgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C.. Established in 1870, the Law Center offers J.D., LL.M., and S.J.D. degrees in law...
with a J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
in 1986.
Career and civic service
Horinko was an attorney at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, involved in the areas of pesticides and hazardous waste counseling, Clean Water ActClean Water Act
The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Commonly abbreviated as the CWA, the act established the goals of eliminating releases of high amounts of toxic substances into water, eliminating additional water pollution by 1985, and ensuring that...
and Superfund
Superfund
Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 , a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances...
litigation, and environmental audits in connection with business transactions. She was responsible for both the Superfund Settlements Project and the Information Network for Superfund Settlements, a policy group of over 120 companies, law firms, and other organizations headquartered in ML&B's Washington office.
During the George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
Administration, Horinko was Attorney Advisor to Don Clay, EPA's Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency Response. In that capacity she was responsible for Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act , enacted in 1976, is the principal Federal law in the United States governing the disposal of solid waste and hazardous waste.-History and Goals:...
(RCRA) regulatory issues and Superfund reauthorization. Clay was a career EPA employee who was elevated to the assistant administrator position by William K. Reilly
William K. Reilly
William K. Reilly was Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President George H. W. Bush. He has served as president of World Wildlife Fund, as a founder or advisor to several business ventures, and on many boards of directors...
.
After EPA, Horinko was president of Clay Associates, Inc., a national environmental policy consulting firm. She was responsible for launching the RCRA Policy Forum, a membership organization composed of federal and state governments, environmental groups, Capitol Hill
Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.
Capitol Hill, aside from being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues...
staff, and industries interested in furthering constructive dialogue to improve the nation's waste programs. Through July, 1998, Don Clay was serving as president of Don Clay Associates Inc., "a Washington, D.C.-based public policy consulting firm devoted to solid and hazardous waste regulation and environmental cleanup issues." At that time, he took the position of director of regulatory affairs with Koch Industries
Koch Industries
Koch Industries, Inc. , is an American private energy conglomerate based in Wichita, Kansas, with subsidiaries involved in manufacturing, trading and investments. Koch also owns Invista, Georgia-Pacific, Flint Hills Resources, Koch Pipeline, Koch Fertilizer, Koch Minerals and Matador Cattle Company...
, one of the companies DCA had been advising, to be based in Washington.
Back at EPA during her tenure as Assistant Administrator, Horinko refocused the goals of her office around five major priorities: Homeland Security/Emergency Response; One Cleanup Program; Land Revitalization; Energy Recovery, Recycling & Waste Minimization; a Retail Environmental Initiative (the Resource Conservation Challenge) and Workforce Development. Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, she spent her first few months at EPA in the role of assisting in environmental cleanup activities at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and the anthrax attack
2001 anthrax attacks
The 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, also known as Amerithrax from its Federal Bureau of Investigation case name, occurred over the course of several weeks beginning on Tuesday, September 18, 2001, one week after the September 11 attacks. Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to...
at the Hart Senate Office Building
Hart Senate Office Building
The Hart Senate Office Building, the third U.S. Senate office building, was built in the 1970s. First occupied in November 1982, the Hart Building is the largest of the Senate office buildings. It is named for Philip A. Hart, who served 18 years as a senator from Michigan.-Design and...
.
In 2003, as national program manager, Horinko oversaw EPA's response to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas and Louisiana during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in the death of all seven crew members...
. The Brownfields
Brownfield land
Brownfield sites are abandoned or underused industrial and commercial facilities available for re-use. Expansion or redevelopment of such a facility may be complicated by real or perceived environmental contaminations. Cf. Waste...
program was signed into law by President Bush in 2002. Under her leadership, the budget for the Brownfields program was doubled.
In mid-May, 2004, in the leadup to the 2004 election
United States presidential election, 2004
The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
, Horinko was questioned in the media relative to an EPA rule about industrial laundry and toxic waste, on the one hand, and gifts to the Bush campaign, particularly by Cintas Corporation founder and Bush Pioneer
Bush Pioneer
Bush Pioneers are people who gathered $100,000 for George W. Bush's 2000 or 2004 presidential campaign. Two new levels, Bush Rangers and Super Rangers, were bestowed upon supporters who gathered $200,000+ or $300,000+, respectively, for the 2004 campaign, after the 2002 McCain–Feingold campaign...
fundraiser Richard T. Farmer
Richard T. Farmer
Richard "Dick" Farmer is an American businessman whose fortune is self-made through his development of the Cintas Corporation. The company started out as his grandfather's industrial rag cleaning business but today is the nation's leading corporate uniform provider.He worked for his father in the...
, on the other. Cintas, headquartered in the greater Cincinnati area in the electoral-battleground state of Ohio, was then the biggest company in the industrial laundry business. "In a summary of the rule, the EPA said it would improve 'clarity and consistency' of regulation, 'provide regulatory relief, and save affected facilities over $30 million'" by allowing industrial shop towels to be washed in water that would then go into municipal waste-water treatment systems. At the time, "3 billion of the [towels were being used to] sop up more than 100,000 tons of hazardous solvents such as benzene
Benzene
Benzene is an organic chemical compound. It is composed of 6 carbon atoms in a ring, with 1 hydrogen atom attached to each carbon atom, with the molecular formula C6H6....
, xylene
Xylene
Xylene encompasses three isomers of dimethylbenzene. The isomers are distinguished by the designations ortho- , meta- , and para- , which specify to which carbon atoms the two methyl groups are attached...
, toluene
Toluene
Toluene, formerly known as toluol, is a clear, water-insoluble liquid with the typical smell of paint thinners. It is a mono-substituted benzene derivative, i.e., one in which a single hydrogen atom from the benzene molecule has been replaced by a univalent group, in this case CH3.It is an aromatic...
and methyl ethyl ketone" per year. Horinko "said Farmer's campaign contributions had nothing to do with the agency's decision," and Farmer likewise denied he had lobbied EPA directly or contributed to the campaign for the purpose of affecting the EPA ruling. However, Farmer said in the report that he did complain about the rule to Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
Republican Sen. George V. Voinovich and Rep. Rob Portman
Rob Portman
Robert Jones "Rob" Portman is the junior United States Senator from Ohio. He is a member of the Republican Party. He succeeded retiring Senator George Voinovich....
, a fellow Bush Pioneer and chairman of Bush's campaign in Ohio. And, "[a]bout the same time in 2002 that Farmer was making his calls and the trade groups
Trade association
A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association or sector association, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry...
were contacting members of Congress, he made a major contribution. On March 19, 2002, Farmer gave $250,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee
National Republican Congressional Committee
The National Republican Congressional Committee is the Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives....
." On June 1, Horinko left the agency.
Horinko made a bid for the Republican nomination for the Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
state Senate seat, 37th District, Fairfax County, Sully District, to replace then-Attorney General-Elect Ken Cuccinelli
Ken Cuccinelli
Kenneth Thomas 'Ken' Cuccinelli II is a U.S. politician and the Attorney General of Virginia. From 2002 until January 16, 2010 he was a Republican member of the Senate of Virginia, representing the 37th district in Fairfax County...
(R) in a special election. Steve Hunt, who won the nomination and whom Horinko then endorsed, ultimately lost a close race in early January, 2010, to David W. Marsden
David W. Marsden
David W. "Dave" Marsden is an American politician of the Democratic Party. He currently represents the 37th district in the Senate of Virginia which is a portion of Fairfax County. Since 2006 and prior to serving in the State Senate, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates representing the...
(D-Fairfax), a result which "def[ied] recent voting trends that saw several Northern Virginia Republicans win big in November."
Horinko is currently president of the Horinko Group, a Washington-based environmental consulting firm.
External links
- Marianne Horinko: Making a difference website. "Welcome: New website is coming soon! - Staff"; "Paid for by and Authorized by Friends of Marianne Horinko." Link reviewed 2010-07-08.