Even with Trey Glenn leaving his post as the EPA’s Region Four administrator, Alabama will still have strong ties to the leader of that office.
According to The Hill, Mary Walker was named by EPA acting administrator Andrew Wheeler to fill the vacant role in an acting capacity after Glenn resigned on Monday following his indictment on ethics charges in Alabama.
Walker is a native of the Yellowhammer State and had been serving as Glenn’s deputy.
Before her service at the EPA, which included a previous stint as the region’s Water Protection Division director, she served as assistant director and COO for Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division.
In his resignation letter to Wheeler, Glenn called the charges against him “unfounded” and vowed to fight them. He also stressed that he did not want to become a distraction for the Trump administration’s agenda.
“As you know, unfounded charges have been levied against me that I must and will fight,” Glenn wrote.
He added, “Stepping down now, I hope removes any distraction from you and all the great people who work at EPA as you carry out the agency’s mission.”
Glenn also noted that he intended “to focus on [his] family, fight these unfounded accusations and ultimately clear [his] name.”
Appointed by President Donald Trump, Glenn oversaw the agency’s Region Four, which includes Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Kentucky.
After being indicted, Glenn turned himself in last week to be arrested. He almost immediately was released on bond, along with former Alabama Environmental Management Commissioner Scott Phillips, who was indicted on related charges.
Both Glenn and Phillips have denied any wrongdoing.
The charges were brought by the Alabama Ethics Commission, with investigative assistance from the Jefferson County District Attorney’s office. Copies of the indictments have still yet to be made public as of Monday.
It is still unclear why the Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Division was not involved in the investigation, as they specialize in these types of cases. The division’s chief, Deputy Attorney General Matt Hart, also resigned on Monday.
BREAKING: Trump appointed #EPA Region Administrator, Trey Glenn, resigned.
Glenn was indicted last week on state ethics charges. He was tied to the federal corruption trial about contamination in North Birmingham.
This message was just sent to region 4 and EPA leadership: pic.twitter.com/4SLgTDbLKw
— Lauren Walsh (@LaurenWalshTV) November 19, 2018
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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