News Releases - 2001

Renee Cipriano Confirmed as Illinois EPA Director

Springfield, Ill. -- The Illinois Senate today confirmed the appointment of Renee Cipriano as Director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

Director Cipriano has headed the agency since Aug. 13 after previously serving as Governor George H. Ryan's Senior Advisor on the Environment and Natural Resources. She also previously served at Illinois EPA from 1995-1997 as Associate Director and Chief Legal Counsel.

Among the areas of priority Director Cipriano has identified for the Agency are environmental regulatory innovation and flexibility, compliance assistance, empowering local government and the community and environmental stewardship and education.

The next generation of environmental regulation and compliance assistance will include expanding on the success of market-based programs such as Illinois EPA's innovative Emission Reduction Market System to reduce pollutants that contribute to smog; environmental management agreements and expanding e-commerce by making more forms and other information available on the web.

The Agency will also explore new innovative approaches through its performance partnership agreement with the U.S. EPA.

"We have achieved great things with traditional environmental regulation," Director Cipriano said, "but there are many ways to supplement that success with innovation, flexibility and assistance."

The Director said the Agency will also increase the availability of compliance assistance tools to help businesses meet their legal responsibilities as well as reduce waste.

Illinois EPA works extensively with local governments through drinking water and wastewater loans, brownfields assistance to reclaim abandoned contaminated sites, and co-sponsoring household hazardous waste collections, and the Governor's Green Illinois program. It also works closely with community groups through Partners for Clean Air and the Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program.

Director Cipriano said "it is important to empower these groups so they can work together with us to protect and enhance the environment. We need to make sure the programs we offer are known, usable and understandable to local government and communities."

The agency will also continue and expand its Envirofun program to promote good environmental stewardship by young people. The Envirofun characters, Captain Redbird, Captain Earthworm and Captain Bluegill will be having new adventures on the agency's and Governor Ryan's Kids site. The recently-revised environmental education packet for 5th and 6th grade students, as well as the traditional annual poster and prose contest will also continue to reach into classrooms across Illinois.

Breathe Easy Man, the clean air "super hero" who has teamed up with Illinois EPA and Partners for Clean Air, will also be joining this year's packet and his smog-fighting adventures will be chronicled in a new comic book.

In addition, in partnership with local governments and associations, Illinois EPA will promote environmental stewardship and sustainable urban and rural development for all ages.