I am pleased to welcome everyone, in particular, our nominee, Mr. Fields, and his family members.
Mr. Fields has been employed by EPA in a variety of positions for more than 25 years. Most recently, on February 17, 1997, Mr. Fields was appointed as Acting Assistant Administrator for OSWER. Prior to this, he served for three years as Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for OSWER. In this capacity, he is responsible for Superfund, hazardous and solid waste management under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and environmental cleanup under a number of other federal laws.
Mr. Fields was the Director of EPA's Superfund Revitalization Office for two and a half years, Deputy Director of EPA's Superfund Office for two and a half years, Director of EPA's Emergency Response Division for four and a half years, and Deputy Director of the Hazardous Site Control Division for a year and a half. In addition to these positions, Mr. Fields has held a variety of supervisory and staff positions in the Office of Mobile Sources and the Office of Solid Waste. Since September 1997, he has also served as Chair of the EPA Human Resources Council.
Mr. Fields has a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Tech), a Master of Science in Operations Research from George Washington University, and an additional year of graduate studies at Ohio State University.
This nomination has not proceeded as quickly as others that the Committee has considered recently. Mr. Fields has been serving in an acting capacity for nearly 27 months, since his predecessor, Elliott Laws, resigned in early 1997. After a lengthy search, the White House nominated another individual for this position, however that person's nomination was withdrawn and Mr. Fields was selected as the new nominee.
Mr. Fields might have been confirmed last year, had his nomination been received by the Committee just a few days earlier than it was. The Committee acted on a large number of nominations right at the end of the last Congress, and all of these individuals were ultimately confirmed by the Senate prior to adjournment.
Since the President resubmitted Mr. Fields' nomination to the Committee in January, the Committee has examined an important decision that EPA made regarding the enforcement of a December 1998 deadline for underground storage tanks to comply with federal law. I plan to question Mr. Fields on the substance of the policy, and his role in EPA's decision-making process for the policy.
Now we will hear the statements of Senator Baucus and other Committee members, followed by Mr. Fields.