[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 7716]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO JAMES HANLON

  Mr. REED. Mr. President, today I would like to recognize Mr. James A. 
Hanlon, who is retiring this month after nearly 40 years of Federal 
service at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
  Jim has spent his long and distinguished career at EPA focusing on 
water quality issues and helping States and communities comply with 
Federal clean water requirements. He began his career at EPA as a staff 
engineer in September 1972, 1 month prior to the passage of the Clean 
Water Act, and has served in a number of senior positions within the 
Office of Water and Office of Research and Development.
  Although he has many accomplishments, I want to particularly 
acknowledge Jim's role in managing the Clean Water State Revolving Fund 
Program, a program that has been so important to my home State of Rhode 
Island.
  Jim was there at the program's inception, working for several years 
to design and lead the implementation of the program after it was first 
created by Congress in 1987. A decade ago, he was appointed Director of 
the Office of Wastewater Management, where he has continued to manage 
the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program and to oversee EPA's 
broader wastewater regulatory portfolio. Thanks in large part to his 
leadership, the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program has 
successfully provided more than $90 billion nationwide to date to fund 
critical water infrastructure improvements through Federal grants and 
contributions from State matching funds and leveraging.
  For the past several years, Jim has also served as an important 
resource to the Senate Committee on Appropriations on wastewater policy 
issues. I am particularly grateful for the assistance he provided to 
implement the critical $4 billion investment in wastewater projects 
included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. With Jim's 
guidance, EPA and the States worked to get an unprecedented 1,870 clean 
water projects under contract within a year of the law's passage, 
including ten in my home State. His experience and guidance will be 
missed.
  I congratulate Jim on a job well done. He leaves a proud and enduring 
legacy of public service.

                          ____________________