Former PG&E lawyer named to head EPA on West Coast
The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday named John W. Busterud, a former PG&E attorney, to head its West Coast office, replacing Mike Stoker, who was ousted from the post last week.
Busterud, 65, a resident of Belvedere, in Marin County, will oversee the agency’s Region 9, and will be charged with heading up federal health and environmental regulation in California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, the Pacific Islands and much of the West’s American Indian tribal lands.
Under President Trump, the Region 9 office has been in an unusually antagonistic position with California, recently taking issue with water pollution in San Francisco that the president blamed on homeless people. Former employees
of the agency and some members of Congress have asked for a federal investigation into whether the scrutiny is political.
Busterud, whose first day on the job will be Tuesday, comes to the position with more than 30 years of experience as an energy and environmental attorney. Much of his career was spent at Pacific Gas and Electric Co., where he started in 1985 and left the job of managing attorney in 2016. In that role, he oversaw the utility’s legal and policy matters regarding hazardous materials cleanup, water quality and endangered species.
A registered Republican, he had a reputation in the legal department at PG&E as a solid litigator who was friendly, jocular and not outwardly political.
“He has deep knowledge, expertise and experience in climate policy,” said Paul Doherty, a PG&E spokesman, in an email. “He helped the company advocate for its positions supporting California’s bold clean energy goals, with a focus on our customers and communities.”
Busterud’s wife, Gretchen, has been a lawyer in the EPA regional office since 2009.
Jared Blumenfeld, the former regional administrator who stepped down in May 2016, said his former colleagues are cautiously optimistic about the appointment. Busterud was on the board of the nonprofit California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance and worked on environmental issues with the EPA when Blumenfeld was the administrator.
“He seems reasonable and generally thoughtful on the issues, so I think he has the potential to do a good job,” Blumenfeld said. “Hopefully, he’ll be able to fulfill EPA’s mandate to protect human health and the environment. He’s going to have a tough job because the Trump administration is out to get California, San Francisco and the environment in general.”
Busterud also served as the industry representative to the EPA’s Clean Air Act Advisory Committee from 2012 to 2017.
He received his bachelor’s from Union College, N.Y., and his law degree from the UC Hastings College of the Law.
He is also a graduate of the U.S. Army’s Command and General Staff College. He previously served in Iraq and Africa and kept a warrior club from Kenya, known as a roongu stick, in his office at PG&E as a memento. Busterud is the son of the late San Francisco Republican Assemblyman John Busterud, who in 1971 was appointed by President Richard Nixon as the first deputy assistant secretary of defense for environmental quality.
“John Busterud’s extensive background in energy and environmental issues makes him a great choice to lead Region 9,” EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a statement. “I look forward to working with him to advance the agency’s mission of protecting human health and the environment for all in the Pacific Southwest.”
Busterud could not be reached immediately for comment.
Stoker, who was appointed regional administrator nearly two years ago, was fired Feb. 5. In a recent interview with The Chronicle, he said he was given no reason for his dismissal, but suspected it was because of his friendly relationships with some Democrats and a personality clash with a top EPA executive in Washington.
Stoker had been criticized by some for allegedly abusing his travel privileges and trying to manage the San Francisco office from Los Angeles. Environmental groups denounced him as a stooge of the Trump administration who did little to advance a cleaner, safer environment.