The Senate confirmed David Ross by voice vote on December 14, 2017 to be the next Assistant Administrator for Water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Ross is currently Director of the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Environmental Protection Unit. Ross joined the Wisconsin Department of Justice in 2016, after returning home to Wisconsin from Wyoming, where he served as a senior assistant attorney general in the Wyoming Attorney General’s Office. In that role, Ross represented the Water Quality Division of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. Ross also represented the State of Wyoming on the Assumable Waters Subcommittee of the National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology. Prior to entering the public sector, Ross served as a partner in the environmental practice group of a large national law firm.
“David Ross’s expertise in promoting environmental stewardship and enacting responsible enforcement will be a welcome addition to EPA,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “Having served as Wisconsin’s Assistant Attorney General and Director of the Environmental Protection Unit, David is especially qualified to head EPA’s Office of Water and to carry out the Trump Administration’s mission of returning power back to the states and advancing regulatory certainty.”
Ross is an Appleton native and attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for undergraduate studies. Ross earned his law degree magna cum laude, and a Master of Studies in Environmental Law, summa cum laude, from Vermont Law School. While at Vermont Law School, Dave served as Editor-in-Chief of the Vermont Law Review.