Holman, who has more than 20 years of across-the-board environmental experience and served as a chief lobbyist for the N.C. Sierra Club and Conservation Council and as director of government relations for the Nature Conservancy, will replace DENR Secretary Wayne McDevitt, who was appointed as Hunt's new chief of staff on Thursday.
At a news conference to announce the appointment, Hunt cited Holman's strong environmental background, as well as his commitment to balancing protection of the state's natural resources with economic growth. "Both Bill's knowledge and his ability to find the elements of balance in contentious issues will be indispensable in the tasks we have ahead," Hunt said. "We saw great progress this year on environmental challenges, but we have much more to do. Bill shares my commitment to working together to keep our air and water clean, while creating good jobs, improving our mass transit efforts and building a better quality of life for our people."
Bill Holman came to DENR in January 1998 to supervise all of the department's environmental divisions - - the Division of Water Quality, Division of Air Quality, Division of Waste Management, Division of Water Resources, Division of Land Resources, Division of Radiation Protection, Division of Coastal Management, Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance and the Division of Environmental Health.
During his year and a half at the department, Holman has played a critical role in the DENR's efforts to work with the state Commerce Department and the state Department of Transportation to ensure the long-term environmental impact of new roads and businesses were thoroughly evaluated.
Holman helped to push key environmental legislation, including the 1999 Clean Air and Clean Water packages signed by Hunt in July, through the 1999 General Assembly. The air-quality bill will reduce car and truck emissions, a major contributor to ozone smog. The water legislation extends the moratorium on new or expanded large-scale hog farms, toughens penalties for all water polluters and imposes public disclosure requirements for spills at wastewater treatment plants and from animal operations. The bill also authorizes the Environmental Management Commission to adopt temporary rules to protect water quality in the Cape Fear, Catawba and Tar-Pamlico River basins.
As secretary, Hunt has also charged Holman with building on that progress, implementing his hog lagoon conversion plan, continuing the crackdown on sedimentation and run-off from construction sites, and carrying out his clean air package which calls for significant reductions in emissions from the state's largest utilities.
Prior to beginning his work at DENR, Holman served as a lobbyist and consultant for the Conservation Council and the Sierra Club. Holman also lobbied for the N.C. Chapter of the American Planning Association, N. C. Public Transportation Association and the N.C. Coalition for Public Transportation. In 1985, legislators, lobbyists and news reporters ranked him as one of the top 10 most-effective lobbyists in the General Assembly.
In 1997, Holman joined the N.C. Chapter of The Nature Conservancy as its first Director of Government Relations.
Holman graduated from Sanderson High School in Raleigh in 1974. He graduated magna cum laude from North Carolina State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology in 1978 and is member of Phi Kappa Phi honor society.
In April 1998, Holman received the 1998 College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Distinguished Alumnus Award for Life Sciences from North Carolina State University.
DENR is North Carolina's lead environmental regulatory agency. With 3,400 employees spread out across North Carolina, the agency is charged with conserving and protecting the state's natural resources, ranging from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Coast.
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