Otter appoints new environmental agency chief

Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter has appointed Sen. John Tippets as the new director of the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.

Otter announced Monday that Tippets will begin his new job July 6.

The Republican lawmaker from Montpelier succeeds Curt Fransen, who retired in May.

Tippets has agreed to recuse himself from any agency involvement with his former employer Agrium, which manufactures fertilizer in southeastern Idaho.

This is the third appointment Otter has made this year to replace empty executive agency positions. Most recently, Otter selected longtime Republican Sen. Dean Cameron of Rupert to lead the Idaho Department of Insurance.

Tippets served three terms in the Idaho Senate after serving six two-year terms in the Idaho House.