Ex-Colorado House speaker appointed regional EPA head

DENVER (AP) — President Joe Biden has appointed former Colorado House Speaker KC Becker as regional director of the Environmental Protection Agency. The Colorado Sun reports that Becker’s appointment was announced Thursday by the White House. Becker, an environmental attorney, served four terms in the Colorado Legislature and was House speaker for two terms, from 2019 to January 2021. She was a leading proponent of a 2019 bill, now law, that overhauled Colorado’s oil and gas regulations to promote environmental and public safety concerns. Becker also practiced administrative and natural resources law for the U.S. Interior Department. She will be based in Denver.