Ignacia Moreno was sworn in Monday morning as Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division (Photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).
Edwin Kneedler, Career Deputy Solicitor General, received the Muskie-Chafee award from the ENRD on Monday (Photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).
Attorney General Eric Holder at the Environment and Natural Resources Division centennial on Monday (Photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).
The Justice Department’s new Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division was sworn in Monday as the division celebrated its centennial.
Ignacia Moreno, who was confirmed on Nov. 5, later appeared at a ENRD celebration with Attorney General Eric Holder and former acting Assistant Attorney General John Cruden.
The event at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center brought together several hundred ENRD employees and alumni to celebrate the history of the division, which was retold through a multimedia presentation by Georgetown University Law Center Professor Richard Lazarus, formerly an attorney with the division.
Edwin Kneedler, Career Deputy Solicitor General, received the Muskie-Chafee Award. That award honors a current or former federal employee who has made significant contributions to protecting the environment, public lands and natural resources, and fulfilling the nation’s responsibilities to Native Americans, according to the Justice Department.
In September, Moreno defended her experience as a counsel for General Electric Co., which has been at odds with environmental groups. Some Environmental Protection Agency attorneys had expressed concerns about Moreno because of her work at GE, according to a report by ProPublica, a non-profit investigative web site.
Andrew Ramonas contributed to this story.
