By Tom Mooney
Journal staff writer

Cynthia Giles, director of the Conservation Law Foundation’s Rhode Island office and a Barrington resident, has been confirmed to be the top EPA enforcement officer.

The Providence Journal / Connie Grosch

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Senate has been confirmed Rhode Islander Cynthia Giles, the director of the Conservation Law Foundation's Rhode Island Advocacy Center, as the Environmental Protection Agency's chief enforcement officer.

A veteran environmental lawyer, Giles, of Barrington, will serve as assistant administrator for the EPA's Washington, D.C., Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.

Giles, who has worked in environmental policy and enforcement for 30 years, had worked with the Conservation Law Foundation for four years. While there Giles became a key player in getting Rhode Island to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and to adopt California's standards for reducing green house gas emissions from cars and trucks.