The nominee for Deputy Administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency is withdrawing his name from consideration. Jonathan Cannon's nomination came into question when it was revealed a now-defunct nonprofit that he was previously associated with was found by the EPA inspector general's office to have mismanaged more than $25 million in grants from the agency.
Cannon once served on the board of directors of the America's Clean Water Foundation. In a prepared statement, Cannon said, "While my service on the board of that now-dissolved organization is not the subject of the scrutiny, I do not wish to present any distraction to the agency."
In 2007, the foundation was found to have funneled more than $21 million dollars in EPA funds to a contractor, Validus Services, a subsidiary of the American Pork Producers Council. The inspector general recommended that EPA try to recover all $25 million the agency had shelled out to Clean Water, which disbanded in 2006, to help farmers and states comply with water-pollution laws and assess environmental risks.