Gov. Jan Brewer named former EPA assistant water chief Benjamin Grumbles as the next director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, while Mark Brnovich, a longtime federal prosecutor with a strong background in gambling laws, will take over as director of the Department of Gaming.
Grumbles, who served as assistant administrator for the office of water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will also join Brewer’s Cabinet as an adviser on environmental issues before transitioning to ADEQ. He will commute and telecommute between Arizona and his home in Arlington, Va., before relocating to this state in June with his wife and two school-aged children.
Brnovich was added to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Phoenix in 2007 as part of a joint program with the Department of Gaming and various tribal leaders that focused on gaming-related crimes. He prosecuted a number of cases involving theft and embezzlement from tribal casinos in Arizona, and oversaw the recent indictment of a man accused of making counterfeit money at Harrah’s Ak-Chin Hotel and Casino, according to a March 30 press release from the Governor’s Office.
Rumors had circulated that Grumbles would be named to the post after Brewer’s Web site listed him as an environment adviser. His name was only briefly on the list of Governor’s Office staff, and was removed on March 25. Grumbles’ parents and siblings already reside in Arizona.
At EPA, Grumbles led the agency’s National Water Program, which was responsible for safe drinking water, wetlands protection, ocean dumping and the American Indian Environmental Office. He also served as associate administrator for congressional and intergovernmental relations and as deputy assistant administrator for water, according to a separate press release from the Governor’s Office.
Before joining the EPA, Grumbles served as deputy chief of staff and environmental counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Science Committee, and he spent more than 15 years as a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee staff, where he held numerous positions, including senior counsel for the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee.
Prior to his time at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Brnovich served the state of Arizona as assistant attorney general, where he was primarily responsible for representing the Department of Gaming and providing advice regarding legislation, contracts, licensing and regulation involving gaming and tribal casinos. He is also a former judge pro tem at Maricopa County Superior Court, deputy Maricopa County attorney and command staff judge advocate in the U.S. Army National Guard.
In addition to his law enforcement background, Brnovich has strong conservative credentials. He has worked as a senior fellow at the Goldwater Institute and as a special adviser to the Federalist Society.
Grumbles will replace acting ADEQ Director Patrick Cunningham, who took over following former Director Steve Owens’ resignation in January. Cunningham will return to his previous post of deputy director of the agency. Brnovich replaces Paul Bullis, who had served as director since 2003.