Mayor Bloomberg announced his appointment of Caswell F. Holloway as Commissioner of the city's Department of Environmental Protection on Monday. Holloway is currently Chief of Staff to Deputy Mayor for Operations Edward Skyler and Special Advisor to Mayor Bloomberg. Mr. Holloway, known to his colleagues as "Cas," will replace Acting Commissioner Steven Lawitts.

Since joining the Bloomberg administration in 2006, Holloway has played a key role in several initiatives to better the city's environment and address public health concerns. He worked to develop and execute New York City's Solid Waste Management Plan, which, when fully implemented, will eliminate nearly six million miles of truck trips annually by transitioning to barge and rail service and streamlining garbage collection by borough. After the fire at the Deutsche Bank building site in 2007, he led a comprehensive review of abatement and demolition operations resulting in improved safety and communication protocols ensuring tighter oversight of demolition and construction and control of asbestos. More recently, Mr. Holloway has played a lead role in the City's initiative to clean up Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal, and lead negotiations on 9/11 health legislation that was introduced in Congress earlier this year.

In a press release, the mayor spoke of some of the major issues "Cas" will handle when he begins the Commissioner job in January including major capital projects like the completion of a third water tunnel under Manhattan, as well as protecting New York City's watershed from pollution.

The New York League of Conservation Voters, a non-profit, non-partisan organization which works to make environmental sustainability a top priority in New York State, applauded Holloway's appointment.