Margo Oge, the U.S. EPA's point person for automotive fuel economy and emissions standards, will retire Sept. 30.
Oge (OH'-gay), 63, director of EPA's transportation and air quality office, joined the EPA in 1980. She said in an internal e-mail obtained by Automotive News that she was ready "to start a new chapter." Oge said she would relax for a few months and probably "dive into new challenges in the new year."
In the note, Oge said that the agency made history by setting the first U.S. greenhouse gas standards for cars and commercial trucks. The automotive standard was included in 2010 in stiffer corporate average fuel economy standards for the 2012-16 model years.
"The result of these efforts is a 'win-win-win' situation," Oge wrote. "It will save consumers money at the pump, it will protect our environment and public health, and it will enhance the country's energy security."
A native of Greece, Oge spoke no English when she came to the United States from Athens in 1968 at age 19. But she put herself through college, earning a bachelor's degree in plastics science and a master's degree in plastics engineering from Lowell Technological Institute, now University of Massachusetts Lowell.
