The White House has nominated Jonathan Cannon to serve as Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, where he has previously worked under Presidents Reagan, Bush (senior) and Clinton. Cannon has spent “his entire private practice career” at Beveridge & Diamond, which is described as an environmental law firm.

I’m not sure what Cannon did for Beveridge & Diamond, but his employer seems to do a lot of its “environmental” work for industry clients, like oil and gas, mining, pharmaceuticals and pesticide companies. “Beveridge & Diamond, P.C.’s reputation for excellence in pesticide law is based on thirty years of working with U.S. and international clients who develop, obtain government approvals for, manufacture, promote, and use pesticides,” says the firm’s website. “We work with each client to identify its business objectives, and then to establish and implement the most effective regulatory, commercial, litigation, and legislative strategies to achieve or exceed those objectives.”

Another of the firm’s triumphs: “We represented in-house counsel for a major petroleum refining company in a criminal investigation and indictment under the Benzene Waste Operations NESHAP. After four years and multiple grand juries, we persuaded the government to dismiss all charges against our client.”