Tribute to Leon Billings

Leon Billings

“It has been said that when a leading elder dies a library burns down. With Leon’s passing goes not just a vast repository of environmental protection history but the personal inspiration and passion for the planet he embodied for those who worked with him.”
~ V. John White

Leon Billings, Senate aide who helped shape environmental laws, dies at 78

The Washington Post / by Staff Reports and News Services | November 17, 2016

Leon G. Billings, a former aide to Sen. Edmund Muskie (D-Maine) and a key author of the Clean Air Act and other landmark environmental laws, died Nov. 15 at a hospital in Nashville. He was 78.

As staff director of the Senate Environment subcommittee from 1966 to 1978, he was a primary author of the 1970 Clean Air Act, one of the first and most influential environmental laws in U.S. history and a foundation for current air pollution laws.

He also played a key role in the 1972 Clean Water Act, the primary federal law governing water pollution, and 1977 amendments to both the air and water pollution laws.

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Leon Billings, Key Author of Laws on Clean Air, Water Dies

The New York Times / by Associated Press | November 16, 2016

WASHINGTON — Leon G. Billings, a former aide to Maine Sen. Edmund Muskie and a key author of the Clean Air Act and other landmark environmental laws, has died.

Billings, 78, died Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee, after suffering a stroke while visiting family.

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Leon Billings, who crafted monumental green legislation, dies

E&E News / by Emily Yehle | November 16, 2016

Leon Billings, a longtime congressional staffer who was instrumental in the passage of the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, died yesterday. He was 78.

Billings was known as a dynamic presence on Capitol Hill, starting in 1966 when he became the first staff director of the Senate environment subcommittee. In that role — and later as environmental adviser and chief of staff to Sen. Edmund Muskie (D-Maine) — Billings crafted the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, negotiating unprecedented environmental statutes that still stand today.

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November 17, 2016 Leon G. Billings, Architect of Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, Dies at 78 | New York Times - (article)

November 17, 2016 Leon Billings, Senate aide who helped shape environmental laws, dies at 78 | Washington Post - (article)

November 16, 2016 Leon Billings, former Maryland delegate and author of clean-air measures, dies | The Baltimore Sun - (article)

November 16, 2016 Leon Billings, key author of laws on clean air, water dies | Seattle Times - (article)

November 16, 2016 Leon Billings, who crafted monumental green legislation, dies - (article)

April 17, 2016 Progressive Montana era inspired architect of Clean Air, Clean Water Acts - (article)