The controversial nominee to head Pennsylvania’s economic development agency was approved Tuesday night by the state Senate. C. Alan Walker, a former coal baron and prominent Republican donor, gained unanimous support to oversee the state’s Department of Community and Economic Development. In March, Gov. Tom Corbett also gave Walker’s department authority to intervene in any agency’s permitting process.
Earlier this week, ProPublica detailed Walker’s long history of fighting regulation of his industry, including cases where his companies polluted the state’s waters.