Gov. Linda Lingle has named Katherine Puana Kealoha, who was active in forming the environmental crimes unit within the Honolulu Prosecutor's Office, to serve as director of the state Office of Environmental Quality Control.

Kealoha's appointment is subject to Senate confirmation. She will start her new position on Feb. 20, a news release said.

"The state is fortunate to have someone with Kathy's expertise and experience to head the Office of Environmental Quality Control, which plays a critical role in protecting Hawai'i's natural resources," Lingle said. "Kathy's commitment to public service and her extensive background in establishing an environmental crimes unit at the prosecutor's office will be valuable in ensuring Hawai'i's environmental laws are upheld and that the public has the opportunity to review and provide comments on proposed projects."

Kealoha, an attorney with more than 12 years of litigation experience, has practiced in the areas of environmental, family, real estate, business, criminal and civil law.

"As a Native Hawaiian, I am honored to have been selected for this position, and for the opportunity to uphold the mission of this office, which is vital to the protection and sustainability of Hawai'i's cultural heritage and natural resources," Kealoha said.

From 1995 through 2001, she was the primary attorney litigating environmental cases in the prosecutor's office. In 1998, with the support of such agencies as the staste Department of Land and Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Department of Agriculture, and various environmental groups throughout the state, Kealoha was able to initiate the office's first environmental crimes unit under Prosecutor Peter Carlisle's leadership.

Kealoha now works in the Career Criminal Division of the prosecutor's office, where she handles cases relating to environmental law, repeat offenders and capital crimes.

She previously had her own private practice, The Law Office of Katherine Puana Kealoha & Associates, where she served as primary supervising attorney.

The Office of Environmental Quality Control implements the state's Environmental Impact Law, Chapter 343 of the Hawai'i Revised Statutes, and serves in an advisory capacity to the governor on all matters relating to environmental quality control.

The office reviews and comments on hundreds of environmental disclosure documents each year, and twice a month publishes The Environmental Notice, a bulletin to inform the public of projects being proposed in the Islands that are subject to public review and comment. The office is administratively attached to the state Department of Health.