John Hanger, acting secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection, and state Sen. Mary Jo White, R-Venango, are no strangers, having tangled on many occasions about environmental and energy issues.

It's expected they'll go at it again Wednesday when the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee that Ms. White chairs meets in Harrisburg to consider Gov. Ed Rendell's August nomination of Mr. Hanger for DEP secretary.

When Mr. Hanger was nominated seven months ago, Ms. White said she wouldn't support his nomination because he had accused her of being corrupt due to her ties to various extractive industries.

"She stated when he was nominated that she was disappointed with the governor's nomination and she has not changed her position," said Patrick Henderson, the committee's director.

"I would say she's not inclined to support the nomination but is holding the hearing to give an opportunity to publicly question the nominee."

Mr. Henderson said that during the last seven or eight years when Mr. Hanger was executive director of Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future, he testified before the committee and called her integrity and motives into question.

"Sen. White agrees that the governor has the prerogative to nominate someone that supports his agenda," Mr. Henderson said. "She won't vote against him because of differences on public policy issues but because of his temperament and judgment in the past."

Mr. Hanger insisted last week he is looking forward to the hearing and has good bipartisan support in the Senate and downplayed his history of problems with Ms. White.

"I've had good conversations recently with her on multiple occasions," Mr. Hanger said. "She has strong views on a number of matters and we agree on some and disagree on others."

He said his background as the leader of a statewide environmental group and as a member of the state's Public Utility Commission from 1993 to 1998 provides him with appropriate and positive experience for the job of DEP secretary.

"I'm well within the mainstream on environmental and energy issues and have the background to help Pennsylvania make good decisions," Mr. Hanger said. "I'm the right person at a critical time.

"People who know me know I'm not an ideological person. I approach issues by asking what are the facts and what will work. I'm not afraid to try new ways to solve problems."

In the end, whether fireworks occur at the meeting Wednesday or the committee supports him or not won't matter. Ms. White's committee will report to the Senate's rules committee that it held a hearing on the nominee, but not whether it supports him.

The Rules Committee will then schedule a full Senate vote on Mr. Hanger's nomination by April 22. If the Senate votes not to confirm his nomination, Mr. Rendell has the right under Pennsylvania law to resubmit Mr. Hanger's nomination and has indicated he will do so, even if he must do it multiple times through the end of his term in office.