(Washington) Two top members of President-elect Barack Obama’s environmental team face questions from a Senate committee about the new administration’s plans to deal with global warming, water and air pollution and coal ash.

Lisa Jackson, picked to head the Environmental Protection Agency, and Nancy Sutley, tapped to chair the White House Council on Environmental Quality, were expected to be endorsed by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, where they were to appear for a confirmation hearing Wednesday.

The candidates will be pressed for details on how the incoming administration plans to tackle global warming and water pollution. They also could be asked whether they plan to redo Bush administration rules that Senate Democrats say have weakened environmental protections.

Obama has called for legislation to curb the gas emissions blamed for global warming. But it is unclear whether he will pursue a new law first or use existing statutes to more quickly address the problem. He could immediately grant states like California the right to regulate emissions from automobile tailpipes, or trigger controls under the Clean Air Act.

Democrats will want Jackson, the former head of New Jersey’s environmental department, to commit to regulating the disposal of toxic coal ash after two recent spills at power plants in Alabama and Tennessee.

Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat who has called for the resignation of the current EPA administrator, said, “This is a day that I have been waiting for a very long time.”

Republicans were not expected to fight confirmation of the nominees. An aide to Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe, the top Republican on the panel, said the senator met with Jackson last week and was impressed with her credentials.

Sutley, 46, is the deputy mayor for energy and environment in Los Angeles. She is the daughter of Argentinian immigrants and is a gay rights activist. She also worked at the EPA during the Clinton administration.

If confirmed, Sutley will coordinate energy and environmental policy from the White House.

If confirmed, Jackson, 46, would be the first black person to lead the EPA – an agency with 17,000 employees and a $7 billion budget.

Before running the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Jackson worked at the EPA for 16 years. She served under Carol Browner, President Bill Clinton’s EPA chief and Obama’s pick for a new White House position coordinating energy and climate policy.