William E. Rinne, a 28-year Bureau of Reclamation veteran, has been named the bureau's acting commissioner. Rinne's appointment was announced on April 14, on the retirement of Commissioner John W. Keys. Rinne will be in charge of the bureau until a permanent successor to Keys is nominated and confirmed.
Rinne, a Nebraska native, has been Reclamation's deputy commissioner and director of operations since 2003. Before that, he was deputy director of its Lower Colorado Region, based in Nevada. He has spent his entire federal career at the bureau.