HARRISBURG A legislative panel Wednesday cleared John Hanger's nomination as Pennsylvania's environmental protection chief for a vote by the full Senate after a sometimes-heated hearing that focused mainly on his previous role as head of an environmental lobbying group.

The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee voted 11-0 to forward the nomination Gov. Ed Rendell posted seven months ago.

A Senate confirmation vote is not expected until later this month at the earliest.

During a two-hour hearing, committee Chairwoman Mary Jo White, R-21st, peppered Hanger with pointed questions about his decade-long tenure as president and chief executive of the group known as PennFuture.

White recalled PennFuture's criticism of a bill to reduce mercury emissions that she and committee co-chairman Raphael Musto, D-Luzerne, supported as an alternative to regulations proposed by the DEP. She said the group unfairly suggested lawmakers improperly supported the bill to reward utilities and businesses that contributed to their campaigns.

The Senate passed the bill 40-10 in 2006, but it died in the House.

"I question not your ability, but your temperament for the job," White told Hanger.

Hanger said many of the group's statements were written by other people and that he regretted some of those.

"Believe it or not, I didn't read everything that got put out," he said.

Hanger, who was a member of the state Public Utility Commission for five years during the 1990s, said he understands the difference between being a private advocate and a public official.

When he took over as the DEP's acting secretary in September, Hanger said he recused himself from involvement in any litigation or other activities in which PennFuture is a party.

In an opening statement, Hanger listed accomplishments that include initiatives to encourage electricity conservation, the first overhaul of state mine safety laws in nearly a half-century and the approval of $1.4 billion in combined federal and state money to curb water pollution.

The department has hired three dozen additional staffers to keep up with the surging increase in drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale rock formation, and a sharp increase in drilling permit fees is expected to take effect soon. Meanwhile, the DEP is taking steps to protect drinking water in areas near the drilling, Hanger said.

Hanger said the combination of abundant natural-gas production, the development of alternative energy sources and innovative energy conservation efforts position Pennsylvania to be "a clean-energy powerhouse."

It was clear that Hanger had won over some committee members who had doubted whether he was suited to lead a major state government department.

"I thought you had horns and a tail," said Sen. Don White, R-41st, who is not related to the committee chairwoman, adding that he changed his mind after he met Hanger two weeks ago.