WASHINGTON — Vowing to accelerate balanced environmental progress, Mike Leavitt Thursday officially became the 10th administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

He sought to hit the ground running fast. He did not wait for a showy swearing-in at the White House — which still may come later — opting instead to be sworn in quickly at 8:45 a.m. at EPA headquarters by Marianne Horinko, who had been the acting EPA administrator.

That came less than 24 hours after he resigned as governor of Utah, and as fast as he could fly to Washington and report for work.

While the public and press were not invited to his quick swearing-in Thursday, Leavitt issued a statement saying, "My immediate priority will be to visit EPA's administrative program offices and meet as many members of our dedicated staff as quickly as I can."

EPA officials said he did just that — and kept up a vigorous schedule of meeting with EPA officials all day.

"I want to hear from them what's important to the agency and for the public health and environment of our country as I prepare to outline a more detailed vision of the agency," Leavitt said in his prepared statement.

He also sent a memo to the agency's 18,000 employees to seek their help, and to outline some of his philosophy.

"It is my feeling that environmental protection needs to be more than just an agency. It needs to be an ethic," he said.

"With a conservation ethic, new technology, and results-oriented regulation, we can dramatically increase the speed of our environmental progress, without compromising our economic competitiveness," he said.

In other words, he said he seeks balance. That's a familiar theme to Utahns, who often heard him explain his philosophy of "enlibra," a word he coined from Latin roots to mean "toward balance."

Leavitt said, "We need to balance the needs of the environment and the needs of humanity — balance the needs of this generation and the next."

Leavitt's memo to EPA staff said, "In the coming weeks, I will visit EPA's administrative and program offices, regional offices and labs. When you see me, please introduce yourself. I welcome your thoughts on how we meet our core mission of protecting human health and the environment."

He also told staff what yardstick he will use to measure their work.

"In my previous public service, I always worked to leave things better than I found them. With the help of a dedicated team, I believe we were successful. I will employ this same philosophy as EPA administrator, and seek your help in leaving the country's environment better than I found it," Leavitt wrote.