Former NC DEQ chief Michael Regan to leave EPA post as Biden’s term winds down
EPA Administrator Michael Regan will leave the post on Dec. 31 and return to North Carolina, he announced in an email to agency staff Friday.
Regan, the first Black man to lead the nation’s environmental agency, was chosen by President Joe Biden after serving as secretary of North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality. He is leaving shortly before President-elect Donald Trump is to be sworn in on Jan. 20.
With Regan at the helm, the EPA often took on topics that were pertinent in North Carolina.
For example, the agency established the first-ever enforceable drinking water standards for some forever chemicals, an announcement Regan made in Fayetteville earlier this year. In 2022, Regan visited Warren County, the birthplace of the modern environmental justice movement, to announce a reinvigorated Office of Environmental Justice. And earlier this month, the EPA announced a phase-out of all commercial uses of TCE, the toxic solvent that poisoned thousands over decades at Camp Lejeune.
When Regan was tabbed to lead the federal environmental agency, many saw clear similarities between the situation he’d inherited at DEQ in 2017. Many observers — and staff — of both agencies felt that their expertise had been sidelined in order to further the interests of powerful polluters.
Regan insisted that he wanted to let science lead the way at the EPA and to empower agency staff to do their jobs. He knew what that looked like because the first decade of his career had been spent working in the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation.
Friday, Regan wrote, “Underpinning all of our work has been our unwavering commitment to scientific integrity. We brought career staff experts and scientists to the table for every decision, and we made sure they had the resources and the support to do their jobs.”
Regan also vowed upon taking office that the EPA would take decisive action to address the threats posed by climate change.
He was part of the team pushing for the Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats’ signature bill to address climate change.
The legislation addresses climate change in a wide array of ways crossing agencies, but the effort to subsidize new manufacturing is perhaps most well known. It enacted significant tax credits to encourage companies to build new manufacturing facilities like Toyota’s battery plant in Liberty, while also providing $7,500 credits to consumers who purchased electric vehicles assembled in the United States.
That effort is well in line with Regan’s long-stated belief that it is possible to grow the economy while simultaneously protecting the environment.
“Together, we confronted climate change with the urgency science demands. We set the strongest standards in history and put billions of dollars to work to spur clean energy development, create good-paying American jobs and lower costs for families,” Regan wrote.
Beyond a return to North Carolina, Regan’s email does not say anything about his future plans. It also seemed to allude to concerns that the incoming administration could roll back efforts enacted under Regan’s leadership.
“The work continues. I have nothing but optimism and faith in your commitment to continue delivering public health and environmental protections for every person in this great country,” Regan wrote.
Trump has announced his intention to appoint Lee Zeldin, a former New York congressman who has no direct experience with environmental regulation, to lead the EPA. Trump has vowed that Zeldin will swiftly deregulate in a way that will “unleash the power of American businesses” while ensuring “the highest environmental standards.”
This story was produced with financial support from the Hartfield Foundation and Green South Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. If you would like to help support local journalism, please consider signing up for a digital subscription, which you can do here.
This story was originally published December 20, 2024 at 6:03 PM.