WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden selected North Carolina environmental official Michael Regan to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, putting Regan in line to become the first Black man to lead the agency.
Regan, who has served as secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality in North Carolina for nearly four years, must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Regan, 44, worked for the EPA for eight years in the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations before working for the Environmental Defense Fund. He joined North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration at the beginning of 2017.
Regan is a Goldsboro native who earned his undergraduate degree at North Carolina A&T and a master’s at George Washington University.
Biden announced his choice of Regan on Thursday along with other members of his climate team, including choices to lead the departments of Interior and Energy. McClatchy reported the pick of Regan earlier Thursday.
“He’s an incredibly talented young man,” said James Johnson, the chairman of DEQ’s Environmental Justice and Equity Board, which Regan created in 2018. “He understands and respects the science behind climate change. He’s a courageous listener, not just to things he believes. He listens in a balanced way and it enables him to make informed decisions. He’s not listening just to refute, he’s listening to learn and understand alternative perspectives.”
Biden has prized diversity and history in making his Cabinet selections.
“This brilliant, tested, trailblazing team will be ready on day one to confront the existential threat of climate change with a unified national response rooted in science and equity. They share my belief that we have no time to waste to confront the climate crisis, protect our air and drinking water, and deliver justice to communities that have long shouldered the burdens of environmental harms,” Biden said in a statement announcing the selections.
“Together, on behalf of all Americans, they will meet this moment with the urgency it demands — and seize the opportunity to build back better with good-paying union jobs, climate-resilient infrastructure, and a clean energy future that benefits every single community.”
One source familiar with the transition’s thinking said Regan was chosen in part due to his work holding polluters accountable, citing his leadership reaching the largest coal-ash clean-up settlement in U.S. history with Duke Energy.
Duke Energy agreed to excavate nearly 80 million tons of coal ash at six sites in North Carolina as part of the settlement.
“We are holding Duke accountable and will continue to hold them accountable for their actions as we protect public health, the environment and our natural resources,” Regan said in a statement at the time.
In announcing Regan’s selection, the Biden-Harris team said he brings “a deep understanding of the interconnectedness of the environment, economy and public health.”
Regan emerged as a late contender for the post after the front-runner, California air pollution regulator Mary Nichols, fell out of favor amid complaints that she had a weak track record on environmental justice.
Nichols has just retired as the longtime chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board, where she led the state’s crusade on climate change and fought the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions.
But earlier this month a coalition of 70 environmental justice groups blasted Nichols’ record, saying her market-based approach to regulation gave refineries, power plants and other industrial companies too much leeway to continue polluting in low-income communities.
Regan’s record on environmental justice, including his creation of the state’s Environmental Justice and Equity Board, helped secure him the role.
In announcing his selection, the Biden-Harris team pointed to his efforts in working on Cooper’s climate change executive order and his negotiations on cleanup of both coal ash and pollution in the Cape Fear River, as well as the equity board.
“He’s been a collaborative, energizing force, putting into action his core belief that when you make decisions with input from a diverse group of stakeholders your outcomes are better and more durable because of it,” said Hawley Truax, a regional director with the Environmental Defense Fund, in a statement.
Regan served as the group’s Southeast regional director prior to working in the Cooper administration, where he helped craft part of the state’s Clean Energy Plan. It called for attaining carbon neutrality in the state by 2050.
“Michael has served as DEQ secretary with distinction, helping advance my climate change executive order and promoting creative solutions to some of our toughest challenges,” Cooper said in a statement. “He has important work ahead of him helping battle climate change on a national level, and I wish him and his family the best on this next step.”
Regan personally experienced environmental injustice growing up with asthma in Eastern North Carolina, experiencing toxic pollution, agricultural waste and environmental destruction being concentrated near communities of color and low-income communities, the source said.
“Anything white people don’t want in their backyard, you can find it in Eastern North Carolina,” said Naeema Muhammad, a member of the equity board and of the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network. “We need to stop looking toward Eastern North Carolina as if it’s a dumping ground for the state. There should be some considerations for the cumulative impacts and the disproportionate burdens being bared by the same people all the time.”
Regan now lives in Raleigh with his wife and son.
Greenpeace credited Regan’s role in the Duke Energy settlement but called into question some of Regan’s decisions as DEQ secretary in North Carolina.
“He has a mixed record on environmental justice issues in the state, failing to protect communities from the health impacts of living near hog farms and approving multiple permits for the carbon-intensive wood pellet industry. Going forward, Regan and the rest of the Biden-Harris administration need to pair their lofty rhetoric on environmental justice with consistent action,” said Lisa Ramsden, Greenpeace’s senior climate campaigner.
Rep. G.K. Butterfield, a Democrat from Wilson, backed the selection.
“Secretary Regan is an EPA veteran with immense passion and experience with environmental policy. Secretary Regan understands the urgency of protecting our environment from air and water pollution,” he said in a statement.
Regan will need the votes of at least 50 senators to be confirmed. A spokesman for Republican Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who was reelected for a second term in November, said Tillis looks forward to leaning more about Regan and his plans for the agency.
“Senator Tillis expects the EPA to balance the promotion of clean energy with the unique needs of America’s farmers and small businesses, and not return to the Obama administration’s crushing regulation-first approach that burdened too many hardworking North Carolinians,” Tillis spokesman Daniel Keylin said in an email response to questions about confirming Regan.
