The Department of Environmental Protection is hoping to address environmental justice concerns raised by Pennsylvania’s attempt to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. The cap and trade program with 11 other states aims to reduce power plant emissions.
Carolyn Kaster / AP
Environmental groups in Pennsylvania are expressing support for President Elect Joe Biden’s pick of Michael Regan to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
If confirmed, Regan would be the first black man to head the EPA. A native of North Carolina, he worked in the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations before becoming the head of North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality in 2017. At that job, he worked on climate change, coal ash, and environmental justice issues.
Joe Minott, executive director of the Philadelphia-based Clean Air Council, says he thinks Regan was a good choice to lead the agency given the Biden administration’s focus on addressing climate and environmental racism.