State Environmental Agency Assn., Led By DEP Secretary McDonnell, Meets With Biden EPA Transition Team

In late November, officers of the Environmental Council of the States discussed priorities with the incoming President-elect Biden Administration's EPA Advance Review Team. 

The Council is a national association of state environmental agencies led this coming year by PA DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell.

The ECOS officers expressed support for increased State and Tribal Assistance Grant funding, a commitment to the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds as well as the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, and consultation and cooperation on environmental justice initiatives. 

The officers also urged sustained effort on improving the working relationship between the states and EPA, senior leadership commitment to E-Enterprise for the Environment, and renewal of the "no net loss” of wetlands goal.

The Biden’s EPA Review Team suggested that clean energy, Clean Water Act jurisdiction, and environmental justice are issue areas under consideration for early action. 

ECOS Priorities

In a November 24 letter sent to ECOS members, new ECOS President Patrick McDonnell lays out his priorities for the association for 2020-21. 

Priorities include: sharing our collective perspective during the federal transition; advancing environmental equity, inclusion, and justice; further strengthening the state-federal relationship; and updating our organization’s Strategic Plan. 

“While we continue to deal with COVID-19 and the impacts it has had on our state programs and ECOS meetings, there is also an opportunity to learn from the experience and use new tools to expand and enhance our work,” Secretary McDonnell notes. “Virtual meetings and hearings, more direct outreach to employees of environmental agencies, and remote inspections of critical facilities are just some of the initiatives we are collectively learning to implement in our jurisdictions. With your support, ECOS will continue to lead on these and other initiatives.” 

Click Here for a copy of the letter.

For more information, visit the Environmental Council of the States website.

[Posted: December 4, 2020]  PA Environment Digest