by James A. Bacon
Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin has signaled a major shift in Virginia’s environmental policy with two appointments: Andrew Wheeler as Secretary of Natural Resources and Michael Rolband as Director of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
“Virginia needs a diverse energy portfolio in place to fuel our economic growth, continued preservation of our natural resources, and a comprehensive plan to tackle rising sea levels,” Youngkin said. “Andrew and Michael share my vision in finding new ways to innovate and use our natural resources to provide Virginia with a stable, dependable, and growing power supply that will meet Virginia’s power demands without passing the costs on to the consumer.”
Wheeler is sure to be a lightning rod for environmental policy. As EPA chief, he attracted extensive negative attention from environmentalists. The Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) lost no time in denouncing him. “Governor-elect Youngkin has indicated that he is intent on making his first step on environmental issues a huge step backward,” said the activist group in a press release that arrived in my in-box even before Youngkin’s announcement.
Youngkin said he intends to address “ongoing environmental, energy, and natural resources challenges,” specifically identifying Chesapeake Bay protection, storm water management issues, and creation of a Coastal Virginia Resiliency Authority. There was no explicit word in the press release about his attitude toward the Virginia Clean Economy Act or the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline project.
Wheeler served as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency during the Trump administration, and has worked in private law practice in the energy field. He has an extensive background in a wide range of energy-related issues.
CCAN Action Fund Director Kim Germaine described him as having served as “a henchman for the coal industry and the Trump administration.” Wheeler, according to CCAN, rolled back Clean Water Act protections, rescinded the standing Clean Power Plan, and “tried to weaken public protections around vehicle emissions, power plant pollution, and drinking water. Overall, Wheeler’s policies represented a full-scale attack on EPA’s core mission of protecting the environment and public health.”
Rolband will replace David Paylor as chief of the DEQ, Virginia’s primary environmental regulatory agency. Youngkin thanked Paylor for his career as “an invaluable public servant.”
Rolband founded Wetland Studies and Solutions (WSSI), a natural resources consulting firm, and started Virginia’s first wetland mitigation bank. “Over nearly 30 years,” says the press release, “his company provided services and permit approvals on over 8,000 projects across 300,000 acres in the region, including data centers, major transportation infrastructure, master planned communities, and office and industrial developments.”
Bacon’s bottom line: Creating a zero-carbon economy in Virginia is obviously not a Youngkin priority. To the contrary, his statement makes it clear that the pursuit of environmental sustainability should not sacrifice reliability or drive up consumer costs. Rather than focus on halting global climate change, he is emphasizing environmental issues that directly impact Virginia — cleaning up the Bay, addressing storm water issues, and dealing with sea-level rise, a consequence of climate change.
The appointment of Wheeler, which is sure to generate controversy, suggests that Youngkin is not inclined to take a conciliatory, compromising approach with Virginia environmentalists. Line up the fireworks and grab a pack of matches. This could get wild.
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