Committee Recommends Esty To Head Environmental Agency

Governor Malloy nominated Esty to head the Department of Environmental Protection. But Malloy wants to expand the D.E.P. to include energy policy and regulation. Esty calls it a “double E” structure.

 

“But really there’s a third 'E'. That’s the economy. And I want to say I am committed to having that third 'E' in mind every day on this job. I share the Governor’s belief that a commitment to job creation needs to be our top priority in state government. And deeply believe environmental progress is much easier to achieve when the public feels confident about the economic future.”

 

Esty says streamlining the environmental permitting process for businesses is a top priority. A current proposal calls for the agency to move more quickly through the first stage of the permitting process --- within 60 days. But Esty says it can be done in two weeks by creating three categories of permits based on how risky a project is to the environment.

 

“Relatively routine ones that should move very quickly, a standard category that will need some months and then a more complex category where it may take longer time because we will have to do modeling and analysis before we grant a permit.”

 

Esty says the agency should make smart decisions based on very careful risk assessment, science and economic analysis.  Esty has spent seventeen years at Yale as a professor of environmental law and policy, but his experience goes beyond academia. He’s also served as an advisor to President Obama, and as a top administrator in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

 

For WNPR I’m Nancy Cohen.