New EPA Administrator Michael Regan’s shining track record in the South

Michael Regan, former secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, has been confirmed by the Biden administration to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.

As a known champion of clean air, clean water, and environmental justice—who knows climate action is urgent—his appointment as the first Black man to lead the agency has been celebrated by many.

Over the past four years, SELC has worked with Regan in North Carolina to address some of the most pressing environmental challenges in the state.

“We look forward to working with Regan as administrator at EPA as we have in North Carolina to clean up coal ash pollution, stop PFAS pollution, protect clean water, and address climate change,” says Derb Carter, Director of SELC’s North Carolina offices.

Litigation by Regan’s DEQ and SELC against Duke Energy resulted in the largest cleanup of coal ash pollution in our nation’s history. Legal actions by DEQ and SELC against Chemours resulted in a settlement to stop 99 percent of toxic GenX and other PFAS pollution from entering surface and groundwater, which provide drinking water for tens of thousands of North Carolinians. And we’re now in federal court with DEQ to challenge the Trump EPA’s decision to unlawfully roll back basic Clean Water Act protections of our wetlands, streams, and lakes.

Regan is stepping in at the federal level at just the right time. Urgent action is needed to reverse four years of attacks on our environment and the people who depend on it.

Says Carter, “A course correction at EPA will be welcome so that the agency protects people and the environment, and not polluters as it did under the Trump administration.”