CCAN Statement: Northam DEQ announcement raises serious concerns

CCAN “Highly Skeptical” That DEQ Head can Lead its Own Internal Review; Calls on Paylor to Recuse Himself

RICHMOND, VA — Today, Governor Northam announced Executive Order 6, which instructs David Paylor, Director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, to perform a comprehensive review of DEQ’s permitting, monitoring, and enforcement activities.
Mike Tidwell, Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, stated:

“We agree with Governor Northam that the Department of Environmental Quality needs to be seriously reformed, so we commend him for that. However, we are highly skeptical that DEQ Director David Paylor can oversee this internal review in a fair and comprehensive manner.

“The DEQ is a broken agency, and Director David Paylor is the one that broke it. In his 12 years running the agency, he has regularly sided with polluters over the environment. He has accepted gifts from mega-polluter Dominion Energy and permitted polluter-friendly practices across the Commonwealth.

“The timing of this announcement is particularly painful for the landowners who live along the route of the Mountain Valley Pipeline for fracked gas, to which DEQ just gave final approval in a process widely viewed as flawed.

“We believe David Paylor should be replaced as DEQ Director. If Governor Northam keeps him on, however, Paylor should recuse himself from this much-needed agency review. We hope Governor Northam will consider turning the review over completely to the Secretary of Natural Resources in order to ensure real and substantive changes at the DEQ.”

CONTACT:
Denise Robbins, Communications Director, 608-620-8819, denise@chesapeakeclimate.org
Mike Tidwell, Director, 240-460-5838, mtidwell@chesapeakeclimate.org

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CCAN Calls On Governor Northam To Replace David Paylor as DEQ Head

RICHMOND, VA — Today, Governor Northam re-appointed David Paylor as director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
Mike Tidwell, Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, stated:

“Governor Northam has taken several positive steps since taking office to improve environmental protection and advocacy in the state. He has supported joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and has pushed Dominion Energy to invest more in renewable power and efficiency. But today, the Governor has seriously dropped the ball in re-appointing David Paylor as director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

“Any quick Google search of Paylor’s name brings up stories of serious controversy. In 12 years at the DEQ helm, Paylor has consistently sided with polluting industries over environmental advocacy groups. Paylor, above all else, is very, very cozy with the state’s biggest polluter, Dominion Energy. The director has outraged health and environmental leaders by siding with Dominion on the dumping of coal ash in rivers and, most notoriously, the construction of patently harmful pipelines for fracked gas like the ACP and MVP. Paylor barely hides his close connection to Dominion. In 2013, he accepted an all-expenses-paid trip from Dominion to the Masters Golf Tournament in Georgia, including a fully paid bar tab.

“Governor Northam, today, missed an important opportunity to take a concrete step forward for the environment by replacing Paylor with someone who truly values the protection of the environment. We call on the Governor to reconsider his decision and replace Paylor as soon as possible.”

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CONTACT:
Denise Robbins, Communications Director, 608-620-8819, denise@chesapeakeclimate.org
Mike Tidwell, Director, 240-460-5838, mtidwell@chesapeakeclimate.org