CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The only cabinet secretary in the Justice administration to leave as the second term gets underway is state Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Austin Caperton.
His previously announced retirement took effect at midnight Monday. Gov. Jim Justice has yet to name a replacement.
In a farewell video posted Monday by the DEP, Caperton,69, said when people called him Mr. Secretary it reminded him of the “awesome responsibility that the citizens of West Virginia and the governor put on him to do the job and do the job well.”
Justice named Caperton to the post in January 2017. He said at the time Caperton had “the management experience to make the West Virginia DEP run efficiently.”
Justice praised Caperton when the former coal executive announced his retirement on Dec. 15. He said he was responsible disbursing more than $100 million in grant funding through the Abandoned Mine Lands Pilot Program, helping West Virginia meet all federal ambient air quality standards for the first time in more than 40 years, and developing the T&T Treatment Facility – a groundbreaking watershed restoration project in the Cheat River watershed.
Today, we say farewell to the WVDEP’s ninth Cabinet Secretary, Austin Caperton, who is retiring from his position. Here are a few comments about the WVDEP from its just-retired Cabinet Secretary: https://t.co/fbbkeeKWJh
— WV Dept. of Environmental Protection (@DEPWV) January 18, 2021
The Justice administration also tasked Caperton with leading a newly-established petrochemical development task force, which made for a potentially challenging balancing act considering his environmental regulatory duties.
In Monday’s video, Caperton said the overarching goal of the DEP was to protect the environment.
“Every single job that gets created in West Virginia starts here,” he said. “Most of the significant job creating activities in West Virginia involve a permit from the DEP.”
Caperton said protecting the environment would always be an important task for the agency.
Caperton plans to return to his consulting firm.
It remains to be seen who Justice will appoint as the next agency secretary. Angie Rosser, executive director of the West Virginia Rivers Coalition told MetroNews last month her group is paying close attention.
“We will be watching with great interest who the governor appoints and hope it will be someone who will be a strong advocate for the DEP and its mission. We also want to see a renewed commitment to transparency and involvement of the public in agency decision-making.”