Longest-serving DEC commissioner to leave role this spring

Seggos to step down after nearly nine years in office  

ALBANY — The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will have a new commissioner later this year. Basil Seggos, who has served as DEC commissioner since 2015, will be leaving his position this spring. During his tenure, Seggos played a key role in implementing the state’s environmental policies and regulations to combat climate change, according to the DEC. His efforts also helped the department in “protecting drinking water from emerging contaminants, directing record investments in natural resource and water quality protection, enhancing recreational access, and growing DEC’s workforce to more than 3,000 staff, among the many notable highlights over his tenure,” the department said in a statement provided to CNYBJ. Seggos is the longest-serving DEC commissioner, the agency noted. The DEC’s statement didn’t include any details about his future plans. In addition to leading the DEC, Seggos also advises the New York governor on environmental policy and issues, per his biography on the department’s website.

Seggos background

The DEC says Seggos was “instrumental” in the passage of the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. That law requires New York to reduce economy-wide greenhouse-gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030 and by at least 85 percent by 2050, from 1990 levels, according to a state website about the law. Seggos has been serving as the co-chair of the law’s implementing body, the Climate Action Council. He also devised and is responsible for the $2.5 billion Clean Water Infrastructure Act and spearheaded the reauthorization of the state’s Superfund law and reforms of the Brownfield tax-credit program.  As co-chair of the state’s Drinking Water Quality Council, Seggos oversaw the establishment of the “most protective” water-quality standards for PFOA/PFOS and 1,4-dioxane, the DEC noted. In addition to leading DEC, Seggos also serves on a variety of boards, including as chair of the Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC), chair of the Hudson River Park Trust, the Adirondack Park Agency (APA), Delaware River Basin Commission, the Great Lakes Commission, the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA), the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA), the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, and the New York State Energy Planning Board. Prior to becoming DEC commissioner, Seggos served as the deputy secretary for the environment for the governor. In that role, he counseled the governor on environmental policy and the operations of New York’s environmental agencies, including DEC; the Office of State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation,; the EFC and the APA; and was a liaison to the state legislature on environmental issues and legislation. Before his career in state government, Seggos served as VP of business development at Hugo Neu Corp., a clean-tech private-equity company.  During law school, he was legal clerk at the President’s Council on Environmental Quality. Seggos began his career as an associate at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the DEC said.