For Immediate Release:
Friday, July 1, 2022
Contact:
Lee Francis | Deputy Director
Virginia League of Conservation Voters
(804) 225-1902 | lfrancis@valcv.org
RICHMOND – Yesterday, Governor Youngkin signed Executive Order 19 establishing an Office of Regulatory Management tasked with reducing Virginia’s regulations by an arbitrary 25 percent. Tapped to lead this office is Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist and EPA Administrator under President Trump where he presided over an unprecedented rollback of lifesaving environmental safeguards. Wheeler was previously rejected by the legislature for the Cabinet post of Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources but has remained in the Administration as a Senior Advisor.
In response to this action, Michael Town, Executive Director of the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, issued the following statement:
“In creating a dedicated office to cut regulations, and tapping a career deregulatory zealot to lead this effort, it’s clear what comes next: a Virginia where polluters benefit and our environment suffers. In 2021, Virginia was named our nation’s “Top State for Business” – an honor we’ve earned more times than any other state, and not one we would have garnered if we were a state saddled with unnecessary and burdensome regulations. This is an arbitrary executive branch office tasked with executing an arbitrary campaign promise, and while this effort may make a good Fox News headline, it has very real implications for our economy, our health, and our environment. We all want a Virginia where Government works, our economy thrives, and Virginians enjoy a high quality of life, but in many ways, a deregulatory agenda takes us in the opposite direction. Dirtier air and water don’t make our state the best state for business, or the best state to call home.”
About us:
The Virginia League of Conservation Voters serves as the political voice of the state’s conservation community, working to make sure Virginia’s elected officials recognize that our natural heritage is an environmental and economic treasure for all. Virginia LCV works with conservation leaders across Virginia and strives for a conservation majority in state government. We secure good public policies on the state level and hold public officials accountable for their positions on environmental issues. For more information, visit www.valcv.org.
###