Former EPA admin confirmed as DNREC secretary

Delaware legislators have confirmed former Environmental Protection Agency administrator Shawn Garvin as the new head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

The Delaware Senate voted March 15 to confirm Gov. John Carney's nominee to fill the leadership position previously held by David Small.

In late January, legislators avoided voting on Garvin's confirmation, with Republicans holding out hope that candidate John Marino would win the District 10 Senate seat, which would have given his party the majority in the Senate. Marino lost to Democrat Stephanie Hansen, whose election preserved the Democrats' control of the Senate.

“Thank you to the members of the Delaware Senate for confirming Shawn Garvin to Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control,” Carney said in a press release. “We need to continue to protect Delaware from the threats of climate change, to work with our farmers to help them operate in more environmentally friendly ways, and to invest outside, in our beaches and our tourism economy. With important environmental issues to address in our state and his extensive background, I know he will be a strong leader.”

In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Garvin to serve as regional administrator of Region III of the EPA, which includes Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. He also previously served as the senior state and congressional liaison for the office, and as an aide to then-U.S. Sen. Joe Biden and executive assistant to former New Castle County Executive Dennis Greenhouse.