New York State

Reconciling environmental protection with economic growth

City & State spoke with Region 2 administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, Peter Lopez, to talk about the ways the EPA is investing in the creation of new and cleaner energy sources regionally and his personal philosophy on caring for the environment and the people who inhabit it.

An electric power plant located in Queens.

An electric power plant located in Queens. Osug/Shuttestock

As Region 2 administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, Peter Lopez is charged with limiting air pollution and protecting water and land in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and eight tribal nations. The primary challenge for the former state assemblyman is reconciling environmental protection with economic growth.

City & State caught up with Lopez to talk about the ways the EPA is investing in the creation of new and cleaner energy sources regionally and his personal philosophy on caring for the environment and the people who inhabit it.

Peter Lopez.
Environmental Protection Agency

What are the biggest environmental threats in New York?

In terms of the biggest threat, I think many would agree on the issue of emerging contaminants. That would probably be one of the largest and most challenging issues we’re dealing with. Relatedly, we’re focused on safe drinking water. I think those are probably two of the largest threats that we’re seeing. The challenge is how do we reconcile and address knowledge of the contaminant – detecting it, for one – and then assessing what levels of contamination constitute a threat. Then, how do we clean up where we see issues of contamination, and how do we prevent it moving forward? I think all of that is part of the national conversation, but certainly very much alive and of concern in Region 2. New York and New Jersey have a lot of legacy contamination as the result of being the cradle of the Industrial Revolution and all the impacts that stem from having incredible economic activity without a lot of safeguards in place. Legacy contamination in particular is a huge challenge for our region.

In your role facilitating the recovery process in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, did you learn any valuable lessons about sustainability and how vulnerable communities can better prepare for future natural disasters?

The takeaways were numerous. First takeaway, the relative isolation created some issues, so how do we embed responsive risk capabilities on the islands more effectively? Two, we need to be thoughtful about how we engage particularly with communities that are financially and technically challenged and have real limitations. Third – this is the other piece, which I’m very excited about – is the dialogue we’re having now. We don’t want to go in and just put Band-Aids on broken pipes. We don’t want to just fix a wire and plug something back in. We had preexisting conditions that became challenges. What I’ve been advocating is to use response and recovery, where we can, as a mechanism for transforming what we saw as defective or deficient ways of operating or managing resources before the storm.

What are the challenges you face as an administrator in enforcing sustainable solutions?

I’m very passionate about this. The terms – enforcement, compliance, consent orders, unilateral action – the whole vocabulary around achieving environmental outcomes tends to have a more punitive ring to it. My honest answer is, the punitive, the sanctioning, they are important, and they certainly can secure environmental justice and compliance. But the other part of my experience has been that there may be some other ways of approaching contamination and shortcomings by understanding who exactly you’re talking to and why they’re not meeting the objectives. There may be ways of approaching it in an alternative fashion. It may be through technical assistance; it may be through some education or training; it may, in some cases, be providing new technologies or financial resources as a package to get the desired outcome.

The climate change discussion is extremely politicized. Regardless of politics, communities have to be prepared for future climate-related emergencies. Is it possible to do that at the regulatory level without accepting the basic premise that humans have a role in climate change?

You lured me in! (Laughs.) I would tell you that from the standpoint of my agency, it’s my belief that the administrator has acknowledged that humans do have an impact on the environment. I think it’s safe to say that. If humans are acknowledged as a cause of impact in the environment, that simply validates everything that we’re trying to do. The other piece of it, where I’m going to go off script a little bit, is that the U.S. is not alone and cannot stand alone in this engagement. When we look at climate change, it’s not a U.S. phenomenon, it’s not a New York phenomenon, it’s not a Region 2 phenomenon. It’s a global phenomenon. As we try to be good stewards – and this is me out on a limb, just my personal observation – as we protect the environment, we also have to make sure that our economies and our communities are sustainable. There’s a nuance.

How do you reconcile environmental protection with economic growth? What’s your broad regulatory philosophy?

In my background and upbringing, I focus on our role as stewards – that’s an old phrase. And in this case I always refer back to more of a traditional phrase, where we have an obligation to care for our communities. We need to feed and clothe and maintain the health and well-being of our people. But we also have to make sure that the resources that we use are properly managed and are available to future generations. To me, that's really the beginning of the end of where we should be as a society. Another point that resonates with me, which comes from my engagement with environmental groups, is that you should try to leave a place better than you found it. The concept of stewardship first, and then in parallel, the concept of trying to make things better.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.