Oklahoma Secretary of the Environment

Oklahoma Secretary of Environment
Agency overview
Seal of the Secretary of Environment
Formed	July 1, 1993
Headquarters	3800 N. Classen Boulevard Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Employees	981.9 (FY2012)
Annual budget	$590 million (FY2012)
Minister responsible	Gary Sherrer, Secretary of the Environment
Child agencies	Department of Environmental Quality Department of Wildlife Conservation Water Resources Board
Website	Office of the Secretary of the Environment

The Oklahoma Secretary of Environment is a member of the Oklahoma Governor's Cabinet. The Secretary is appointed by the Governor, with the consent of the Oklahoma Senate, to serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The Secretary serves as the chief advisor to the Governor on environmental policy development and implementation.

The last Secretary was Gary Sherrer, who was appointed by Governor Mary Fallin on January 14, 2011.

The current Secretary of the successor office, the Office of the Secretary of Energy and Environment, is Michael Teague.

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History

The Office of the Secretary of Environment was established in 1993 to provide greater oversight to the environmental activities of the State government. The Office was established, along with the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, by the Oklahoma Environmental Quality Act of 1993. The Act directed the Secretary of Environment ensure that state environmental agencies management activities are well coordinated and of high quality.

The offices of the Office of the Secretary of Energy and the Office of the Secretary of the Environment were merged in 2013, creating the Office of the Secretary of Energy and Environment.

Responsibilities

The Secretary of Environment is responsible for overseeing the development, management and protection of the natural resources and wildlife of the State. The primary duties assigned to the Secretary by law are as follows:^[1]

Any duties and powers assigned by the Governor
Recipient and administrator of Federal Clean Water Act funds
Coordinate pollution control activities to avoid duplication of effort
Act on behalf of the public as trustee for natural resources
Serve as the State's Trustee for Natural Resources

As the State's official Trustee for Natural Resources, the Secretary ensures that natural resources and the services they provide that are injured or lost because of contamination are restored for the benefit of the State.

As of fiscal year 2012, the Secretary of Environment oversees 981.9 full-time employees and is responsible for an annual budget of $590 million.

Office of Secretary

The Secretary heads the Office of the Secretary of Environment, which is a state agency. The Mission Statement of the Office is:

The Environmental Mission of the State of Oklahoma, as adopted by the state's environmental agencies, is to protect and enhance Oklahoma's environment and natural resources through preservation, conservation, restoration, education and enforcement in order to maintain and improve the environmental quality and natural beauty of our state and better the standard of living for all Oklahomans.

Staff

The staff of the Office serves as the immediate staff to the Secretary. Although well funded, the Office has a very limited staff: only four full-time employees including the Secretary. As of 2012, the following are the authorized positions within the Office:

Secretary of Environment
Director of the Office of the Secretary of Environment
Special Assistant to the Secretary
Environmental Grants Manager

Budget

The Office of the Secretary has a very large budget for the size of its staff. For Fiscal Year 2013, with only 4 employees, the Office has an annual budget of $12 million. Less than $350 thousand of that budget is actually dedicated to employee compensation and operating expenses. The remaining $11.65 million (or 95%) of the budget is used as grants for State and local agencies with environmental responsibilities.^[2]

The vast majority of the funds to support the Office comes from the Environmental Protection Agency, particularly under the authority of the Clean Water Act. Only 1% of the budget comes from yearly appropriations from the Oklahoma Legislature, with 99% as grants coming from the United States federal government.

Salary

The annual salary of the Secretary of Environment is one of the few Cabinet Secretary positions which is not set by law.^[3] As such, it is left to the Governor to determine the Secretary's salary. Despite this, if the Secretary serves as the head of State agency, the Secretary receives the higher of the two salaries. Currently Secretary Sherrer has elected to not receive compensation while serving as secretary.

Agencies overseen

The Secretary of Environment oversees the following state entities:

Agency	Function
Department of Environmental Quality	Enforces State clean air, clean water, and land protection laws
Department of Wildlife Conservation	Protects endangered animals and regulates hunting activities
Water Resources Board	Aids in the development of State water resources infrastructure

The Secretary represents the Governor of Oklahoma before the following entities:

Air Quality Council
Arkansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Compact Commission
Arkansas River Basin Interstate Committee
Bioenergy Initiative
Canadian River Commission
Central Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact Commission
Compliance Advisory Panel
Environmental Finance Authority
Hazardous Waste Management Advisory Council

Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Compact Commission
Laboratory Services Advisory Council
Lead Impacted Communities Relocation Assistance Trust
Radiation Management Advisory Council
Red River Compact Commission
Solid Waster Management Advisory Council
Water Law Advisory Committee
Water Quality Management Advisory Council
Water Research Institute
Water Resources Research Coordinating Committee

The Secretary also oversees the Clean Energy Independence Commission, the Encouraging Conservation in Oklahoma (ECO) Task Force and various other conservation and sustainability efforts of the State government.

List of secretaries

#	Name	Took office	Left office	Governor served under
1	Patty Eaton	July, 1993	January, 1995	David Walters
2	Gary Sherrer	January, 1995	January, 1997	Frank Keating
3	Brian C. Griffin	January, 1997	January, 2003	Frank Keating
4	Miles Tolbert	January, 2003	August, 2008	Brad Henry
5	J.D. Strong	August, 2008	January 14, 2011	Brad Henry
6	Gary Sherrer	January 14, 2011	Present	Mary Fallin

References

^ "Section 1-2-101, Title 27A, Oklahoma Statutes". Oscn.net. Retrieved 2014-01-22.
^ FY 2011 State Budget, Oklahoma Office of State Finance
^ "Section 10.5, Title 74, Oklahoma Statutes". Oscn.net. Retrieved 2014-01-22.

External links

Office of the Secretary of Environment website

v t e Leaders of the Oklahoma Governor's Cabinet
Agency Accountability Agriculture Commerce and Workforce Development Digital Transformation and Administration Energy and Environment Health and Mental Health Human Services and Early Childhood Initiatives Military Native American Affairs Public Safety Science and Technology State and Education Tourism and Branding Transportation Veterans Affairs Past Cabinet members: Commerce and Tourism Energy Environment Finance and Revenue Health and Human Services Human Resources and Administration

v t e State environmental agencies of Oklahoma
Governor of Oklahoma
Secretary of the Environment
Department of Environmental Quality Department of Wildlife Conservation Water Resoures Board

This page was last edited on 31 July 2023, at 20:16

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