NC DEQ Nominee’s Record Should be Focus

RALEIGH, NC  -- The nomination of Dionne Delli-Gatti to lead the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) was rejected by a state Senate committee today. Governor Roy Cooper appointed Delli-Gatti as head of the DEQ in February 2021 after Michael Regan was named Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Senator Paul Newton, a former state president of Duke Energy, made the motion to deny Delli-Gatti’s nomination.

Following is reaction from Jossie Steinberg, Eastern Campaigns Director for NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):

“Ms. Delli-Gatti is being unfairly judged on issues well beyond her extremely strong environmental record. That record should be the focus--this is not about pipelines, a secret energy bill, or any of the other things that seem to be swirling around today’s action.

“When the full Senate vote occurs later this week, they should ignore today’s stilted committee vote, which was labeled a ‘sham’ by their own colleagues.”

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.