Jump to content

California Environmental Protection Agency

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

California Environmental Protection Agency
Logo of CalEPA
Agency overview
FormedJuly 17, 1991;32 years ago(1991-07-17)
HeadquartersCal/EPA Building,Sacramento,California
Employees4,550 permanent staff
Annual budget$14.3 billion (2019-20)[1]
Agency executives
  • Yana Garcia, Secretary
  • Serena McIlwain, Undersecretary
Child agencies
Websitecalepa.ca.gov

TheCalifornia Environmental Protection Agency(CalEPA) is a statecabinet-level agency within thegovernment of California.The mission of CalEPA is to restore, protect and enhance the environment, to ensure public health, environmental quality and economic vitality.[2]

The current Secretary for Environmental Protection (Secretary of CalEPA) is Yana Garcia,[3](formerly Jared Blumenfeld),[4]and is a member of GovernorGavin Newsom'scabinet.[5]The Office of the Secretary heads CalEPA and is responsible for overseeing and coordinating the activities of one office, two boards, and three departments dedicated to improving California's environment.[6]

The Secretary of CalEPA is also directly responsible for coordinating the administration of the Unified Program and certifyingUnified Program Agencies.The CalEPA Unified Program coordinates, and makes consistent the administrative requirements, permits, inspections, and enforcement activities of six environmental and emergency response programs. The state agencies responsible for these programs set the standards for their program while local governments implement the standards. To date, there are 83Certified Unified Program Agencies (CUPAs),who are accountable for carrying out responsibilities previously handled by approximately 1,300 different state and local agencies.[7]

CalEPA should not be confused with the similarly named federalUnited States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

History

[edit]

CalEPA was created by GovernorPete Wilsonby Executive Order W-5-91 in 1991, following on a "Big Green" initiative Wilson proposed during the1990 state gubernatorial elections,promising a cabinet-level agency to oversee state environmental regulations and research.[8]Following inter-agency reorganizations led by the governor with review by both houses of theCalifornia State Legislature,the agency became a cabinet department on July 17, 1991. As of 2019, the statutory creation of the agency is inGovernment Codesection 12800.[9]

CalEPA, and its departmentalCalifornia Air Resources Board,were one of the key supporters of theGlobal Warming Solutions Act of 2006,making the state the first in theUnited Statesto cap allgreenhouse gas emissionsfrom major industries.[citation needed]

In June 2008, CalEPA announced that newglobal warmingperformance labels would be placed on all new cars effective on January 1, 2009. The stickers will provide two scores: a smog score and a global warming score with a grade from 1 to 10, where the higher the grade, the more environmentally friendly the vehicle.

Executive Management

[edit]
  • Yana Garcia, Secretary for Environmental Protection (Secretary of CalEPA) – appointed by GovernorGavin Newsom.Started role in September 2022. Formerly Jared Blumenfeld,Secretary for Environmental Protection (Secretary of CalEPA) – appointed by GovernorGavin Newsomin January 2019. Retired 2022.
  • Serena McIlwain,Undersecretary for Environmental Protection (Undersecretary of CalEPA)

Deputy/Assistant Secretaries

  • Alexa Kleysteuber, Deputy Secretary for Border and Intergovernmental Relations
  • Alex Barnum, Deputy Secretary for Communications and External Affairs
  • Christiana Tiedemann, Deputy Secretary for Law Enforcement and Counsel
  • Ashley Conrad-Saydah, Deputy Secretary for Climate Policy
  • Grant Cope, Deputy Secretary for Environmental Policy
  • Christine Hironaka, Deputy Secretary for Legislative Affairs
  • Gina Solomon, Deputy Secretary for Science and Health
  • Jason Boetzer, Assistant Secretary for Local Program Coordination and Emergency Response
  • Eric Jarvis, Assistant Secretary for Fiscal & Administrative Programs
  • Christie Vosburg, Assistant General Counsel for Enforcement
  • Yana Garcia, Assistant Secretary for Environmental Justice and Tribal Affairs
  • Alejandro Rodarte, Assistant Secretary for Border Affairs
  • John Blue, Manager of Climate Programs
  • Sergio Gutierrez, Agency Chief Information Officer

Boards, Departments, and Offices

[edit]

TheCalifornia Integrated Waste Management Board,that focused onrecyclingandwaste reduction,ceased in 2010. It was succeeded by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery—CalRecycle, also under CalEPA.[10]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^"OpenGov – FI$Cal Finance and Budget Visualization".Archived fromthe originalon April 4, 2023.RetrievedJuly 20,2021.
  2. ^"Boards, Departments, and Offices".California Environmental Protection Agency.RetrievedSeptember 3,2014.
  3. ^"Yana Garcia, Secretary for Environmental Protection | CalEPA".RetrievedSeptember 12,2022.
  4. ^"California environmental secretary Jared Blumenfeld leaving Newsom administration".www.cbsnews.com.RetrievedSeptember 12,2022.
  5. ^"Executive Management".California Environmental Protection Agency.RetrievedJanuary 9,2019.
  6. ^"About CalEPA".California Environmental Protection Agency.RetrievedSeptember 3,2014.
  7. ^"CalEPA Unified Program".California Environmental Protection Agency.RetrievedSeptember 3,2014.
  8. ^"History".California Environmental Protection Agency.Archived fromthe originalon July 11, 2007.RetrievedJuly 23,2007.
  9. ^"TITLE 2. GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA CHAPTER 1. Administration [12800 - 12838.14]".leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.RetrievedOctober 14,2019.
  10. ^Calrecycle.ca.gov: California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery—CalRecycle.accessed 2.14.2014
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=California_Environmental_Protection_Agency&oldid=1223073188"