DEC leader stepping down
Basil Seggos has led the agency since 2015
ALBANY — Longtime state Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos is stepping down from his post, after leading New York through the initial years of the state’s nation-leading climate goals.
“After more than eight years in this role, this is the right decision for me and my family . ... It’s time for a new chapter,” Seggos said in a letter to his staff, describing what he said was an “extremely tough decision.”
Environmental advocates showered Seggos with praise for his time in the position, especially as it has launched the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act in 2019.
“It’s not often that a single person has such an outsized influence on an issue as Basil Seggos has had on the environmental landscape in New York for the last decade,” New York League of Conservation Voters President Julie Tighe said in a statement. Tighe previously served as Seggos’ chief of staff.
Tighe chronicled Seggos’ legacy from his response to the contamination of Hoosick Falls’ drinking water to his work developing the state’s climate goals.
“A committed environmentalist, Basil led the agency through unprecedented growth in scope and urgency,” Bill Ulfelder, executive director of the Nature Conservancy in New York, said in a statement.
Seggos said he would be transitioning out of his role but an exact timeframe for his departure was not immediately clear.
In 2018, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s spokesman Richard Azzopardi said the administration was expecting turnover ahead of its third term and that Seggos was stepping down. The job opening was posted online.
In 2020, it was suspected Seggos may head to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, as Joe Biden assumed office as president. But he remained with the state of New York.
In 2022, Seggos took a leave of absence from the agency to head to war-torn Ukraine.
“We all must do our part to keep Ukrainians safe during this brutal war, and support democracy wherever it is imperiled,” Seggos said on social media at the time.