Oklahoma Secretary of the Environment

Oklahoma Secretary of the Environment
Seal of the Secretary of the Environment
Agency overview
Formed	July 1, 1993
Headquarters	3800 N Lincoln Boulevard Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Employees	729 (FY2011)
Annual budget	$440 million (FY2011)
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 the 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 sixth and current Secretary is Gary Sherrer, who was appointed by Governor Mary Fallin on January 14, 2011.

History

The Office of the Secretary of the 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 the Environment ensure that state environmental agencies management activities are well coordinated and of high quality.

Responsibilities

The Secretary of the 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 2011, the Secretary of the Environment oversees 729 full time employees and is responsible for an annual budget of $440 million.

Office of the Secretary

The Secretary heads the Office of the Secretary of the 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 2010, the following are the authorized positions within the Office:

• Secretary of the Environment
• Executive Assistant to the Secretary
• Director of the Office of the Secretary of the Environment
• Environmental Grants Manager

Budget

The Office of the Secretary has a very large budget for the size of its staff. For Fiscal Year 2011, with only 4 employees, the Office has an annual budget of $12 million. Only $600 thousand of that budget is actually dedicated to employee compensation and operating expenses. The remaining $11.4 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 the 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.

Agencies Overseen

The Secretary of the Environment oversees the following State entities:

Seal	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 infastructure

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 Arkansas-White-Red River Basins Interagency Commission Bioenergy Initiative Canadian River Commission Central Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact Commission Compliance Advisory Panel Environmental Finance Authority Hazardous Waste Management Advisory Council High Plains Study Council and Task Force Illinois River Task Force

Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Compact Commission Laboratory Services Advisory Council Lone Chimney Water Association Ottawa Reclamation Authority 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
4	Miles Tolbert	January, 2003	August, 2008	Brad Henry
5	J.D. Strong	August, 2008	January 14, 2011
6	Gary Sherrer	January 14, 2011	Present	Mary Fallin

See also

• Environmental Protection Agency
• Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
• Clean Water Act
• Oil Pollution Act of 1990

References

1. ^ Section 1-2-101, Title 27A, Oklahoma Statutes
2. ^ FY 2011 State Budget, Oklahoma Office of State Finance
3. ^ Section 10.5, Title 74, Oklahoma Statutes

External links

• Office of the Secretary of the Environment website