Michael Regan, Secretary of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, has been selected by the Sierra Club as a recipient of its 2020 Distinguished Achievement Award, for his leadership in securing cleanup of coal ash pits in the state.
He is one of three North Carolinians whose efforts on behalf of the environment were honored in the Club's national awards this year.
Regan, who was appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper to the DEQ post, was nominated for the award by the North Carolina Chapter of the Sierra Club. After years of inaction on coal ash by previous administrations, DEQ successfully reached agreement with Duke Energy in January 2020 to ensure that the company will excavate nearly 80 million tons of coal ash at six coal plant facilities in the state. This will be the nation’s largest coal ash cleanup.
This achievement follows the 2014 Dan River coal ash spill that dumped toxic sludge into the Dan River and raised the profile of the coal ash problem in North Carolina. In 2019, DEQ ordered a full cleanup but Duke Energy challenged the agency in court until reaching the settlement.
Judy Mattox, chair of the Western North Carolina (WENOCA) Group, received the Madelyn Pyeatt Award, which honors Sierra Club members who have made outstanding contributions through working with youth. During her 10 years as WENOCA chair, the Group created Youth for Environmental Stewardship and an "Inspiring Connections Outdoors" program called the Kids Adventure Club.
Youth for Environmental Stewardship includes students and teachers from all Asheville and Buncombe County public high schools and UNC-Asheville and Warren Wilson College. With Group leaders' guidance, it lobbies local government for clean energy goals and does clean-up projects. The Kids Adventure Club partners with local schools and youth organizations to sponsor activities for children aged 5 to 13, and plans to expand to high school students.
The Climate Policy Task Force was recognized as the recipient of the Sierra Club's 2020 Special Achievement Award, which honors Sierra Club members for a single act of particular importance dedicated to conservation or to the Sierra Club. North Carolina volunteer leader J.C. Woodley and Bruce Hamilton, the Club's Senior Director of Program Policy and Internal Governance, are co-leads of the task force.