The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has a new leader on this Earth Day. Sean Mahar, who served as Executive Deputy Commissioner under former longtime Commissioner Basil Seggos, will lead the department as Interim Commissioner.
Before he began at DEC eight years ago, Mahar worked for more than a decade at Audubon New York. WAMC’s Lucas Willard asked Mahar about his path to leading a state agency with 3,000 employees.
So, I've been in the environmental world now for 23 years, it's hard to even say and think about that timeframe. But I did get my start in Audubon, doing government relations work and communications work, really learning the halls of Albany and environmental policy in New York State, helping to shape it and really making some good connections and relationships at DEC. And then, about eight and a half years ago, just before Basil came on board, they were looking for a director of communications, someone to really help tell the DEC story. And DEC was always a place that I've wanted to be from a young kid growing up, you know, reading the Conservationist magazine that my dad always had, you know, being a fishing license holder. This place, this agency is on the frontlines of conservation, it's where I always wanted to be. So having the opportunity to come in and really focus on communications and telling the agency’s story was something that motivated me. And then once I got in, you know, I worked my way up the food chain, and became the Assistant Commissioner of Public Affairs, Chief of Staff, Executive Deputy Commissioner and now Interim Commissioner.
So, from the jump at DEC were one of the folks who deals with reporters…if we have any questions, we call the press line, someone picks up, ‘OK, yeah, we'll get you on the phone.’ And, Sean, you were usually a person that I spoke with many times for a number of stories.
Definitely. I took great pride in really wanting to open the doors to DEC and especially with reporters like you. And you know, that transparency and what we're doing. Our staff are amazing and have such cool stories to tell. And we always want to make sure that reporters have access to the experts here. And you get to hear directly from them and engage in conversations and let them be the voice of the agency and what they're doing. So that was always something that I took great pride in and have instilled to this day in the press office, just making sure that we're keeping our doors open and engaging in conversations and really telling the story.
A couple of weeks ago, your predecessor, your former boss, Commissioner Basil Seggos, was sitting in the same chair that you are right now. And we talked about when he became commissioner, the challenges, I think Hoosick Falls and the PFOA water crisis, was his second week on the job.
My third week on the job.
So you're right there. There's been a lot that's gone on in New York that you've been on in the trenches with, with DEC. Are there any particular moments like Hoosick Falls or anything else that really shook you and said, ‘Oh, this is this is the gig, like this is the big leagues. These are, these are some very real, very tough problems that this agency is going to be dealing with?’
Well, I think one of the joys of the job is every day is something different, Lucas, and, you know, one day is never the same as the one before. And the issues you face are wide ranging, because we deal with natural resource protection and Environmental Quality Protection here at DEC. So, there is a wide range of issues that you encounter day in and day out. I think Hoosick Falls was one of the stories that you know, as Basil said, was a real defining moment for us at the agency in our careers in our approach to helping communities out and really putting that focus on the communities and helping them through difficult issues like a water contamination crisis. And I think we learned a lot from that, but also really shaped the way the state approaches these issues now, and it's a taking a lot of pride in that. I think that's where we first met, Lucas, was, you know, in the town hall or village hall.
Village Hall, probably in Hoosick Falls. Now, we are speaking in a budget season right now. And there's a lot that's been discussed over the last couple of years, more than a couple of years, with how the state is meeting its climate goals. In your position as Interim Commissioner, is there any particular climate goal or piece of legislation that you'd like to see moved over the finish line? Or as Interim Commissioner, are you less involved in pushing for the legislative side of things?
Oh,no, we're all hands on deck on all aspects of climate on water funding and the budget. Fundamentally, it's great to work for this governor, she is really an environmental champion. And you know, it makes our job easier when you have someone who's paying attention to these things, and really looking to put the resources where we need it most. And I think what you're seeing as the budget gets passed here is a real commitment to environmental funding, from the Clean Water Infrastructure Act, to the Environmental Protection Fund, to what we're doing to implement the Bond Act in the state, we have a lot of resources that we're dedicating that many other states in the nation are really envious of. And it's a great time to be at this agency and in conservation in general. And it's great to have this governor that's really focusing this attention on this because we are really remaking the environment in New York. And what you're going to see over the next several years is a lot of shovels in the ground, a lot of important projects underway and we're going to make a lot of great progress and it's exciting opportunity to be able to do that.
Are you hoping to see the HEAT Act move over to the finish line? It's been brought up before and legislature has passed, but it seems to be somewhat of a sticking point that relates to the electrification of new homes.
Well, really what we're doing is looking at the climate Scoping Plan. And that was something my predecessor, Basil, along with Doreen Harris on the Climate Action Council spent a lot of time on. And there's a lot of important things in there that we're going to have to work on to advance as part of our broad climate agenda. You know, we've got a cap and invest program that we're working to develop, we need to drive down emissions in the state. And we are all hands on deck to do that. But we also not just on the emission side, but on the carbon sequestration side, right? How do we take carbon out of the atmosphere and the governor has a an amazing tree planting goal that we're going to be establishing and moving forward on 25 million trees by 2033. And that's really going to help, you know drive down carbon emissions as well by sequestering carbon using nature.
So, one of the things that your predecessor has said, I asked him about regrets and something that in eight years on the job, something that he would like to see more completion on and more action on and one of them was diversifying the agency. The DEC, as I understand that there has been some movement in a deputy commissioner that will be relating to aspects of diversifying the agency. What can you tell me about the steps that are coming down to help DEC more accurately reflect the New York state population?
That is definitely a continuing priority that I'm going to continue in this interim role. And obviously, with the future Commissioner as well, it's really important to our overall efforts are biodiversity is key to conservation work. And that biodiversity has to transcend into the way our agency is shaped and the people there, that we need to be representative of the New Yorkers we serve. And that's something that we're gonna continue to put a focus on. We've stood up recently in office of Diversity, Inclusion and Civil Rights, we have a chief diversity officer that we're in the process of hiring, and this is going to be a renewed emphasis that we keep on making sure that this agency is fully representative of all New Yorkers.
What's something new that you want to see? I mean, there's a lot of things to get done with meeting the climate goals and everything else and sticking to the Scoping Plan. But is there anything new that you want to pursue? And your time as commissioner?
Yeah, right now, Lucas, I mean, my goal is just moving forward on all the priorities that we have. And there are a lot of things that we need to undertake, you know, obviously, from the Bond Act implementation to the tree planting goal, to our natural resource conservation work, open space planning, work implementing the Bond Act. I mean, there's a lot of things that are underway. And my goal right now is to make sure that I'm working with our team to get those things over the finish line and keep him moving forward. I don't think we need new initiatives right now, because we've got plenty on our plate to do and we need to deliver on
