ICYMI: Sununu Appoints Former Trump Official to Top Position in State’s Dept. of Environmental

Concord, N.H. -- For the second time in less than six months, Chris Sununu appointed a former Trump administration official to a top environmental regulator position in the state. “New Hampshire is seeing firsthand how extreme the climate crisis is with record heatwaves and extreme rainfall. We need experienced leaders who will protect our environment in key positions. Instead, Chris Sununu is furthering his extreme anti-environment agenda by appointing hand-picked former Trump appointees who worked in the most anti-environmental administration in recent history,” said NHDP Chair Ray Buckley. Sununu appointed Mark Sanborn, who worked in the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Department of Agriculture under Trump, to be the assistant commissioner at the Department of Environmental Services, which is the second-highest-ranking environmental regulator position in the state. Sununu’s decision to appoint Sanborn is the latest example of his terrible environmental record. For years Sununu denied the existence of climate change. Twice Sununu vetoed a bipartisan net metering bill, putting affordable clean energy out of reach for Granite Staters and he vetoed a biomass bill that would have shored up New Hampshire’s local biomass industry. In April, NHPR reported that Sununu’s administration failed to follow the law or its own guidelines and notify Granite Staters of potential PFAS contamination near the Saint-Gobain plastics factory in Merrimack. Sununu also supported Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. Sanborn is taking over the position from Dennis Deziel, who worked at the EPA during the Trump administration and was a lobbyist for the chemical industry and resigned after a month on the job. Over four years, the Trump administration rolled back more than 100 environmental rules and regulations to protect clean air, water, wildlife and prevent the spread of toxic chemicals.

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