Ben Grumbles

Executive Director, The Environmental Council of the States

Ben Grumbles is the Executive Director of the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS), the nonprofit association of the 50 U.S. states’ top environmental secretaries and directors. From 2015 to May 2022, he was Secretary of the Environment for Maryland, where he served as Chair of the Governor’s Chesapeake Bay Cabinet and the Maryland Climate Change Commission and Executive Committee Member of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Grumbles has also served as a member of the NAS’s Water Science and Technology Board, President of the US Water Alliance, Director of Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, US EPA Assistant Administrator for Water, and Senior Staff and Counsel for the Transportation and Infrastructure and Science Committees in the U.S. Congress. He is a graduate of Wake Forest University, Emory University Law School (JD), and The George Washington University Law School (LLM).

All Sessions by Ben Grumbles

Day 5 – April 19 April 19, 2023

8:45 am - 9:45 am

Environmental Justice and Community Impact

Karl F. Dean Ballroom: Level 4

Track: Federal, State, and Local Issues 🛈Topics may include zoning; public relations; lobbying local elected officials; local partnerships and; governmental relations; advocacy; local partnership and community collaborations.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines environmental justice as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. In 1992, EPA established an environmental justice office, and two years later President Clinton issued an executive order for all federal government agencies to consider environmental justice in their decisions. The current administration has placed further emphasis on federal agencies to include environmental justice principles in decision-making and many states are doing the same. As EPA and the states seek to engage more with communities on environmental justice-related issues, it is important for ISRI members to proactively participate in discussions that help avoid unintended consequences. This session will provide insight on how to engage at the local, state, and federal levels using thoughtful, transparent, and positive approaches that will result in win-win solutions.