Jeff Landry names former Donald Trump appointment to lead environmental quality agency

LAFAYETTE - Republican Gov.-elect Jeff Landry named former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Director Aurelia Skipwith Giacometto to lead his Department of Environmental Quality and signaled he may abandon Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards' plan for the state to be carbon neutral by 2050.

Giacometto, who is closely associated with the coal industry and was an appointment of former President Donald Trump to lead the FWS from 2019-2021, will be the first Black woman to direct Louisiana's DEQ.

"It's an historic appointment," Landry said Tuesday during a press conference on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus where he and his transition team are located. "It's important for our citizens to have good water and air quality and it's equally important to protect jobs.

"To protect the environment and industry we have to balance both. Worrying about one over the other is counterproductive."

Landry said Louisiana has lost oil refining capacity and with it oil and gas jobs during the past eight years.

When asked if he would continue with Edwards' climate action plan, Landry said everything he's read about carbon neutral plans show they are "extremely destructive to the economy."

Giacometto is Landry's first cabinet appointment. He previously appointed former House Speaker Taylor Barras as his commissioner of administration, which is basically the state's chief financial officer.

"I am honored to have been selected by Gov.-elect Landry to serve as the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality," she said. "Louisiana is unique in its natural resources, which attract many people to the state. I look forward to bringing my background and experience in science and conservation to serve the governor and the great people of Louisiana.”

More: Louisiana Governor-elect Jeff Landry names chief financial officer to manage state budget

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Jeff Landry names former Trump appointment to lead environmental quality