NYS Confirms Joseph Martens as Environmental Chief

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Back in January, we reported that Governor Andrew Cuomo appointed Joseph Martens, former president of the Open Space Institute, as New York State’s interim commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation. Yesterday, the New York Senate unanimously confirmed Martens’ appointment.

Martens served as New York’s deputy state secretary of energy and the environment from 1992-94, during the administration of Cuomo’s father, Mario. Since 1998, he served as the president of the Open Space Institute, a nonprofit at the forefront of conservation and sustainable development.

Cuomo won much praise for choosing Martens, who will face many challenges in his new position. Budget cuts and low funding plague New York State, and Martens could oversee the drafting of state regulations governing horizontal hydraulic fracturing — a hugely controversial method of drilling for natural gas.

Via The New York Times