Sunday, April 20, 2008
Manchin Appoints New Cabinet Secretary for DEP
Gov. Joe Manchin today appointed Randy Huffman as cabinet secretary for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. Huffman, currently DEP’s deputy cabinet secretary and director of the Division of Mining Reclamation, is a 21-year veteran of the agency. Huffman will succeed Stephanie R. Timmermeyer in DEP’s top post. Timmermeyer announced her plans to leave state government last month.
The governor believes the appointment is important to the agency, because it will maintain consistency in the day-to-day operations and services.
“Randy’s technical background has served him well as the agency’s mining director for the past three years. His background and knowledge of the internal workings of the agency make him an obvious choice for this position,” said Manchin.
“As we move forward with our energy policy in this state, I will be relying heavily on Randy and the DEP to ensure that we are doing so in a way that protects our natural resources for future generations. Secretary Timmermeyer recommended Randy as a person that could step into the position seamlessly, and I agree.”
Huffman, a West Virginia native, has served in a number of leadership positions at the agency through his career, including manager of the Pollution Prevention and Open Dump Program, the Landfill Closure Assistance Program, and the Office of Administration. He has served as the deputy cabinet secretary and as the director of the Division of Mining and Reclamation since 2005. He has a mining engineering technology degree from the West Virginia Institute of Technology and a master’s of business administration degree. Huffman also serves as a squadron commander in the West Virginia Air National Guard’s 130th Airlift Wing in Charleston.
Huffman will take over as head of DEP beginning May 1st, with Secretary Timmermeyer choosing to officially resign her post at that time now that the search for her replacement is complete.
The governor believes the appointment is important to the agency, because it will maintain consistency in the day-to-day operations and services.
“Randy’s technical background has served him well as the agency’s mining director for the past three years. His background and knowledge of the internal workings of the agency make him an obvious choice for this position,” said Manchin.
“As we move forward with our energy policy in this state, I will be relying heavily on Randy and the DEP to ensure that we are doing so in a way that protects our natural resources for future generations. Secretary Timmermeyer recommended Randy as a person that could step into the position seamlessly, and I agree.”
Huffman, a West Virginia native, has served in a number of leadership positions at the agency through his career, including manager of the Pollution Prevention and Open Dump Program, the Landfill Closure Assistance Program, and the Office of Administration. He has served as the deputy cabinet secretary and as the director of the Division of Mining and Reclamation since 2005. He has a mining engineering technology degree from the West Virginia Institute of Technology and a master’s of business administration degree. Huffman also serves as a squadron commander in the West Virginia Air National Guard’s 130th Airlift Wing in Charleston.
Huffman will take over as head of DEP beginning May 1st, with Secretary Timmermeyer choosing to officially resign her post at that time now that the search for her replacement is complete.
# posted by Joe Kinzer @ 7:28 AM 
