Pa.’s environmental protection secretary resigns from Shapiro administration

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Secretary of Environmental Protection Rich Negrin resigned Thursday and will remain on medical leave until Dec. 9, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office said.

Negrin, a former top official in former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter’s administration, was the first Latino to lead the Department of Environmental Protection. Shapiro nominated him to join his cabinet at the start of his administration in January. He was confirmed by the state Senate in June nearly unanimously, with only Sen. Doug Mastriano (R., Franklin) opposing his confirmation. Another senator was absent for votes that day.

Executive Deputy Secretary Jessica Shirley will serve as acting secretary while the administration conducts a search for a nominee, Shapiro’s press secretary Manuel Bonder said in an email. Shirley previously served as DEP’s policy director during former Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration.

Negrin and DEP did not respond Thursday to requests for comment. Shapiro’s office did not offer further comment about Negrin’s resignation. It’s unclear why Negrin requested medical leave.

Negrin is the second cabinet-level secretary to resign from Shapiro’s administration in a month.

Former Secretary of Legislative Affairs Mike Vereb abruptly resigned last month. The next day, The Inquirer reported that Vereb, a Republican and one of Shapiro’s closest allies for decades, faced a sexual harassment complaint from a former employee months before his resignation.

During his tenure at DEP, Negrin oversaw cleanup efforts in Western Pennsylvania after a Norfolk Southern train carrying dangerous chemicals derailed just over the border in East Palestine, Ohio. He also saw the cleanup efforts of another chemical spill in the Delaware River that briefly impacted Philadelphia’s water supply.

Shapiro’s office said earlier this month that Negrin was part of the team that presented a proposal to the U.S. Department of Energy in July to secure two regional hydrogen hubs for the state. Pennsylvania is the only state chosen for two hydrogen hub projects by the Department of Energy.

Negrin appeared with Shapiro as recently as last week at a news conference in Beaver County marking the 100th orphaned and abandoned well that DEP capped and plugged in an effort to reduce methane emissions.

Negrin previously served as the managing director and deputy mayor of administration under Nutter from 2010 to 2016. He also ran unsuccessfully for Philadelphia district attorney in 2017.

Prior to his nomination as DEP secretary, Negrin worked on regulatory policy and strategy as the vice president of Commonwealth Edison, Illinois’ largest electric utility company.

Staff writer Ryan W. Briggs contributed to this article.