Cooperative Federalism and State Approaches to Environment and Energy

• Pages: 7-17
• Date: 01 March 2026
• Published date: 01 March 2026
• Author: Jordan Diamond,Shawn LaTourette,Julie Moore,James Jennings,David Paylor,Edwin Kneedler
• Subject Matter: Derecho Público y Administrativo

MAR/APR 2026 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REPORTER 56 ELR 10091

DIALOGUE

COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM

AND STATE APPROACHES

TO ENVIRONMENT

AND ENERGY

As state governments continue to increase their capacity for creating and enforcing environmental regula-

tion, there has been growing discussion about the role of federalism in advancing environmental protec-

tion. Under the second Donald Trump Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

expressed its renewed commitment to advancing cooperative federalism and its desire to partner with

states; however, significant questions remain about how these two levels of government can align their

priorities to both advance and streamline environmental protection. On October 7, 2025, ELI convened

current and former state environmental officials for a discussion on cooperative federalism, how to ensure

adequate funding in delegated and authorized primacy states, the importance of continuing to support

focused and foundational scientific research, and the potential nexus between the reduction in EPA’s work-

force and loosened oversight. Below we present a transcript of the discussion, which has been edited for

style, clarity, and space considerations.

SUMMARYSUMMARY

Jordan Dia mond (moderator) is President of the

Environmental Law Institute.

Shawn LaTourette was Commissioner of the New Jersey

Department of Environmental Protection from 2021-26.

Julie Moore is Secretary of the Vermont Agency of

Natural Resources.

James Jennings is Director of the Illinois Environmental

Protection A gency.

David Paylor was Director of the Virginia Depa rtment of

Environmental Quality from 2006-22.

Edwin Kneedler was a U.S. Deputy Solicitor General

fr om 199 3-20 25.

Jordan Dia mond: It is my joy and honor to welcome you

all to the third an nual Firestone Policy Forum, a policy

dialogue hosted in honor of an iconic gure in environ-

mental law, Judge Nancy Firestone of the U.S. Court of

Federal Claims, who left us far too soon a few years ago.

We are deeply honored that Nancy’s family has given us

the opportunity to honor her legacy in this way.

Judge Firestone is one of those rare individuals whose

legacy spans a remarkable breadth. She had appointments

across federal agencies, the U.S. Depart ment of Justice

(DOJ), law schools, the Environmental Appeals Board,

federal courts, and more. She was a respected and lauded

attorney. She was a teacher and mentor. She was a judge

and jurist. She worked on cleaning up waste on the ground

and preventing pollution in the air.

She worked on the hyperlocal and at the highest level

of international law and everything in between. She dug

deeply in impartial and transparent adjudication processes

and created and implemented them. She was not intimi-

dated by people who disagreed, many of whom found

themselves perplexed by how well they ended up agreeing

with her. Judge Firestone was a woman who led with prin-

ciple and humanity; who both trailblazed from the front

and lifted up those falling behind; and who shaped more

parts of environmental law, regulation, and adjudication

than you would think one person could have done. We

are honored to be able to host this annual policy forum to

keep the conversation alive in the transparent, candid, and

collaborative way for which she was known.

Our focus for today’s forum is the wavering arc of coop-

erative federalism, which is always e volving but is under-

going particularly rapid shifts right now. We have four

tremendous current and former state environmental lead-

ers on this panel. Also joining us is Edwin Kneedler, for-

mer U.S. Deputy Solicitor General.1

1. See Law as Public Service, 56 ELR 10102 (Mar/Apr 2026) for Mr.

Kneedler’s bio.

Copyright © 2026 Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, DC. Reprinted with permission from ELR®, https://www.eli.org