Gov. Jim Justice appointed Harold Ward as the state’s new environmental secretary this week. The Department of Environmental Protection is in charge of regulating everything from air and water quality to overseeing abandoned mine lands. Ward was most recently deputy secretary of operations and director of the mining and reclamation division. He joined state government in 1989 after graduating from WVU. He replaces Austin Caperton who served as cabinet secretary from January 2017 until his resignation last month.