Robert M. Summers Named MDE Secretary

Robert M. Summers

Robert M. Summers, a veteran Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) offficial, has been appointed Maryland’s Secretary of the Environment.  Secretary Summers had been serving as Acting Secretary of the Department since December. His appointment to be Secretary was announced by Governor Martin O’Malley at an April 28 meeting of the state’s Executive Cabinet.

Throughout his 28-year career, Secretary Summers has been a key contributor to Maryland’s nationally prominent environmental programs, including the multi-jurisdictional Chesapeake Bay restoration effort, with an emphasis on scientific and technical issues related to water pollution control, drinking water protection, and federal, State and local government environmental laws and regulations.

He has worked at MDE since its creation in 1987 and has served as the Director of the Water Management Administration and Director of the Technical and Regulatory Services Administration. He served as Deputy Secretary for the Department of the Environment starting in 2007.

Secretary Summers serves as Maryland’s Commissioner on the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, and the Appalachian States’ Low Level Radioactive Waste Commission.

Secretary Summers received his B.A. (1976) and Ph.D. (1982) in Environmental Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University. (MDE)