Regardless of what happens with federal environmental programs, the mission and priorities of Connecticut’s environmental protection agency won’t change.

Leading the list are actions to curtail greenhouse gas emissions contributing to climate change, improving the state’s ability to adapt to rising sea levels and other climate change effects, increasing recycling and enforcing laws to ensure clean water and air.

“We will still maintain high environmental standards,” said Rob Klee, commissioner of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. “We have a mission to protect public health and the environment.”

During a phone interview Friday, Klee shared his concerns about expected rollbacks under the Trump administration of the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s stance on enforcement of clean water and clean air rules, climate change initiatives, toxics regulations and vehicle mileage standards, among other areas.

Recently confirmed EPA Commissioner Scott Pruitt is known for advancing a pro-business, anti-regulatory agenda during his time as Oklahoma’s attorney general.

“We’re waiting to see what’s going to happen,” Klee said. “We’ve heard a lot of things, but we haven’t seen anything. Nothing has come directly to us.”

DEEP, with an annual operating budget of $176.6 million, gets about one-quarter of its budget from the federal government. The largest portion of that — $31 million — comes from EPA grants for clean water programs that help fund sewage treatment plant upgrades, and fund remediation of polluted industrial areas, air quality monitoring and inspections and cleanup of leaking underground tanks that store oil and gasoline, among other programs.

Despite indications several weeks ago that EPA grants and other funds for these programs would be frozen, Klee said all the money DEEP expected for the current fiscal year appears secure. But what will happen in the next federal budget cycle, he said, is unclear.

In a letter to DEEP staff last month, Klee stressed that although there is much uncertainty, the agency will continue to be guided by its core values.

“We believe in the science of climate change and that human activities ... have an impact on our planet and on our lives,” he wrote. “With that in mind, we will continue to stress initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the resiliency of our state in the face of climate changes we are already experiencing. From our experience, it is clear that well-designed efforts to protect the environment and address climate change are not inconsistent with economic growth. We can have clean air, water and lands and reduced greenhouse gas emissions while fostering economic development and the growth of good jobs.”

But while DEEP is committed to maintaining its focus on improving environmental quality, losing the EPA as a strong partner in that effort could weaken its effectiveness, Klee said. DEEP relies on EPA for data and research used for enforcement, to identify areas of concern and to guide habitat restoration initiatives, for example. It turns to the federal agency to enforce stricter air pollution laws in other states whose emissions drift into or otherwise affect Connecticut.

“It’s unfair to our people who have to breathe that air, and unfair to our businesses who have to comply with our stricter air pollution laws” if other states aren’t doing the same, Klee said. “To the extent that we have rules and regulations more than what the federal government requires, these are choices we make based on science and for public health, not just to be more strict.”

DEEP, he said, has a long history of good cooperation with the EPA during both Republican and Democratic presidential administrations, and would like that to continue. In two recent examples, EPA was a key partner with the state in enforcement actions in response to violations of the Clean Water Act by the Conopco Inc., also known as Unilever, in Clinton in 2013, and of the Sheffield Pharmaceuticals in New London in 2014. The $2.5 million in fines imposed in the Unilever case were used to create the Institute for Community Resilience and Climate Adaptation, located at the University of Connecticut’s Avery Point Campus in Groton.

EPA also has been an essential partner in efforts to improve water quality in Long Island Sound, joining with New York and Connecticut, Klee said.

“You do need a strong EPA presence,” Klee said. “You need them doing the science, and to bring folks to the table.”

j.benson@theday.com