BATON ROUGE - Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Aurelia Giacometto stepped aside from her position to take a role at a Washington D.C. law firm, Gov. Jeff Landry said Friday.

Giacometto accepted a position with Earth and Water Law, resulting in her leaving her position she held since January 2024.

According to The Advocate, Giacometto received complaints regarding staffers upset at her management style, including departures from her appointed staff.

Landry appointed Courtney Burdette as the next secretary of the department; Burdette served as executive counsel at LDEQ and had been with the department since 2014.