NASHVILLE (AP) – The Environmental Council of the States has elected Tennessee's Bob Martineau as its new president.

Martineau, the commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, said he wants use his term as head of the national group to give the states a stronger voice on regulatory matters with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

In Martineau's words, "state primacy and autonomy must be respected."

Founded in 1993, the Environmental Council of the States is a nonpartisan association of state and territorial environmental agency leaders. Its mission is to improve human health and the environment through advocacy, exchange of ideas and coordination between the states.

Republican Gov. Bill Haslam named Martineau, a former EPA lawyer, commissioner of the state department in 2011.