DEP says goodbye to Austin Caperton By January 18, 2021 - 1:30 pm Now former DEP Secretary Austin Caperton touts a clean air milestone along with Gov. Jim Justice (Governor's Office) CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The only cabinet secretary in the Justice administration to leave as the second term gets underway is state Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Austin Caperton. Austin Caperton His previously announced retirement took effect at midnight Monday. Gov. Jim Justice has yet to name a replacement. In a farewell video posted Monday by the DEP, Caperton,69, said when people called him Mr. Secretary it reminded him of the “awesome responsibility that the citizens of West Virginia and the governor put on him to do the job and do the job well.”