Lee Zeldin has an ambitious agenda for the Environmental Protection Agency, even beyond undoing years of damage from President Joe Biden and various states — but he'll be consulting lawyers to ensure every move is lawsuit-proof, he told The Post in his first interview after being confirmed head of the powerful agency Wednesday.

Actions "have to be a result of a process where I am being briefed on the latest research and science and making a decision after the career professionals at EPA have the opportunity to share their thoughts and research with me. Durability is going to be an important priority for me with initiatives that I take," he said. "If I cut a corner that I'm not allowed to cut or prejudge an outcome that I'm not allowed to prejudge, and a state brings the EPA to court to challenge the action, a judge can overturn the action because EPA did not follow the processes required by law."

It's a wise if somewhat unsexy approach: President Trump's first executive orders faced court challenges barely before the ink had dried. But the former Long Island congressman, a lawyer himself, has plans no less bold than those of his boss.

"Being able to work with the Trump administration to unleash energy dominance, bring back American auto jobs, pursue permitting reform and make America the AI capital of the world are just some of the very important ways the EPA can help implement an agenda that helps make America prosperous again," Zeldin said.

"Artificial intelligence" aren't words normally associated with the EPA. But Zeldin, who achieved the lieutenant-colonel rank in the Army, noted "the need for more of an energy supply is going to be important" to lead the sector, which China's DeepSeek unsettled this week.

Those aren't his only top priorities; he wants to clean up the agency, which boasts 18,742 employees and a nearly $11 billion budget.

"Operationally, it's important to get employees back into the office and working and collaborating. I've been told that the EPA building is often at about 20% capacity on any given day. I'll be able to confirm that firsthand once I'm in the building," he noted.