11-12-2004, 11:13 AM
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Rell Taps New DEP Chief
McCarthy Served In Massachusetts Environmental Posts
November 11, 2004
By CHRISTOPHER KEATING, Capitol Bureau Chief
Gov. M. Jodi Rell chose a Massachusetts woman Wednesday as the new state Department of Environmental Protection commissioner, replacing the controversial Arthur Rocque.
Gina McCarthy, 50, a longtime environmentalist who has held high-powered positions in the Massachusetts state government for the past 15 years, was picked after a nationwide search that narrowed the field to five finalists. She currently serves as a deputy secretary for operations in Republican Gov. Mitt Romney's office, helping to oversee policy on the environment, transportation, energy and housing. Before that, she was an undersecretary at an umbrella agency that oversees the departments of environmental protection and conservation, among others.
McCarthy will replace Rocque, a career DEP employee who retired last month from an agency that was involved in a series of high-profile controversies under former Gov. John G. Rowland. The agency currently is the subject of a federal grand jury investigation regarding work done at the private homes of DEP employees by a North Haven company that is the state's largest environmental contractor.
Working at a number of agencies with long names and long titles, McCarthy has helped tackle some of the biggest environmental challenges in her state: cleaning Boston Harbor, improving coal-fired power plants and reducing toxic waste.
"I have said all along that Connecticut's next DEP commissioner must be a person of unquestioned vision, leadership, and commitment to the environment," said Rell, echoing comments she made when she launched the national search in August. "Gina McCarthy has consistently displayed those qualities in her exemplary work in Massachusetts."
Rell's latest appointment continues a trend of appointing women to high-level positions that had previously been held by men under Rowland and other governors. Rell picked M. Lisa Moody as the first female chief of staff in more than 25 years, and she chose Marie C. O'Brien as the first woman ever to head the Connecticut Development Authority. If confirmed by the legislature in January, McCarthy would be the first female head of the DEP since Leslie Carothers served more than a decade ago.
Three women were among the five finalists for the $114,000-per-year DEP job, said Dennis Schain, Rell's spokesman.
While saying that she still needs to study the issues carefully in Connecticut, McCarthy said in a telephone interview Wednesday that some of her top priorities would include the cleanup of Long Island Sound, improving air quality, and preserving farmland and open space.
"I'm going to be doing a lot of homework," said McCarthy, whose appointment is effective Dec. 10.
McCarthy said she is familiar, through newspaper reports, with one of the longest-running clashes in the state's environmental world: the battle over power-plant emissions from aging facilities that have been dubbed the "Filthy Five" and the "Sooty Six."
"We had those, too," McCarthy said, referring to similar problems in Massachusetts. That state handled the problems through regulation, not legislation, she said.
The perennial battle over the power plants has led to emotional debates and annual clashes at the state Capitol as environmentalists called for better air quality, particularly in urban areas. Rowland vetoed the Sooty Six bill in June 2001 before signing a compromise measure the next year.
In Massachusetts, McCarthy was involved with efforts to clean up Boston Harbor - a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar job.
"Boston Harbor was a huge challenge," McCarthy said. "Boston Harbor [now] is a clean harbor. It's wonderful. We have dolphins back swimming."
Rell said McCarthy is "someone with the ability to strike the proper balance between the need to protect our environment with the need for continued economic growth."
She is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts with a degree in social anthropology and has a master's degree in environmental and health planning from Tufts University.
In Connecticut, she will take over one of the state's largest agencies - a high-profile organization with more than 900 employees and an annual operating budget of about $120 million.
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Rell Taps New DEP Chief
McCarthy Served In Massachusetts Environmental Posts
November 11, 2004
By CHRISTOPHER KEATING, Capitol Bureau Chief
Gov. M. Jodi Rell chose a Massachusetts woman Wednesday as the new state Department of Environmental Protection commissioner, replacing the controversial Arthur Rocque.
Gina McCarthy, 50, a longtime environmentalist who has held high-powered positions in the Massachusetts state government for the past 15 years, was picked after a nationwide search that narrowed the field to five finalists. She currently serves as a deputy secretary for operations in Republican Gov. Mitt Romney's office, helping to oversee policy on the environment, transportation, energy and housing. Before that, she was an undersecretary at an umbrella agency that oversees the departments of environmental protection and conservation, among others.
McCarthy will replace Rocque, a career DEP employee who retired last month from an agency that was involved in a series of high-profile controversies under former Gov. John G. Rowland. The agency currently is the subject of a federal grand jury investigation regarding work done at the private homes of DEP employees by a North Haven company that is the state's largest environmental contractor.
Working at a number of agencies with long names and long titles, McCarthy has helped tackle some of the biggest environmental challenges in her state: cleaning Boston Harbor, improving coal-fired power plants and reducing toxic waste.
"I have said all along that Connecticut's next DEP commissioner must be a person of unquestioned vision, leadership, and commitment to the environment," said Rell, echoing comments she made when she launched the national search in August. "Gina McCarthy has consistently displayed those qualities in her exemplary work in Massachusetts."
Rell's latest appointment continues a trend of appointing women to high-level positions that had previously been held by men under Rowland and other governors. Rell picked M. Lisa Moody as the first female chief of staff in more than 25 years, and she chose Marie C. O'Brien as the first woman ever to head the Connecticut Development Authority. If confirmed by the legislature in January, McCarthy would be the first female head of the DEP since Leslie Carothers served more than a decade ago.
Three women were among the five finalists for the $114,000-per-year DEP job, said Dennis Schain, Rell's spokesman.
While saying that she still needs to study the issues carefully in Connecticut, McCarthy said in a telephone interview Wednesday that some of her top priorities would include the cleanup of Long Island Sound, improving air quality, and preserving farmland and open space.
"I'm going to be doing a lot of homework," said McCarthy, whose appointment is effective Dec. 10.
McCarthy said she is familiar, through newspaper reports, with one of the longest-running clashes in the state's environmental world: the battle over power-plant emissions from aging facilities that have been dubbed the "Filthy Five" and the "Sooty Six."
"We had those, too," McCarthy said, referring to similar problems in Massachusetts. That state handled the problems through regulation, not legislation, she said.
The perennial battle over the power plants has led to emotional debates and annual clashes at the state Capitol as environmentalists called for better air quality, particularly in urban areas. Rowland vetoed the Sooty Six bill in June 2001 before signing a compromise measure the next year.
In Massachusetts, McCarthy was involved with efforts to clean up Boston Harbor - a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar job.
"Boston Harbor was a huge challenge," McCarthy said. "Boston Harbor [now] is a clean harbor. It's wonderful. We have dolphins back swimming."
Rell said McCarthy is "someone with the ability to strike the proper balance between the need to protect our environment with the need for continued economic growth."
She is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts with a degree in social anthropology and has a master's degree in environmental and health planning from Tufts University.
In Connecticut, she will take over one of the state's largest agencies - a high-profile organization with more than 900 employees and an annual operating budget of about $120 million.
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