R.I.'s Spalding named New England EPA chief

By Beth Daley

After months of speculating, Curt Spalding, the longtime executive director of Save the Bay in Rhode Island, has just been named New England’s U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief.

Curt Spalding (Save The Bay photo)

Spalding was considered a strong candidate, but pundits were placing bets on Charlie Lord, who helped found Boston College’s Urban Ecology Institute or David Cash, Massachusetts assistant secretary for policy at the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

Months have gone by without an appointment and the decision is being met at the EPA with relief there is a new leader at the helm. Former Bush-era New England EPA chief Robert Varney left for the private sector months ago.

This from an EPA announcement: “Spalding has extensive experience as an advocate, policy analyst and administrator. For almost 20 years he served as Executive Director of Save the Bay Rhode Island, a 20,000 member environmental advocacy and education organization. He established the Narragansett BayKeeper and Habitat Restoration programs which reconnected Save The Bay to ecologically important Bay issues and oversaw the successful completion of the $9 million Explore The Bay Campaign and construction of the Save The Bay Center at Fields Point in Providence, RI. Prior to joining Save the Bay, Spalding was an Environmental Protection Specialist and Presidential Management Intern at EPA’s offices in Boston and Washington, D.C. Spalding received his bachelor’s degree from Hobart College and an M.P.A. from SUNY at Albany in Albany, NY.”

"It is an honor to be selected by President Obama and I look forward
to working with Administrator Jackson as we help our communities and
build a green economy,’’ Spalding said in a prepared statement. “Years ago, I had the choice of any federal agency to work for, and I chose EPA. My passion for EPA's mission is no less today than it was then. As Regional Administrator I look forward to working with the dedicated EPA New England team in confronting the environmental challenges currently before us. I am proud to serve the people throughout New England at this time of great promise in protecting human health and the environment."