Canton native McCarthy confirmed as head of EPA

After a record-long confirmation battle that included an assortment of stall tactics and 1,000-plus questions from concerned Republican leaders, former Canton health agent Gina McCarthy was confirmed by the U.S. Senate last week as the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Nominated by President Barack Obama on March 4, McCarthy, the EPA’s air chief since 2009, was formally approved by a 59-40 vote on Thursday, July 18. She was sworn in the next morning during a private ceremony at EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

“It is truly an honor of a lifetime to serve as administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and to follow through on a mission to protect human health and the environment,” McCarthy wrote on her new Facebook page that she launched on Friday. “I look forward to building on the great work EPA has already done under President Obama and my good friend and predecessor Lisa Jackson, and to leading the way toward effective and creative solutions to our environmental challenges. Now let’s get to work.”

Touted by Democrats as a longtime environmental champion, McCarthy becomes the 13^th person to lead the EPA and is expected to play a leading role in the president’s plan to fight climate change, which calls for limits on greenhouse gas emissions from new and existing power plants.

In a statement released last week, President Obama described McCarthy as a “proven leader who knows how to build bipartisan support for common-sense environmental solutions that protect the health and safety of our kids while promoting economic growth.”

“Over the past four years,” said Obama, “I have valued Gina’s counsel and I look forward to having her in my cabinet as we work to slow the effects of climate change and leave a cleaner environment for future generations.”

Prior to heading to Washington, McCarthy served as commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and has also held several key posts in Massachusetts government, including deputy secretary for the Office of Commonwealth Development and undersecretary of policy for the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs.

In total she has worked under five Massachusetts governors, from Michael Dukakis to Mitt Romney, and she also worked for a time on the Stoughton Board of Health before landing a job as Stoughton’s first environmental officer.

A native of Canton, McCarthy got her start as the town’s first full-time health officer in 1980, a position she held until 1984.

Steven Anderson, a former engineer for the Canton DPW who worked alongside McCarthy, described her as “very bright and also very disarming.”

“She has a way of talking to people on both sides of an issue, being able to listen to both sides and then make an informed decision,” Anderson told the Citizen in March.

“She was a hot ticket,” recalled Henry “Linc” Munson, whose stint as the Canton town engineer coincided with McCarthy’s time as health agent. “She was well qualified and a hard worker — just an all-around good and fun person.”

Former Board of Health member Alan Leary said McCarthy did a “great” job as Canton’s health agent, most notably in her handling of the public health scare that gripped the town following the discovery of PCBs at Indian Line Farm and Toka-Renbe Farm.

“She was very bright but she was also very down to earth and was a great problem solver,” Leary said. “She more or less was on the cutting edge as far as this region goes.”

McCarthy holds two degrees: a Bachelor of Arts in social anthropology from UMass Boston and a joint Master of Science in environmental health engineering and planning and policy from Tufts University.

She is married to Kenneth McCarey and they have three children: Daniel, Maggie and Julie.

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Posted by Jay Turner on Jul 25 2013. Filed under News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.