BEACON HILL BEAT
SEPTEMBER 2006
ARLEEN O’DONNELL APPOINTED ACTING DEP COMMISSIONER
Governor Mitt Romney appointed Arleen O’Donnell Acting Commissioner for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), replacing Bob Golledge who the Governor appointed Secretary of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA).
O’Donnell has been with the DEP for 17 years, most recently as the Deputy Commissioner for Policy and Planning, where she was responsible for policy and regulatory issues, strategic planning, information management and the Office of Research and Standards. From 1989 to 2000, she was Assistant Commissioner in charge of the Bureau of Resource Protection, where she managed water resources regulatory programs as well as the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) program. At DEP, O’Donnell helped to implement the voluntary dental mercury amalgam reduction program, successfully reducing the amount of mercury entering the environment. She also managed the promulgation of both the Rivers Protection Act and stormwater regulations, helped to tighten rules for drinking water regulations and worked with the Secretary of Environmental Affairs on the Statewide Watershed Initiative.
Prior to joining DEP, O’Donnell was Director of Education and Public Policy for the Massachusetts Audubon Society, where she worked on environmental policies and legislation. She also worked on regional and local environmental issues at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council in Boston and for the towns of Braintree and Concord.
O’Donnell graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with degrees in Zoology and Environmental Science and earned a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering and Urban/Environmental Policy from Tufts University. She has received numerous awards for her environmental work, including the 2000 Public Servant of the Year Award from the Environmental League of Massachusetts and the 2000 Government Service Award from the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association.
GOVERNOR ROMNEY SIGNS I-CUBED LEGISLATION
Governor Romney signed the Infrastructure Improvement Initiative (I-Cubed) legislation into law creating a new public infrastructure financing method for large private developments. The economic development bill authorizes the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency to issue bonds for the purpose of financing public infrastructure improvements, including waster and sewer projects, related to certified economic development projects. Developers will be required to file an economic development proposal with the municipality prior to a project being eligible for I-Cubed funding. The law limits participation to five I-Cubed projects and requires projects to have local approval and signoffs from the local treasurer and Secretary of Administration and Finance.
~FEDERAL LEVEL~
PRESIDENT BUSH NOMINATES MARY PETERS
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
President Bush nominated Mary Peters US Secretary of Transportation, replacing Norman Mineta. Peters currently serves as Senior Vice President at HDR, Inc. a major engineering firm where she Co-Chairs the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Commission, a position that President Bush had also appointed her to. From 2001 to 2005 Peters served as Head of the Federal Highway Administration where she led efforts to improve safety and security, reduce traffic congestion, and modernize America's roads and bridges. She encouraged the use of new technologies that reduce construction time and expense and result in safer, longer-lasting highways and led a national campaign to improve safety in highway work zones. Peters also led the Federal Highway Administration's efforts to complete a multi-year authorization of surface transportation programs. Before coming to Washington, Peters served as Director of the Arizona Department of Transportation where she worked her way up through the ranks during a 16-year career.
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