Catherine McCabe has been appointed as a Maryland commissioner to ICPRB. The Bethesda, Md., resident had a long career in public service in the field of environmental protection, serving as an environmental attorney and high-level government executive at the federal and state levels, including the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and the New York State Attorney General’s office.

As Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection from 2018 to January 2021, McCabe led ground-breaking initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, build resilience to climate change, revitalize water infrastructure, prevent contamination of drinking water with lead and emerging chemical contaminants, and promote environmental justice and reinvigoration of underserved communities.  Under her leadership, New Jersey was a leader in addressing PFA contamination in drinking water, becoming the first state to issue regulatory limits, and enacted a landmark environmental justice law to prevent disproportionate location of polluting industries in overburdened communities.

McCabe previously served as the acting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator and acting Region 2 administrator in 2017. She also previously worked as the deputy administrator for EPA Region 2 . She was a judge on the EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board from 2011 to 2014 and a deputy assistant administrator of the agency’s office of enforcement and compliance assurance from 2005 to 2011. McCabe worked for the U.S. Department of Justice for 22 years. Prior to working for the federal government, McCabe was an assistant attorney general for New York.^[3]

Her experiences make her a valuable addition in helping guide ICPRB in its mission to protect and preserve the water and associated resources of the Potomac Basin. Welcome aboard, Ms. McCabe!