NEWEA Announces Speakers for the Spring Meeting Opening Session

NEWEA’s Spring Meeting & Exhibit is an annual three-day technical meeting for water quality professionals in the wastewater industry held June 5-8, 2016 in Groton, CT. For more information visit our website. The opening session will be held Monday, June 6 at 8:00 AM in the Mystic Marriott ballroom. The speakers during our opening session will be Congressman Joe Courtney, Commissioner Rob Klee, and our keynote speaker Heather Goldstone.

Congressman Joe Courtney was elected in 2006 to represent the Second Congressional District of Connecticut in the House of Representatives. He serves on the Armed Services, and Education and Workforce Committees. As a member of the Armed Services Committee, Congressman Courtney is the Ranking Member of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee. In addition, along with Rep. Rob Wittman of Virginia, he co-chairs the bipartisan Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus. As a member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, he serves on the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions subcommittee, as well as the Higher Education and Workforce Training subcommittee. As a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, Congressman Courtney has worked to strengthen our nation’s defense by leading the call for increased submarine production. When Courtney arrived in Congress, Electric Boat was facing significant workforce reductions, and, for the first time in 50 years, was not actively designing the next generation of submarine. Having served as a member of the House Agriculture Committee, Congressman Courtney is a vocal proponent for nearly 2,500 farmers across eastern Connecticut. Courtney is the founding co- chairman of the Congressional Dairy Farmers Caucus, and has worked tirelessly to protect family farms from foreclosure and fix the flawed milk pricing system. Dedicated to preserving our green space and protecting the environment, Courtney introduced and won passage of a law that designated the Eight-mile River in Connecticut as a part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Thanks to his efforts, this pristine and scenic watershed will be preserved for generations to come. Before serving in the House of Representatives, Joe Courtney represented the citizens of Vernon in the Connecticut General Assembly from 1987 to 1994. During this tenure, then state-Rep. Courtney served as House Chairman for both the Public Health and Human Services Committees.

Rob Klee is the Commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). Commissioner Klee was appointed by Governor Dannel P. Malloy in January 2014. DEEP is the state agency charged with conserving, improving and protecting the state’s natural resources and environment, providing first-rate outdoor recreation opportunities, and bringing cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable energy to Connecticut’s residents and businesses. DEEP is focused on integrating energy and environmental policies and helping Connecticut to build a sustainable and prosperous 21st-century economy. Commissioner Klee joined DEEP in April 2011 as Chief of Staff. In that role he oversaw the work of the agency, supported the efforts of the Commissioner, and advised the Commissioner and senior staff on a wide range of environmental and energy policy issues. Prior to joining state service, Commissioner Klee was an attorney with Wiggin and Dana LLP, in New Haven, where he specialized in appellate work and energy and environmental law. From 2004 to 2005 Commissioner Klee worked as a Law Clerk for the U.S. District Court in Connecticut and from 2005 to 2006 as a Law Clerk for the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals. He served as a Research Affiliate in the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies from 2006 to 2008. Commissioner Klee holds a Ph.D. from Yale’s School of Forestry & Environmental Studies in industrial ecology, a law degree from Yale, and an undergraduate degree from Princeton in geology and environmental science. Commissioner Klee and his wife Anne have two sons.

Heather Goldstone is science correspondent for WCAI, the Cape and Islands NPR Station and WGBH Radio, Boston’s NPR Station, and host of Living Lab, a weekly live interview show about science and culture. She holds a Ph.D. in ocean science from M.I.T. and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and has spent a decade as an active researcher. Heather’s reporting about scientific and environmental issues on Cape Cod has appeared on NPR, PBS News Hour, The Takeaway, and PRI’s The World. In 2014, she was named WGBH’s Margret and Hans Rey/Curious George Producer for her wide-ranging curiosity in reporting. Most recently, Heather hosted the blog Climatide, an exploration of how climate change is impacting coastal life in the region.