Mark Sanborn, former assistant commissioner at New Hampshire’s environmental agency, has been appointed by President Donald Trump to lead the Environmental Protection Agency’s New England office.

“I look forward to working with EPA leadership and the Region 1 workforce to foster clean air, safe water, and healthy land while encouraging sound economic growth,” said Sanborn in a statement.

His appointment raised concerns among some environmental advocates, particularly given his past ties to the waste industry.

Sanborn resigned from New Hampshire’s Department of Environmental Services in 2023, just eight months after being reappointed as assistant commissioner.

His departure came three months after the Monitor reported on emails showing that he and Michael Wimsatt, the state’s Waste Management Division Director, consulted with Casella Waste Systems’ lawyer, who had lobbied for the waste company.

The emails obtained through a right-to-know request by Jon Swan, who has been fighting against the waste company’s proposed landfill in the northern part of the state, reveal communications on revisions to a Senate Bill language related to landfill siting.

Wimsatt defended the discussions, saying it’s common practice for DES to work with a range of stakeholders, including lobbyists.

Sanborn said he was not available for an interview for this story.

As the regional administrator of EPA operations for New England, Sanborn will oversee efforts to advance federal environmental goals across the six states and 10 federally recognized Tribal Nations.

Advocates at the Conservation Law Foundation see Sanborn’s correspondence as a sign of excessive industry influence and are concerned about his appointment with the EPA.

“At a time when New Hampshire was being inundated with out-of-state trash, Mark Sanborn worked with waste industry lobbyists to let even more waste in,” said Brad Campbell, CLF President “making him an apt choice for an EPA Administrator and President systematically dismantling EPA’s capacity to protect public health and the environment.”

 

Sruthi Gopalakrishnan can be reached at sgopalakrishnan@cmonitor.com