During his 20 years as executive director of Save The Bay, Curt Spalding sparked construction of the Save The Bay Center, spurred the construction of new sewer systems throughout the state and oversaw the $9 million Explore the Bay campaign that expanded the organization’s educational efforts.

Now the Cranston resident faces his biggest challenge yet, as the new regional administrator for the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

“I’m very pleased about it,” Spalding said. “It’s an agency I’ve always admired and it’s just where I think I belong.”

As regional administrator, he will work to ensure the priorities outlined at the national level are considered in New England. When he first learned such an opportunity was available, Spalding expressed his interest to Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation. After the announcement, Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, as well as Representatives Patrick Kennedy and Jim Langevin, applauded the Rhode Islander.

“His success in pollution prevention, conservation efforts and habitat restoration programs for communities throughout southern New England make him exceptionally qualified for the job,” Reed said.

The position is filled at the pleasure of the president, as well as EPA administrator Lisa Jackson, so he closely watched the 2008 election cycle to see how his chances would shape up.

“The process took some time,” he said.

But the result was in his favor. President Barack Obama announced Spalding as his selection on Nov. 5. He will start his new position on Nov. 30.

“At this moment of great challenge and even greater opportunity, I’m thrilled that Curt will be part of our leadership team at EPA,” Jackson said.

Spalding believes his experiences at Save The Bay will serve him well in this new leadership role. When he was first offered the job, he was excited to take on such a major challenge.

“At the time I welcomed the idea of being close to the ground and also part of a larger movement,” he said, noting that the quality of Narragansett Bay 50 years ago was nothing like what it is today. He cites the Combined Sewer Overflow system, which reduces the discharge of sewage or rainwater overflow, as a major win for improving the bay. Moreover, he sees the educational outreach the organization has done as creating a future generation of activists for the bay.

“I’m very proud of that,” he said. “If Narragansett Bay is healthy then the community will be healthier in the long run.”

Prior to his two decades of service at Save The Bay, Spalding was an environmental protection specialist and presidential management intern at EPA’s offices in Boston and Washington, D.C. The intern program puts individuals on track to lead public agencies, which is an opportunity Spalding welcomed.

“I believe government can do good and I set out to start a career to do that,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to do public service and this is another opportunity to serve your country.”

Despite a long career in the environmental arena, Spalding’s background comes from the policy side. Originally from upstate New York, he majored in political science at Hobart College before getting his Masters in public administration for policy analysis from SUNY Albany.

“While it’s certainly about good science, it’s also about good social science and good political science. You can’t achieve all the goals of the agency without having all three of these capabilities,” he said.

The 50-year-old Spalding’s interest in the environment comes at a more personal level. An avid sailor, he said Rhode Island was a good fit when the time came to relocate, both for its proximity to Boston where he was working and Cambridge where his wife was working as a chief science officer, and for its abundance of shoreline.

“I’ve always been connected to the environment. That connection to the water is something I want to maintain,” he said.

Although he claims to be no expert on the science behind his policy decisions, Spalding speaks knowledgably about environmental issues facing the region and the globe. Clean water and climate change are issues he sees playing out on the national and local stage.

“Everyone thinks in this big picture of melting polar ice caps but I think in the next decade we’re going to see these impacts in our community,” he said.

There are still those who want to ignore changes, he said, but warming has already taken place in Rhode Island waters and soon, the effects will be impossible to ignore.

“In Rhode Island, sea level rise is going to become a serious issue. Within 10 years probably or less, you’re going to have issues of beaches disappearing completely,” he added.

In order to tackle those issues, Spalding anticipates long days ahead. It will be taxing on his family, with a son preparing to graduate from La Salle Academy in the spring and a daughter at the Lincoln School, but he says it is a job he has thought of for quite some time. His initial goal is to build trust and relationships with the government and private entities, and even individuals that make up the complex network of environmental protection.

“There’s an awful lot to learn. I’ll get on the train in the early morning and go home pretty late at night,” he said, “but especially now in this challenging time, people need to make that commitment to public service. I look forward to the challenge.”