Robert Klee Named New DEEP Commissioner

Governor Dannel P. Malloy appointed Robert of New Haven to serve as Commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).

Klee currently serves as Chief of Staff at DEEP. In that role, he has been responsible for
supervising the operations of the agency while also serving as a key advisor to the Commissioner and senior staff on a wide number of environmental and energy policy issues handled by the department.

In a press release from the DEEP, Klee said, "I am honored to be nominated as Commissioner and it will be a privilege to serve the state of Connecticut in this capacity. Governor Malloy and Commissioner Esty have developed a forward-looking agenda for this agency that has made Connecticut a national leader in our approach to environmental and energy policy.  I look forward to building upon their efforts and to implementing the many groundbreaking programs we have developed with the help of a dedicated DEEP staff, the legislature, the business community, and environmental and energy advocates.”
 
Prior to joining DEEP, Klee was an attorney with Wiggin and Dana, LLP, in New Haven, where he specialized in appellate work and energy and environmental law.  He holds a law degree from Yale, a Ph.D. from Yale’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in industrial ecology, and an undergraduate degree from Princeton in geology and environmental science.

Klee will succeed Commissioner Daniel C. Esty, who recently announced he will be returning to Yale University after a three-year leave of absence from his tenured professorship at the school.