35 Years at NHDES: perspective from staff who have helped shape the agency from the beginning

In honor of NHDES’ 35th anniversary, we are asking staff who have been here since the agency’s formation to look back at their time here and what they see for our future. In this edition, we hear from Water Division Director, Rene Pelletier.

Rene Pelletier has been with NHDES from the very beginning; in fact he started working for the state agency that was one of the precursors to NHDES – the Water Supply and Pollution Control Commission – in 1973. Pelletier started out in the limnology program and worked in the Subsurface Systems Bureau for several years. Over the course of his career, he has been the administrator of the Drinking Water and Groundwater Bureau (13 years), then the administrator of the Subsurface Systems Bureau (12 years) and the assistant Water Division director until being named the division director earlier this year.  

What made you want to work at NHDES in the first place?

When I think about ’73 when I started, the main functions were water quality in the biology section of lake monitoring and those types of things, which I found intriguing. At that time, I had a degree in biology and chemistry, so it was a good fit. Also those were the years where major amounts of federal money were put into building wastewater treatment facilities, so when I first came to Concord and looked around, and I saw the shape that the Merrimack (River) was in, I thought well this would be a good career path. So, to look at the environmental issues that we're facing and be a part of the programs that were on a mission to clean them up.

What were the biggest environmental challenges of the day when you first started here?

I think the biggest problems were to ensure we have safe drinking water for all people in New Hampshire, as well as cleaning up the lakes and rivers so they're all at some point going to become fishable, swimmable. So, the goal was far-reaching. I think there were a lot of opportunities within DES as the agency with the multiple programs that were in the Water Division, which is what I was in, so I found it intriguing and a good public policy position. It was great over the years to see the environment just get better and better and better.

What do you feel has been the biggest environmental advancement over the last 35 years?

I would have to say considering what it was like when I first started years ago, I think to see all of the wastewater treatment facilities that were built to clean up discharges to the rivers of the state. That to me was – there were millions and millions of dollars spent to build treatment plants and millions of dollars spent to close open reservoirs storing water for drinking. So those are two major improvements over my career.

How has the agency changed over the last 35 years? (The good, the bad, the size of the agency, the focus of the agency, etc.)

Well, I think the focus is clearly changed. I think when DES started it then became part of the water resources board, so the wetlands program was brought into DES. I think there was a commissioner at that level instead of an executive director, which is where I came from. I think I've seen nothing but improvement. I've seen legislation that came about to further enhance the quality of the environment in New Hampshire for all of its citizens, and I think that was a major focus of the agency. It's now grown to some 400 people. When I started in ’73, the agency that I was in (Water Supply and Pollution Control), I was the 54th person hired. You know, back in those days we didn't have the Waste Division and the Air Division, so the agency has blossomed. We've gone not only into the engineering world, but into the hydrogeology world, and we've got a lot of professional geologists, hydrologists and it's not just totally focused on engineering for water and wastewater.

Is there a project you worked on that you are particularly proud of?

Yeah, I think the one that stands out over my lengthy career is creating the LRM [Land Resources Management] programs within the land-based development programs. I think to get some sort of organizational structure to make sure that all the land-based programs, like wetlands, subsurface and alteration of terrain, continue to be interactive and make sure conversations amongst those programs were continual. I would say that was a three- or four-year project to try and get a structure that would work, and we now have an LRM Administrator, Phil Trowbridge. I think as time has gone on it's been something that has been quite successful, so that's probably one of the larger long-term projects I worked on.

What do you think will be the biggest environmental priorities for the next 5, 10, 15, or 35 years? And what do you think NHDES can do to tackle these challenges?

Obviously, the elephant in the room is climate change. I think, you know, people are going to be concerned about sea level rise, warming oceans and all of those types of things, but I also think that stormwater is going to be the next big issue – about how development is controlled and what we do with stormwater. And the long and short of it is, continue to be diligent on groundwater protection, you know, make sure that what's going in the ground anywhere is not going to taint the groundwater systems, like PFAS has done over the years. We're going to have to be diligent, and it's like water quality and lakes, you can't rest on your laurels. You have to continually focus on issues that protect the State of New Hampshire and its citizens for the future.

If you were remaking “Back to the Future II” where they go ahead in time 35 years, what futuristic invention would you include that would help our environment?

I would try to create some sort of revenue source where money was not a big focal point for enhancing environmental outcomes. I think we do a lot of things based on what funding is available; I think there's many more things the agency could do if it had not so much of a difficulty in achieving funding for a particular mission. So, my goal would be to come up with some sort of system that would generate revenue that would allow programs to blossom even further than they do, and I think we could have a lot more greater enhancements to environmental outcomes.

In summary:

I've been here, you know, my total environmental career has been 49 years, and it's been a treat. I've been in so many different positions and had what I consider to be many career changes without leaving home base, if you will. … It’s been an exciting career, and it's been a pleasure to have the ability to be part of the staffing that improve the environment, which is a constant work, and I think we do a very good job of that at DES.