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 Stephanie Larson, an Environmental Inspector for the Wastewater Engineering Bureau at NHDES, and Mike Wimsatt, the Director of the Waste Management Division. Stephanie started at NHDES in 1987; Mike started at the Office of Waste Management in 1986, which was incorporated into NHDES in 1987.
Stephanie Larson
What made you want to work at NHDES in the first place?
I needed a summer job! I had a Geology degree and there weren’t too many jobs in that field at the time. I cared about the environment and NHDES was hiring.
How many and what types of positions have you held at the agency?
Two; I worked in the Subsurface Systems Bureau for a year and a half reviewing septic system plans and subdivisions. Then I moved into the WWEB into my current job.
What were the biggest environmental challenges of the day when you first started?
1987 was the end of the construction boom in the state and just the sheer amount of work that had to be reviewed was daunting. And it seemed like everyone wanted to become a septic system designer or installer back then.
What do you feel has been the biggest environmental advancement over the last 35 years?
The use of computers in our day-to-day work.
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.)
Back when I started, the agency seemed smaller and I knew everyone. Now, most of the people I knew are retiring and I don’t know anyone in the hallways.
What do you think 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?
As years have gone on, permit limits have gotten stricter and stricter, which necessitates more treatment and more advanced methods. That means the people doing the testing in the wastewater treatment plants need more education, new methods, and new equipment they have to buy. We work with the facilities to make sure they get the money they need to buy the equipment and do the treatment. A lot of what I do is technical support making sure they get what they need.
Mike Wimsatt
What made you want to work at NHDES in the first place?
I had studied environmental chemistry and wanted a career in environmental protection, so it was a great fit.
How many and what types of positions have you held at the agency?
Probably about 10 – I began as an Environmentalist II in a hazardous waste inspector position, inspecting all types of facilities, investigating citizen complaints, and doing haz-mat emergency response. Later, I transitioned into site remediation, working in and eventually overseeing NHDES’ Brownfields Program. In 2007, I began serving as the Waste Management Division Director.
What were the biggest environmental challenges of the day when you first started?
At that time, we were still discovering, with some frequency, waste sites with illegally disposed wastes and buried drums. The relatively small universe of Superfund NPL sites (fewer than 15) were receiving attention, but a host of “orphan” sites (with responsible parties either unable or unwilling to perform cleanup) were severely impacting groundwater and emerging as a difficult challenge. The universe of underground storage tanks were ageing and failing, severely impacting soil and groundwater, and with no reliable source of funding to address them. (Around this time, the Oil Discharge & Disposal Cleanup Fund was created, which was funded by a fee on all oil imported to the state. This provided the resources needed to investigate and cleanup thousands of sites.) Municipally-owned unlined landfills and “burn dumps” in nearly every town in the state were being found to cause severe environmental impacts, and our solid waste program was working to get them capped and closed, and to monitor and address groundwater contamination. (NHDES’ Landfill Closure Grant Program supported towns in their efforts to accomplish this important work.)
What do you feel has been the biggest environmental advancement over the last 35 years?
That’s a tough question. There are significant and transformational changes in all three sectors – air, water and waste, and they’re all important. Air quality has been significantly improved through both source reduction and emissions controls. Surface water quality and protection is vastly improved, due mostly to much improved wastewater treatment technology and infrastructure. And generation of hazardous waste has been significantly reduced, mostly from pollution prevention efforts and movement toward less toxic raw materials.
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.)
Over these last 35 years, NHDES’ programs have become more specialized and more professional. The level of experience and expertise of staff has increased, and we really have an impressive team! Overall, of course, this is a wonderful improvement. However, back then, coming to work at NHDES as a young person was very exciting because the agency was small and there were almost unlimited opportunities to try new things. If you were motivated and energetic, you could work on almost anything, whether or not you were actually “ready.” There were lots of problems and challenges that were waiting to be discovered and solved, and it was very satisfying work.
Is there a project that you worked on that you are particularly proud of?
Earlier in my career, I’m proud of the work we did to establish and develop the state site remediation program. More recently, I’m especially proud of the work we did with legislative leadership to ensure that the proceeds of the MTBE lawsuit would be used to establish the New Hampshire Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund, to serve as a legacy fund to support groundwater protection and safe, clean drinking water.
What do you think 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?
The biggest challenge in the waste sector will be advancing a sustainable solid waste management system for New Hampshire. In the water sector, the biggest challenge will be ensuring adequate and safe drinking water for a growing state. In the air sector (and really, crossing all media), climate change adaptation and mitigation will be the dominant challenge in the coming years. As with all problems that it seeks to solve, NHDES will need to work with state leadership to advance and support regional, national and global efforts to meet these challenges.
If you were making a “Back to the Future II” where they go ahead in time 35 years, what futuristic invention would you include that would help our environment?
Well, if we’re being totally unrealistic, a free energy source available to all that has no environmental footprint whatsoever.