Top North Dakota environmental regulator plans to retire this summer

BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — Dave Glatt, director of the Department of Environmental Quality, has announced his plan to retire effective July 31.

Glatt has served in state government for 43 years, including the last seven in charge of the agency and as chief of the North Dakota Department of Health’s Environmental Health Section from 2002 to 2019.

“It has been a privilege to work alongside so many dedicated professionals and North Dakotans who care deeply about protecting our shared environment,” Glatt said. “They made this work enjoyable, rewarding and meaningful, and I’m deeply grateful.”

The Department of Environmental Quality was separated from the Department of Health as a standalone agency in 2019. Former Gov. Doug Burgum appointed Glatt as the first director of the new agency.

It has a budget of $141.8 million and is authorized to employ 175 people full time in order to regulate and oversee the state’s air and water quality, among other responsibilities.

Glatt is credited with helping implement the Safe Drinking Water Act in North Dakota. Gov. Kelly Armstrong applauded Glatt’s approach to regulation as the director.

“He rejected federal overreach and ideology-based regulation, instead holding firm to a cooperative, common-sense approach that allows North Dakotans to enjoy some of the cleanest air and water in the country as our economy thrives,” Armstrong said in a statement.