Gov. Kelly Armstrong today thanked North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Director Dave Glatt for his 43 years of service to the state as Glatt announced his retirement as the first – and only – director of DEQ since it became a standalone agency in 2019. His retirement is effective July 31.
“Dave has dedicated more than four decades of his life to protecting North Dakota’s air, land and water with a regulatory approach that boils down to one simple rule: follow the science,” Armstrong said. “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. We’ll miss Dave’s leadership, his expertise and his wry sense of humor. We thank him for his exceptional service and wish him all the best in retirement.”
Glatt was appointed DEQ director in May 2019 by then-Gov. Doug Burgum and reappointed by Armstrong in 2024. Prior to that, he served as chief of the North Dakota Department of Health’s Environmental Health Section from 2002 to 2019. He also previously served as the section’s Division of Waste Management director, interim director of Consolidated Laboratories, Division of Water Quality assistant director, and Groundwater Protection Program manager.
During his long career in state government, Glatt helped implement the Safe Drinking Water Act in North Dakota and was the state project manager for an EPA Superfund project to address high arsenic levels in groundwater in southeastern North Dakota. Through collaboration with government at all levels, industry and citizens of the state, Glatt helped ensure that North Dakota remains a clean air state, maintains high regulatory standards and leads through the efficient implementation of all environmental protection programs.
“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.”
Born in Valley City and raised in Milpitas, Calif., Glatt graduated from North Dakota State University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in environmental engineering. He briefly worked for the Los Angeles Flood Control District before returning to North Dakota in 1983, joining the Department of Health.
The 2017 Legislative Assembly passed legislation separating the Environmental Health Section from the Department of Health to create the standalone DEQ. On April 29, 2019, DEQ became an independent agency after all programs completed a federal review and approval process.
Currently, DEQ has a two-year total budget of $141.8 million and is authorized for 175 full-time employees in six divisions: Air Quality, Chemistry, Municipal Facilities, Waste Management, and Office of Director.