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NEWS RELEASE
April 8, 2005
Contacts:
Walt Baker, Division of Water Quality, 801.538.6088
Dianne Nielson, Department of Environmental Quality, 801.536.4402
(Salt Lake City, Utah) – Walter Baker has been appointed as director of the Utah Division of Water Quality and executive secretary of the Utah Water Quality Board. Baker has been serving as interim division director and board executive secretary since May 2004.
“Walt has extensive knowledge and experience managing water quality issues,” said DEQ Executive Director Dianne Nielson. “We are fortunate to have Walt’s leadership and expertise as we work to improve and sustain the quality of Utah’s surface and ground water.”
Baker began his career with DEQ’s Division of Water Quality in 1984 as an environmental engineer. In 1988 he became the manager of the division’s Construction Assistance Section. He was then promoted in 2003 to manager of the Engineering and Water Quality Management Branch. Prior to DEQ, he worked for five years with a consulting engineering firm in Vernal.
“I appreciate Dianne’s trust. I am also keenly aware of the trust that the citizens of Utah have placed in the Division of Water Quality to uphold our mission, which is to protect Utah’s streams, lakes and ground water so their various uses can be sustained. This is an enormous challenge, but I pledge my best efforts to merit that trust,” Baker said.
Baker has been widely recognized for his service to protect and improve water quality. He recently received the Water Environment Association of Utah’s Grant K. Borg Extraordinary Service Award. In 2000, he received the Water Environment Federation’s Arthur Sidney Bedell Award. The Utah Rural Water Association named him a “Friend of Rural Water” in 1998.
His leadership experiences include serving as president of the Water Environment Association of Utah in 1998 and on the association’s Board of Directors for eight years. He served as committee chair for four years. He recently completed a one-year term as chair of the national State/EPA Revolving Fund Workgroup. Baker also participates in a number of water quality management committees, including the Western States Water Council, Bear River Commission and the Upper Colorado Basin Salinity Control Forum.
Baker is a registered professional engineer in Utah. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in civil and environmental engineering in 1979 from Utah State University.
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