Leadership

Robert R. Scott, Commissioner

Commissioner Robert R. Scott has served as the NHDES Commissioner since June 2017. Commissioner Scott previously worked for NHDES for 17 years in the Air Resources Division, as Director of the division from 2003 to 2012. Between 2012 and 2017, Bob served as Commissioner at the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission.

Commissioner Scott started his career as an engineer in private industry, a position he held from 1990 to 1995, and as a munitions and aircraft maintenance officer in the US Air Force from 1986 to 1990. In 2016 he retired as a cyberspace operations officer with the Air National Guard after 30 years of military service, having commanded three Air Force squadrons in his career. Commissioner Scott has a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Lehigh University.

In addition to his duties as NHDES Commissioner, he serves as cybersecurity advisor for critical infrastructure to Governor Sununu. In that role, he is Managing Director of the New England Utility Cybersecurity Integration Collaborative and oversees initiatives to enhance critical infrastructure cybersecurity for drinking water and wastewater treatment systems and dams and the energy sector. In 2023 he was appointed to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Cybersecurity Advisory Committee (CSAC) to advise the Director on policies and initiatives to enhance the nation's cyber defense. He also currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Inc. (RGGI).

Over the course of his career, Commissioner Scott has worked closely with diverse stakeholders in addressing many of the major public health, environmental and infrastructure challenges facing the State; such as, the extensive work the department has done in the area of PFAS contamination, the implementation of the Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund, and continuing work on program process improvements.

Adam Crepeau, Assistant Commissioner

On December 20, 2023, the Governor and Executive Council approved Adam Crepeau to be the Assistant Commissioner of NHDES. Before becoming Assistant Commissioner, Adam served in Governor Chris Sununu’s administration as Policy Director and other policy-related roles for nearly four years. In that time, he worked extensively with every agency and department in state government as well as the Legislature to accomplish the administration’s priorities. Adam liaised with NHDES for his entire tenure in the Governor’s Office. Additionally, he provided strategic advice to the Governor on a wide variety of topics, including environmental and infrastructure-related issues. Adam has a B.A. in Political Science and Justice Studies from the University of New Hampshire. 

Before working in New Hampshire state government, Adam was a Policy Analyst at the Maine Policy Institute and served as a Special Assistant to Maine Governor Paul LePage. Through Adam’s experience in state government and public policy, he brings a collaborative approach to solving complex and ever-changing issues to NHDES. 
 

Craig A. Wright, Air Resources Division

Craig has served as the director of the NHDES Air Resources Division since September 2013. Craig has worked in the field of air pollution control at the department for over 30 years. The Air Resources Division regulates air pollution from industrial and electric generating facilities, monitors air quality across the state and conducts programs to reduce air emissions from other source categories, such as motor vehicles, to ensure that New Hampshire meets federal Clean Air Act standards. Craig holds a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire.        

Michael Wimsatt, Waste Management Division

Mike has over 30 years of experience with NHDES, including hazardous waste (RCRA) compliance and enforcement, emergency response/incident management, and waste site cleanup and redevelopment. He served as NHDES’ brownfields program manager from 2000-2007, and has served as director of the Waste Management Division since 2007. As director, Mike is responsible for solid and hazardous waste management, petroleum tanks compliance, hazardous materials/emergency response, state and federal waste site cleanup, NHDES’ emerging contaminant remediation program, and administration of the Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund. He holds a B.S. in Chemistry from the State University of New York at Syracuse, and an M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of New Hampshire.

Rene Pelletier, Water Division

On January 12, 2022, Governor Sununu appointed Rene Pelletier as the Director of the Water Division. Rene has 48 years of experience with NHDES. Rene has worked in all water-related programs at NHDES and its predecessor, the Water Supply and Pollution Control Commission (1973 to 1987) during his career. For the past 10 years, Rene has been serving as the Assistant Director of the Water Division. Prior to that position, he managed many of the individual programs within the Division Throughout his career, he has provided program oversight and assisted program implementation in multiple programs/bureaus within the Water Division. These programs include Subsurface Systems, Alteration of Terrain, Drinking Water and Groundwater, Wetlands Bureau, Dam Bureau, Wastewater Engineering, Watershed Management and the Winnipesaukee River Basin Program. Rene holds an M.S.in Civil Engineering from the University of New Hampshire.

Susan Carlson, Chief Operations Officer