Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (“ADEQ”) Regulated Storage Tanks Division (“RSTD”) Enforcement/Compliance Branch Manager Terry Perry will retire November 30th.
Mr. Perry has served in various capacities at the agency for over 28 years.
Mr. Perry spent the past 20 years as Enforcement/Compliance Branch Manager of the RSTD.
This position requires management of 16 enforcement/inspection personnel whose jurisdiction involves regulation of underground storage tanks (“USTs”). Because USTs are utilized by a wide array of operators such as local government, agriculture, small businesses, retail facilities, trucking operations, etc., the RSTD has often faced the challenge of regulating entities that have not faced controls by older laws such as the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, etc. As a result, RSTD personnel have often had to balance the twin goals of education and enforcement.
Steve Ferren, Executive Vice President of the Arkansas Oil Marketers Association (“AOMA”) noted:
The underground storage tank regulatory program has been a critical issue for our members for over 25 years. We have always appreciated the fact that Terry put as much emphasis on education as enforcement.
As General Counsel of AOMA and representing a number of its members, I always found Terry both practical and accessible in terms of implementing what at times could be a complex program.
Danny Murdaugh of Pollution Management, Inc. noted:
I’ve known Terry longer than either of us would probably care to admit. Someone once said, “ A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination” and Terry was proof of that. He was firm, but fair and he will be missed both within and outside the Department by those of us who relied upon his knowledge, experience, and wisdom.
Prior to joining the RST Division in 1990, Terry served as an Emergency Coordinator and Hazardous Waste Inspector at ADEQ. His state service also included work as a sanitarian for the Arkansas Department of Health and a surveyor and administrator in the Office of Long-Term Care, Arkansas Department of Human Services.
The Perry family will continue to serve RSTD. His wife Lynda, one of the original three “founding” personnel in RSTD, is a Branch Manager who coordinates the Petroleum Storage Tank Trust Fund.
I know Terry will be missed by his ADEQ colleagues and the regulated community.
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