Secretary Michael Regan of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has named Tim Baumgartner as director of the agency’s Division of Mitigation Services. Baumgartner has served as the division’s acting director since February.
The Division of Mitigation Services manages in-lieu fee programs to assist private and public entities with mitigation requirements for impacts to streams, wetlands and buffers. Receipts from the programs are used for stream, wetland and buffer restoration in areas of the state where the need is greatest.
“The mitigation services program is an important tool for balancing economic growth and development with the protection of our state’s natural resources,” Regan said. “Tim’s experience and leadership will be invaluable assets as we work to improve programs across the division.”
Baumgartner has more than 18 years’ experience working with compensatory mitigation in both the private and public sectors. As a private mitigation provider, he developed and managed multiple stream and wetland mitigation projects for public and private uses. The last decade of his career has been spent working with the state’s mitigation programs, starting as a project manager and working his way up to the position of director.
A native of Johnston County and N.C. State University graduate, Baumgartner lives on a small farm in Clayton with his wife, Sherry, and their two dogs.