I recall being awestruck standing in the back of the governor’s outer office on April 22, 1970. It was my first visit to the State House, and I was there to observe Gov. William T. Cahill approve the bill that would establish the Department of Environmental Protection, fittingly on the nation’s observance of the first Earth Day. I felt that I had a personal stake in the proceedings as I had a hand in the drafting process.

At the signing ceremony, Richard J. Sullivan, who had recruited me while I was still in graduate school, was appointed by the governor to be DEP’s first commissioner. He had been serving as the director of the Division of Clean Air and Water in the Health Department and had earned a well-deserved national reputation as a leader and visionary in the emerging field. Sullivan was in charge of the new agency for the next four years and established the standard by which his successors’ performance would be judged.

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