Carlton Dudley, Director - Division of Environmental Evaluation and Remediation Review

Carlton has been with DEP for 36 years. He began his career as an Environmental Specialist Trainee conducting responsible party investigations with the Site Remediation program. He later conducted Preliminary Assessments, Site Investigations and unknown source investigations with the Bureau of Environmental Measures & Site Assessment before working as the Chief of Emergency Management’s Bureau of Communication and Response Services. He then returned to Site Remediation as Chief of the Bureau of Solid Waste Planning and Licensing. Carlton later joined Water Resource Management – first as Assistant Director, Water Pollution Management Element, within the Division of Water Quality, where he oversaw the implementation of the New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permitting program.  In January 2022, he was appointed Director of the Division of Water Compliance and Enforcement.  This program ensures compliance with the State’s water programs, including drinking water supply, water allocation, stormwater and wastewater facilities.

• This Division will be comprised of bureaus from the existing bureaus in the Hazardous Site Science Element (Bureau of Environmental Evaluation & Risk Assessment, Bureau of Ground Water Pollution Abatement) and the Remediation Review Element (Bureau of Inspection & Review, Bureau of Remedial Action Permitting).

Frank DeFeo, Director - Division of Enforcement & Financial Operations

Frank has been in public service for 30-plus years. He began with DEP, working in the Bureau of Collections, Licensing, & Management Services, where he learned the State’s revenue collection and recording processes. With the consolidation of revenue-collecting units into the Department of the Treasury in 1999, Frank joined the newly created Division of Revenue, supervising the recording and reconciliation of the state’s major taxes. In 2012, Frank’s knowledge of fiscal and administrative processes brought him back to DEP as a financial manager in Site Remediation. Since then, in various capacities, he has been charged with handling the administration of all budget, contracting, fund management and revenue collection for the program, most recently as Assistant Director for the Financial Services Element.

• This Division will be comprised of the existing Financial Services Element (Bureau of Fiscal Support & Contract Administration, the Fund Management Section, and the Bureau of Information Systems) and the Enforcement & Information Support Element (Bureau of Case Assignment & Initial Notice and Bureau of Enforcement & Investigations). NOTE: the Bureau of Information Systems will move from the Enforcement & Information Support Element to the Financial Services Element.

Gwen Zervas, Director - Division of Remediation Management

Gwen is a licensed professional engineer with more than 30 years of DEP experience before accepting the post of Director of the Division of Remediation Management. Gwen has long managed staff overseeing the remediation of contaminated sites, including those regulated under CERCLA/Superfund and RCRA, as well as Department of Defense sites and others under enforcement actions. Committed to protecting public health and the environment, Gwen conducted reviews of green energy projects and redevelopment projects on contaminated/remediated properties to ensure their reuse is protective.

She has worked with USEPA and the Department of Defense in investigating and remedying emerging contaminants such as PFAS, 1,4-dioxane and perchlorate, among others. Gwen also played an integral role in developing the Licensed Site Remediation Professional program. She served on a team that wrote the revisions to the Technical Requirements for Site Remediation (N.J.A.C. 7:26E) to accommodate Site Remediation Reform Act changes. She was selected to serve as the New Jersey member of the Munitions Response Dialogue by the U.S. Secretary of Defense, where she worked to develop guidance on best practices for prioritizing the investigation and remediation of U.S. munitions sites. Gwen was also a member of the Association of State Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials Federal Facility Remediation and Reuse Group, as well as a team leader for the Interstate Regulatory Technology Council’s Brownfields Team.

A strong advocate for her staff, Gwen recognized the importance of training in site remediation and created a division-wide apprenticeship program for new employees. The program was later expanded and offered to all new site remediation employees.

• This Division will comprise the existing Bureau of Site Management, Bureau of Environmental Measurements and Site Assessment, Bureau of Case Management, Bureau of Field Operations, and the Office of Brownfields & Community Revitalization. Note: the Office of Community Relations will move from the Bureau of Case Assignment & Initial Notice to the Bureau of Site Management.