Sally Gutierrez

Sally Gutierrez has recently returned to the Office of Research and Development as Senior Advisor to the Director of the Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response.

Over the last two years, she has been serving as the Acting Director of Water Permits Division in the Office of Wastewater Management, Office of Water at USEPA in Washington, DC. She was responsible for leading the Agency’s largest environmental permitting program, covering more than 800,000 wastewater facilities in the US through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Program. These include permits for stormwater, animal feeding operations, construction sites, and municipal and industrial wastewater. 

Prior to taking this detail, she was the Director of EPA’s Environmental Technology Innovation Cluster Development and Support Program within the ORD. The program advanced environmental protection in tandem with economic development through the formation of public private partnerships. She was the lead on EPA’s efforts to leverage its research and development capability in Cincinnati, Ohio with community based assets to establish the region as a water technology innovation hub and leading an effort to network water innovation clusters across the globe.

Prior to this new appointment, she was the Director of the National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) in Cincinnati, Ohio for 8 years. NRMRL was one of three Federal research laboratories within the USEPA’s ORD and consisted of 400 scientists and support staff. The Laboratory was responsible for conducting engineering and environmental technology research to support the Agency in policy and regulatory development and implementation. She was the Director of the Water Supply and Water Resources Division in NRMRL before becoming its Director and was responsible for leading a national technology demonstration program for control of arsenic in drinking water.

Before coming to EPA she was responsible for administering water programs for the State of Texas environmental agency in the areas of drinking water, water monitoring, wastewater permitting, dam safety, water rights and utility rates. She is a hydrologist by training and has completed 20 years of service at EPA. When hired in 2000, she was the first Hispanic woman career Senior Executive Service member hired by EPA.