Wolff Appointed to Regional Water Control Board

Pacific Institute's Principal Economist and Engineer Appointed to San Francisco Bay Regional Board

[4/15/05] Dr. Gary Wolff, the Pacific Institute's Principal Economist and Engineer, has been appointed to the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, representing the San Francisco Bay Region, which is responsible for protecting ground and surface water in the area.

"I'm honored and excited to have been appointed to the Board," Dr. Wolff said. "And I'm looking forward to working with other Board members and staff to craft policy solutions that are good for the environment and our local economy."

Each of the nine regional Water Resources Control Boards, which are overseen by the State Board, has nine members that are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The mission of the Regional Water Control Board is "to develop and enforce water quality objectives and implementation plans which will best protect the beneficial uses of the State's waters, recognizing local differences in climate, topography, geology and hydrology."

Wolff is an expert in the economics and engineering of the water sector, including conservation, end-use efficiency, privatization, and incentive policies. His work encompasses water, wastewater, and storm-water issues and he is currently working on water conservation economics, the issues associated with privatization of water, and pesticide regulation in California.

His professional career has ranged from working as a design engineer at a wastewater treatment plant to serving as a post-doctoral fellow at the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford University. He is the past president of the Alameda County Recycling Board and past chair of the East Bay Municipal Utility District Demand Management Advisory Committee.

Dr. Wolff received a Doctoral degree in Resource Economics from the University of California at Berkeley, a Masters Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University.

Dr. Wolff's full resume and publications list is available online.

More information about the California Regional Water Quality Board system can be found online.

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