About the Department of Environmental Protection

Mission

The mission of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is to enhance the quality of life in our community by protecting and improving Montgomery County's air, water, and land in a sustainable, innovative, inclusive, and industry-leading way while fostering smart growth, a thriving more sustainable economy and healthy communities.

Values

The Department of Environmental Protection's core values drive our mission:

• Accountability: We take responsibility for our decisions and actions and the quality of our work at DEP. We admit to mistakes, correct them, learn from them, and carry on.  We ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely to protect the environment. 
• Commitment: We strive for success and we follow through on our actions as promised.  We care about our workforce, our community, and the environment and we use the best science and other knowledge as we work to improve the environment. We work to improve the quality of our services and we work together across DEP divisions to get the job done.
• Customer Service: We serve the people who live, work, and play in Montgomery County. We listen to our customers (including our co-workers), and we make a positive difference in their lives by providing accurate, timely help in a friendly manner.  We communicate clearly on the services offered and assist the public with all the tools we have available to the best of our abilities.
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Just as we value the diversity of the species around us, we commit to giving voice to the diversity of our human experiences. We create a welcoming environment where everyone is valued, respected, heard and matters. We pledge to celebrate the plurality of languages, nationalities, races, religions, sexualities, genders, and (dis)abilities in our community, and engage historically underrepresented members in the creation and enforcement of policies and programs to provide equitable protection to clean land, air, and water, and habitable climate under the law.
• Integrity: We are honest, fair, humble, and we uphold the highest ethical standards in all actions. We are trustworthy and we hold true to our ethical principles and stand up for what is in the best interest of the community, even (especially) when it is the difficult thing to do.  We don't play favorites, we do our work, and we provide factual guidance.
• Leadership and Action: We are at the forefront of shaping a better future. We advance DEP’s mission and take action based on passion, respect, responsibility and commitment to working with, and for the community.  We set goals and follow through to completion, creating positive outcomes for the environment and showing results through our work. We lead by example and we inspire others to do good for our communities.

Racial Equity Vision Statement

DEP's Racial Equity Vision Statement is to apply a racial equity lens when setting policies, projects, and programs related to DEP's Mission, ensuring the inclusion of diverse groups, especially frontline/underrepresented communities:

• Racial equity lens: A racial equity lens is the set of questions we ask ourselves throughout the decision-making process. The lens interrupts the impact of unintended consequences by taking into consideration the lived experiences and perspectives of the racially diverse communities we intend to serve.
• Frontline/Underrepresented Groups: Describes a group of people whose members are disadvantaged and subjected to unequal treatment by the dominant group, and who may regard themselves as recipients of collective discrimination.

Adriana Hochberg

Climate Change Officer, Montgomery County
Acting Director, DEP

Adriana Hochberg serves as the Climate Change Officer for Montgomery County, Maryland and as Acting Director for the Department of Environmental Protection. She leads Montgomery County’s efforts to combat climate change while building a healthy, equitable, and resilient county. Ms. Hochberg coordinated the development of the Climate Action Plan, a strategic roadmap for the County to cut community-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2027 and reach zero emissions by 2035. Ms. Hochberg previously served as an Assistant Chief Administrative Officer for Montgomery County.

Ms. Hochberg previously spent eleven years with the Government of the District of Columbia, serving in the Office of the City Administrator and as Chief of Staff in the Department of Energy and Environment. Ms. Hochberg has also served as Presidential Management Fellow at the US Environmental Protection Agency and as Coordinator for International Relations at the Konan Town Hall in Japan.

Ms. Hochberg is passionate about creating sustainable, equitable, and walkable communities.  She is a graduate of the Walking College Fellowship from America Walks and developed and implemented an action plan to make her community safer for pedestrians. Ms. Hochberg earned a master’s in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor’s from Williams College. She speaks multiple languages including Portuguese and Japanese.

County Executive’s Customer Service Commitment

Montgomery County Government is committed to providing exceptional service to our many diverse communities, residents and businesses. I encourage you to contact me if you feel that you have not received excellent service, or have compliments or other comments related to the service you received from your county government.

-Marc Elrich, Montgomery County Executive

Email County Executive Marc Elrich

Questions about the Department of Environmental Protection?

• Visit our Contact Us page
• Download our Residential Resource Guide (PDF)

Organizational Chart

Responsibilities of DEP's Divisions

Office of the Director

Acting Director

• Leads initiatives towards zero waste

• Leads initiatives towards reducing greenhouse gases

• Leads initiatives towards clean water

• External and internal communication regarding DEP accomplishments, people, and initiatives

• Develops strategic initiatives and partnerships leading to improved business opportunities and lower operating costs for DEP

Communications and Public Engagement Section

• Integration of external messaging and communication about DEP

• Development of partnerships with community and advocacy groups, faith-based institutions, and the business community

• Manages DEP branding guidelines

• Evaluates effectiveness of internal and external communications

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Office of the Director

Acting Deputy Director

• Responsible for overall management of daily operations

• Ensures positive organizational culture and workplace environment

• Safe operations and strong safety culture

• Manages budget, rate setting, and revenue management

• Integrates procurement and budget for capital and non-capital programs

• Manages strategic initiatives related to procurement, IT, Human capital, and business process improvements

   

   

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Intergovernmental Affairs Division

• Serve as liaison to County government agencies on issues of importance to DEP

• Serves as liaison to agencies outside of county government such as MNCPPC, WSSC, DC Water, MCPS on issues of importance to DEP

• Develop and refines Memorandums of Understanding between DEP/County and government agencies

• Develops and implements water and wastewater policies through the County’s comprehensive water and sewer plan

   

   

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Energy, Climate and Compliance Division

• Manage programs for Compliance with the County’s environmental laws

• Manage process to assist building owners with compliance with Energy Benchmarking law

• Manage Green Business Certification program

• Provide leadership for County’s actions leading towards zero greenhouse gas emissions

• Manages residential energy programs to assist county residents with energy efficiency

   

   

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Watershed Restoration Division

• Monitors water quality and assesses condition of streams

• Inspects an maintains stormwater facilities

• Coordination of the County’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) Permit

• Manages Capital Projects program for stormwater management

• Manages RainScapes program

• Manages Tree Montgomery program

• Manages Organic Lawn Care program

• Manages Pet Waste, Litter Reduction, and Community Grant programs

   

   

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Strategic Services Division

• Manages DEPs performance metrics

• Manages program assessment activities including business process improvements

• Manages IT initiatives for DEP

• Generates the Water Quality Protection Charge revenue and rate

• Provides IT and management and strategic services to implement capital and non-capital programs

   

   

 

 

 

 

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