“I f I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants,” wrote Sir Isaac Newton, in a tip of his hat to earlier mathematicians upon whose work he built.
New Jersey’s environmental movement has had its “giants” — and one of them was Richard J. Sullivan, who passed away in December at the age of 86.
Sullivan was the first commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) after its official creation on Earth Day in 1970. His skill in building this brand-new agency — his intelligence, integrity, diplomacy and sense of humor — set the standard for all who were to follow. Later, he continued his environmental leadership as chairman of the New Jersey Pinelands Commission.
“To many of us, he was indeed the father — if not the patron saint — of the environmental movement here in the Garden State,” wrote Michael Catania, the executive director of Duke Farms and a former DEP deputy commissioner.
“He was a gentle man, but he could be fierce when he believed in the cause,” former Gov. Thomas Kean said. “But he never alienated anyone.”
Kean said the key to the DEP’s success and acceptance was finding the right person to lead it. The best choice was Sullivan, who was the administrator of water pollution and air pollution programs for the Department of Health at the time of his appointment.
“Sullivan was a great person to serve as the first commissioner,” said Christopher Daggett, who followed Sullivan as DEP commissioner years later and is now the executive director of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. “He set the tone, he set the style. He was all about substance, letting science drive the decision-making.”
Bradley Campbell, another former DEP commissioner, noted that there were few models for an environmental protection agency at the time, and Sullivan’s became the golden standard.
“This state — more than the federal government — was teaching the rest of the country how to protect the environment,” he said.
The DEP’s regulatory scope expanded quickly, as many landmark environmental laws — the Solid Waste Management Act, the Coastal Wetlands Act and the Coastal Area Facilities Review Act — were enacted in rapid succession.
David Moore, who served as New Jersey Conservation Foundation’s executive director while Sullivan was leading the DEP, credits him with ensuring the permanence of those laws.
“I don’t think that a lot of environmental law that was enacted when he was in office would have survived if he had not been there to frame the implementation strategy,” Moore said.
After leaving the DEP, Sullivan went on to serve in many other environmental policy positions, in both public and private sectors.
“Richard was probably one of the most articulate spokesmen for the environment that New Jersey has ever seen,” Moore said. “He was able to shape a lot of policy and influence a lot of people.”
Another lasting gift to the environment has been the many environmental leaders he taught and mentored throughout the years. One of those is his daughter, Martha Sullivan Sapp, who currently serves as acting administrator of the state Green Acres Program.
May Sullivan’s legacy long continue in all who embrace sound science, respect for differing opinions, and reverence for the right of current and future generations to enjoy a clean and healthy environment.
Michele S. Byers
Executive Director New Jersey Conservation
Foundation
Far Hills