Larry Hartig

Mr. Hartig has over 30 years of experience working on natural resource and environmental matters in the state. This includes over 20 years as an attorney in private practice and nearly 12 years of service as the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. Prior to graduation from the Lewis & Clark School of Law in 1983, he worked in the title insurance industry in Alaska and Oregon, including as the regional underwriter for Safeco’s operations in Oregon and a manager of one of their agencies in Alaska. As an attorney with the Alaska law firm of Hartig Rhodes Hoge and Lekisch.

Larry assisted clients in matters involving environmental, natural resource, real property and commercial law. This work included the negotiation and drafting of transactional documents, assisting clients in evaluating and addressing potential environmental concerns with properties they might to acquire, applying for permits and other government authorizations, helping to resolve public and agency concerns with proposed projects, and representing clients in appeals of permitting decisions.

He helped clients address compliance concerns relating to air emissions, wastewater discharges and waste management, including representing them in agency administrative and judicial actions and “citizen suits” brought by environmental groups. He has also helped clients, from individual homeowners to major companies, address fuel spills and other unpermitted releases of environmental contaminants. Mr. Hartig served as the commissioner of DEC, the state environmental agency, from 2007 to 2018, overseeing the development and implementation of the department’s policies, regulations and budgets. He was routinely engaged in the legislative and regulatory processes on behalf of DEC.

Under federal and state environmental statutes, DEC set standards and issued permits for discharges to air, water and lands of the state. It also had responsibilities for spill prevention and response, food safety, pesticides, public drinking water systems and animal health. During his tenure as commissioner, DEC was granted primacy by EPA over the Clean Water Act Section 402 wastewater discharge permitting (“NPDES”) program. DEC developed its program and began issuing these critical environmental permits to dischargers around the state, including fish processing plants, large mines, community wastewater treatment plants.

Through his work at DEC, Mr. Hartig had the opportunity to travel to most areas of the state and engage with the communities, tribes, businesses and other organizations there. Both as a state official and private citizen, Mr. Hartig has served on many boards and commissions. This includes the Alaska Permanent Fund Board of Trustees, Resource Development Council, Alaska Board of Forestry, Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council and the Great Land Trust. He is a member of the Alaska Bar Association and a long-time member and past chair of its Environmental and Natural Resources Committee.