Robert Scott
NEIWPCC Executive Committee Member
Robert R. Scott has served as the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) commissioner since June 2017. He previously served as commissioner of the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission. Before that, Scott worked for the NHDES Air Resources Division for 17 years. Scott also recently retired as a cyberspace operations officer with the Air National Guard after 30 years of military service. Scott earned a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Lehigh University.
Rene Pelletier
Representative of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services Commissioner at NEIWPCC Meetings of the Executive Committee and Commissioners
Rene Pelletier brings 48 years of experience with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. In Jan. 2022 Pelletier was named the Water Division director, and for the 10 years prior he served as the assistant director of the Water Division, providing program oversight related to subsurface systems, alteration of terrain, drinking water and groundwater bureau, wetlands bureau, dam bureau, wastewater engineering, watershed management and the Winnipesaukee River basin program. Pelletier holds a M.S. in civil engineering from the University of New Hampshire.
Thomas Ballestero
Dr. Thomas Ballestero is director and principal investigator at the University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center and an associate professor in the University’s Civil Engineering Department. His research interests include stormwater, stream restoration, and bedrock hydrogeology. As an associate professor, Ballestero teaches advanced courses in stormwater systems, stream restoration, sediment transport, open channel flow, engineering hydrology, and hydrologic monitoring. Professionally licensed as an engineer, hydrologist, geologist, and groundwater professional, Ballestero holds a Ph.D. in civil engineering from Colorado State University and both a master’s and bachelor’s in civil engineering from Pennsylvania State University.
Fred McNeill
Fred McNeill began his career more than 30 years ago as a Peace Corps volunteer managing a rural water supply program in Sierra Leone, West Africa. He then embarked on a 20-year stint as an engineering consultant, spending considerable time in Egypt, Jordan, Armenia, Georgia, and Bulgaria. In 2006, McNeill assumed his current position, chief engineer for the City of Manchester’s Environmental Protection Division, where he manages northern New England’s largest wastewater utility. He is the state director for the New England Water Environment Association and a member of the New Hampshire Rivers Management Advisory Committee. McNeill has a master’s in business administration from Southern New Hampshire University and a bachelor’s in civil engineering from Northeastern University.
Marco Philippon
Marco Philippon is the Water Treatment Superintendent for the City of Concord, and a lifelong resident of New Hampshire. He brings more than 30 years of experience in the water industry, and holds a Treatment 4 and Distribution 4 License in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Philippon is a past president of the New Hampshire Water Works Association, and active on several committees including Legislative, Programs, and Education. He is also involved with the New England Water Works Association, N.H. Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund, and Contoocook and North Branch River Local Advisory Committee. Phillipon holds a bachelor’s in business studies from Southern New Hampshire University.
Robert Varney
A former New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES) commissioner and EPA regional administrator, Robert Varney brings great depth and experience to NEIWPCC in his current capacity as a gubernatorial appointee since 2011. Varney represented New Hampshire as a commissioner during his tenure at DES, and served as NEIWPCC’s chairman from 1995 to 1996. Today, Varney is president of Normandeau Associates, an environmental science consulting firm, where he focuses on the company’s continued expansion and strategic development. As regional administrator for EPA Region 1, he oversaw high-profile initiatives associated with climate change, safe drinking water, Superfund, brownfields cleanup and redevelopment, environmental justice, and water body restoration. Varney has received the EPA’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the ECOS Founders Award, and the John H. Chafee Award for Leadership. He holds a master’s in urban planning from Michigan State University and a bachelor’s in economics from the University of New Hampshire.