The Saugus Board of Selectmen voted unanimously in favor of Town Manager Scott Crabtree’s appointment of former Department of Environmental Protection Engineer Joseph Dorant, a longtime Saugus resident, to the town’s Board of Health this week.
Along with serving at the Commonwealth’s DEP for more than 25 years, Crabtree said Dorant also served on an inter-agency task force responsible for investigating and prosecuting environmental crimes.
After retiring from the DEP, Dorant went on to serve as the president of the Massachusetts Organization of State Engineers and Scientists.
“I was thrilled when I received his letter of interest to serve on the Saugus Board of Health and I applaud the Board of Selectmen for confirming his appointment. Joe brings a wealth of knowledge in environmental protection, public health, water resources, and extensive knowledge of state regulations that will be invaluable to the residents and businesses of Saugus,” Crabtree said in a written statement.
Dorant will fill the seat vacated by former Chair William Heffernan after his departure from the board in October.
“As an environmental engineer at DEP, my career concentrates on environmental health in a regulatory role, protecting our precious resources, and enforcing our environmental laws. In my leadership role as president of MOSES, representing scientists and engineers across the Commonwealth, I’ve worked closely with state and local public-health officials,” Dorant wrote in his letter of interest to Crabtree.
The Board of Health oversees a variety of operations aimed at tackling environmental and public-health concerns, conducting inspections and investigations to maintain local and federal code compliance in establishments such as those that handle animals, mobile-home parks, food establishments, motels, camps, trash haulers, and tanning salons.
