New role offers area native chance to protect natural resources, public

The new head of the local Missouri Department of Natural Resources office believes in the agency’s mission of protecting the state’s environmental resources.

“I really do believe in our mission; I think the work we do is important, protecting water quality, protecting air quality, making sure the people in Southeast Missouri have the same opportunity to enjoy the natural resources we have,” explained Arthur “Art” Goodin, who took over as director March 11. He replaces Jackson Bostic, who retired March 1.

A native of Southeast Missouri, Goodin said he wants his children to be able to play in creeks without worrying about the water.

“Is the water contaminated? That’s really why I think it’s important,” he said.

Most people don’t think about their water quality and whether it’s safe when they turn on the faucet, Goodin said.

“I don’t think if I’m driving past an industrial site, am I going to hurt because of what’s coming out of their stacks,” he said. “I just assume it’s safe.

“I think we are really blessed; we have high-quality air and high-quality drinking water and high-quality water to recreate in.”

Southeast Missouri has so many natural resources, according to Goodin.

“We’re really blessed, and I want to take care of that,” Goodin said.

Taking care of Missouri’s resources is something Goodin has been doing since 2002 when he joined DNR as an environmental specialist.

“This was my first job out of college,” Goodin said. “ … I started at an entry-level position here and learned a lot.”

Goodin initially worked in water pollution control and spent most of his time on storm water and land disturbance permitting and inspections.

“I learned the basics of the business and then got a chance to do more complex things (and) run some special projects,” Goodin said.

From 2007-2011, Goodin worked in the department’s environmental emergency response (EER) section. He worked hazardous materiels, homeland security and emergency management issues, as well as served as an on-scene coordinator.

While in EER, Goodin said, he did a lot of work in emergency management, which included making “sure you’ve got the right people and the right resources there to solve the problem.”

That job was about networking and knowing the people who are available to help because haz-mat takes a lot of people, he said.

The non-EER side of DNR, Goodin said, is doing the same thing now as the staff works on “flood impacts on the Mississippi River. We’re definitely keeping an eye on that and getting regular reports … and following up with communities that have the potential to be impacted” to let them know what resources are available.

After working for DNR for nearly 10 years, Goodin left for 18 months to work as the environmental manager at a Bootheel manufacturing facility.

“At that place, not only did I manage a wastewater plant, we also had a permit for air pollution/air transmission,” Goodin explained. “ … We were in a rapid cleanup program.

“We were a hazardous waste generator, so I got a lot of experience in the end at that (facility).”

Being on what Goodin described as the other side of the fence, he “got to learn what it was to be regulated instead of (being) the regulator.

“It was definitely an eye-opening experience. … It helped me relate to the people I work with” as a regulator.

Goodin returned to DNR in the fall of 2012, and in January 2014, he took over as the water pollution unit chief.

In that capacity, he supervised the regional water pollution control staff and worked with his team to protect water quality in Southeast Missouri.

Goodin said he decided to pursue the director’s job because “I thought I could do the job well, and I knew it was a job that needed to be done.

“We do a lot of important things here. … I believe it’s important to protect environmental quality.”

Although there is “a lot to learn” in his new position, Goodin described his transition as not being difficult.

“We’ve got really good people here,” he said. “They know how to do their jobs well and so supervising them isn’t very hard.

“The more difficult thing, instead of just dealing with my six people … I’m dealing with all the other programs in the department and the other regional offices.”

Describing DNR as the best place he has ever worked, Goodin said, he would “put us up against any other office or program in the department.”

As Goodin looks to the future, he said, it’s “still really early,” but “I believe in continuing to improve.

“I believe you can always get better and always learn new things, always be more efficient, always be more effective … that’s probably where we are going to head.”

There may be some tweaking and fine turning in the future to make “it that much better,” Goodin said.

According to Goodin, the department has shifted more toward a “compliance mind set” in recent years.

“If we find someone who has violations, our first step now is to try to help them get into compliance,” Goodin explained.

Goodin said it is a balance, and it takes a strong economy to be able to afford high levels of environment protection.

“That’s one of the reasons we focus on compliance because we want to help these regulated entities comply with all the regulations to protect the environment,” Goodin said.

Enforcement, he said, still is an option, but “we want to help. … If people have questions or concerns about environmental laws or regulations that might apply to them, call and ask.

“If people have concerns about a facility they don’t think (is) operating correctly or they think they’re seeing pollution, call and let us know.”

DNR officials, Goodin said, are “really interested” in helping people do the right thing and in protecting the environment.