Meet Liz Bertha, our new Director of Environmental Compliance & Sustainability! With nearly two decades of experience in state and federal waste management, Liz is ready to bring her expertise to Pittsburgh Water to advance our Environmental Compliance program.
Tell us more about your role.
In my role, I’m responsible for managing a team of environmental compliance professionals as we steer and implement our Environmental Compliance program initiatives across Pittsburgh Water. I also collaborate with internal departments on topics like waste management to streamline processes and develop tools to enhance operational consistency. On a more personal level, I believe a big part of my role is breaking down the “because that’s the way we’ve always done it” mentality. I encourage everyone to look at why we do something before they simply do it, which drives change and eliminates wasted time, wasted dollars, and literal waste itself
What made you decide to join Pittsburgh Water?
I spent the last 10 years of my career overseeing both environmental and safety functions. My passion is really in environmental compliance, so I wanted to get back to focusing on that. I was inspired by Pittsburgh Water’s compliance story and wanted to be part of an organization willing to do the hard work of making compliance part of their culture and not just lip service. Even after many of the orders have been lifted, Pittsburgh Water continues to uphold the highest ethical and compliance standards. I’m proud to work for an organization that continues to do the right thing because they want to, not because they have to.
What made you decide to pursue a career in your field?
7th Grade Earth Day projects! At the time, environmental awareness was becoming more mainstream with stories like the hole in the ozone layer and acid rain being seen as an imminent threat. I distinctly remember doing a project on the water cycle and it piqued my interest. I knew from that point on that I wanted to pursue a career in environmental science.
Any stories to share from your time in the industry?
Before joining my last company, they had just received a more than $1 million fine from the PA Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) due to their poor compliance history. The company invested in their compliance program and made environmental compliance a core value. Through a lot of hard work and cooperation with PADEP, they completely turned their compliance history around. A decade later, PADEP testified at the Environmental Hearing Board and declared that the company’s compliance history was on par with or better than any other facility in the state.
How will you apply your expertise to our mission?
We all know what can happen when environmental compliance is an afterthought, not a driving force. Non-compliance leads to violations, which leads to penalties – the list goes on. When we have to redirect money to fund fines or auditors, that’s less funding for projects that directly support our mission. I’m confident that my background as a former regulator at PADEP, as an Environmental Auditor, and as an Environmental, Health & Safety Director have prepared me to identify compliance issues before they become a problem.
