Formation
The Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management was established on October 1, 1987. Programs that were transferred from other County departments to the new department included the Beach Nourishment Program, Artificial Reef Program, Sea Turtle Protection Program, Wellfield Protection Program, Wilderness Islands Program, Wetlands Protection Program, Surface Water Monitoring Program, and Mosquito Control. The Department is administered by a Director, who is responsible to the County Administrator. Each Division within the Department is supervised by an Environmental Director, and is further divided into sections.
Reorganization
In the spring of 1998, the Department was reorganized along functional lines
as opposed to the existing resource-based system. The four divisions (Water
Resources, Coastal and Wetlands, Environmental Review, and Mosquito and Aquatic
Plant Control) were reorganized into Resources Protection, Environmental Enhancement
and Restoration, Natural Resources Stewardship, and Mosquito Control. Administration
was restructured functionally to include a Finance and Support Services Division.
Coastal Resources