Grant County PUD commissioners choose new general manager/CEO
Rich Wallen talks about an investigation in 2018 into the source of a possible leak in the spillway supports at Priest Rapids Dam.
Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald
EPHRATA — Grant County Public Utility District commissioners voted 5-0 Tuesday to elect interim Grant County PUD General Manager/Chief Executive Officer Rich Wallen for the permanent GM/CEO position.
Wallen was named as the interim general manager in December, replacing Kevin Nordt, who moved to the job of chief resource officer. Nordt has been battling cancer since July 2020.
Commission chair Judy Wilson said she didn’t think the PUD needed to spend a year looking for a new general manager when a qualified candidate was available.
Wallen has been with the PUD since 2017, and commissioner Tom Flint said he was pleased the PUD could appoint someone who came up through the ranks. Wallen has been open and transparent since taking over the interim job, Flint said.
“It all fits really well for Grant County,” Flint said.
Wallen said the PUD staff has been very helpful as he adjusted to his new role, and people have given him direction when he needed it.
“We’ve got a great group of folks,” Wallen said.
Wallen joined the PUD as managing director of power production. He was named the chief operating officer in July 2019.