W. Noah Hoggatt, executive counsel at the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, resigned from his position last week within less than a year of being hired. (Photo credit: LDEQ).
The top lawyer for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality abruptly resigned from the agency last week, marking the latest in a string of executive departures under Secretary Aurelia Giacometto.
Noah Hoggatt, who joined LDEQ as its executive counsel less than a year ago, sent an email to his colleagues March 10, indicating he had resigned “in order to move into a federal position.” He offered no further details about that position or about his motivations for leaving the agency. A copy of the email was provided to the Illuminator, and the State Civil Service Commission confirmed his resignation took effect March 11.
Hoggatt has not returned calls, and LDEQ’s communications office recommended an email be sent to obtain comment from Giacometto, but there has been no response to that email.
At least seven high-level officials have left LDEQ since Gov. Jeff Landry appointed Giacometto to his cabinet in January 2024. Giacometto had previously led the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in President Donald Trump’s first administration.
LDEQ employees slam Aurelia Giacometto’s leadership in workplace culture survey
Most of the departures from LDEQ have been abrupt, with some publicly complaining of Giacometto. Former LDEQ Undersecretary Chandra Pidgeon left in March after a few short weeks of being hired. In her resignation letter obtained by The Advocate, she complained about Giacometto’s “harassment of longtime employees” and other actions, writing, “I have worked for 23 years for the state of Louisiana, and I have never encountered a leader so destructive, calculating, and callous.”
Hoggatt’s exit comes roughly two weeks after the publication of a workplace culture survey the Louisiana Legislative Auditor performed. It found low morale and other issues among a high percentage of the 377 LDEQ employees who responded. Nearly half of the sampled staff reported negative views about Giacometto’s leadership, one-third said they work in a “toxic environment,” and a roughly equal number reported having personally experienced or witnessed retaliation, among other findings in the survey.
Hoggatt worked as a staff attorney for the Louisiana Public Service Commission for several years before Giacometto tapped him as head of LDEQ’s legal affairs division in April 2024. At the time, she celebrated him as one of three military veterans on her executive team, according to a social media post. All of those veterans have since left the agency less than a year into their tenure, including her second-in-command, Jordan DesHotels.
A native of Oxford, Mississippi, Hoggatt served in the U.S. Marine Corps before going to LSU for his bachelor and law degrees, according to his staff biography, which was still active on the agency’s website Tuesday morning.
Despite the many high-profile resignations, LDEQ still has a relatively low turnover rate compared to other state agencies. According to the State Civil Service Commission, the agency had a total turnover rate of about 10% last year among its 648 classified civil service employees. The turnover rate among all state agencies was roughly 14%.
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