Michael Atchley, known to all as “Atch”, became Deputy Director of Technical Services and Permitting for Division of Water Resources in 2025, bringing with him over 26 years of experience with the division. He launched his career as a Water Biologist in the late 1990s and steadily advanced through a variety of technical and leadership roles, becoming manager of the Knoxville Environmental Field Office in 2012.
Atch’s broad experience in permitting and field work and insane drive to complete triathlons provides the division with a steady, seasoned perspective and the kind of determined energy that keeps complex work moving forward.