Robert G. Burnley
Environmental Consultant
Former Director, Department of Environmental Quality
|
Bob Burnley & Mike McLeod on a water sampling run in southwest Virginia - 1977 |
He served as director of the Department of Environmental Quality from 2002 to 2006. Before that, he held several top management positions in water programs and had worked for the Virginia Economic Develop-ment Partnership. And in the 30-plus years he has spent championing environmental quality in Virginia, Bob Burnley has seen major transformations.
“I started working for the State Water Control Board in 1972. I was one of a handful—maybe six to eight people—who collected water quality data and chemical biological data. Those were the good old days. I made less than $100 a week, but got to go out and play in the water!
“The quality of water used to be dreadful in many places,” Burnley recalls. “I remember one specific incident at Smith Mountain Lake, a 20,000-acre lake with a hydro-powered generator. Sewage was coming out of the wastewater treatment plant upstream, which was killing the lake. But the State Water Control Board and a citizen board put a moratorium on that. The lake is now a great warm-water fishery with jet skiing—and it’s an economic engine for that part of the state.
“In one place in Southside, in Henry County, there used to be a big textile center on the Smith River. One day it was one color, one day it was another color—it was whatever color towels they made that day. It cost a lot to clean that up, but it happened.”
Attitudes have changed, too. “In the early days, people thought it wasn’t the government’s business to tell them what to do,” Burnley says. For example, “a car shop owner kept dumping oil into a creek. He didn’t want anybody to tell him he couldn’t do that … so he came right over the counter at me. Another time, a farmer got a gun—he had manure he had to get rid of, and he didn’t want to be told he couldn’t dump it. But it’s important to say that wasn’t everyone’s attitude. At first, people just didn’t appreciate how bad things were. They turned their head and figured it was the cost of progress.
“In the work I do now, I advise mostly industrial plants new to our state who want to know if the site they’re building on is a good one [environmentally]. Europeans are especially cognizant of this. A company from Austria recently was discussing how much water they’ll need, how much it will cost, where it was going to come from. It finally occurred to them that we use drinking water to flush our toilets, water our lawns, fight fires. They laughed. ‘Why do that? Take good water and treat it, and just throw it away?’ They use gray water for those uses. They were amazed.
“We’re moving in the right direction. It’s slow, and it’s hard—it’s a great big boat that you have to turn. The biggest hindrance is cost. It’s all very expensive. I wish we didn’t have to fight so hard over budgets, but I do feel we’re moving in the right direction—and we have been for a long time.”
|
Brandon Kiracofe and Trevor Wallace hauling a 20-foot, 200-pound from the river during a May 2007 cleanup |
Favorite outdoor spot: Shenandoah National Park
Environmental History Timeline
July 1, 1946
Virginia adopts the State Water Control Law, one of the country's first comprehensive statewide efforts to control water pollution. The law also establishes the State Water Control Board. |
1952
The Virginia Resource Use Education Council is formed. Today, it is the oldest interagency natural resource and education committee in the country. |
1963
The U.S. Congress approves the Clean Air Act. Significant amendments are passed in 1970, 1977 and 1990. |
July 1, 1966
Virginia adopts the Air Pollution Control Law, which establishes the Air Pollution Control Board. |
1970
A pollution response program, originally called Hazard Alert Team Standby, begins under the State Water Control Board to address water pollution complaints statewide. |
April 22, 1970
The first nationwide Earth Day celebration occurs. |
December 2, 1970
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is formed. |
1971
The State Water Control Board adopts the Occoquan Policy, a regulation to restrict the number of sewage treatment plants in the Occoquan Reservoir between Fairfax and Prince William counties. |
April 1, 1971
The Virginia Board of Health's regulations on the disposal of solid waste take effect as the first statewide regulation of solid waste. |
July 1, 1971
Virginia's revised Constitution takes effect, including Article 11. |
1972
The federal Water Pollution Control Act is adopted. The law is amended as the Clean Water Act in 1977 and 1987. |
July 1, 1972
Virginia establishes the Council on the Environment as a state agency to coordinate implementation of the Commonwealth's environmental policy. |
July 1, 1973
Virginia adopts the Ground Water Act, which authorizes the State Water Control Board to designate ground water management areas. |
1975
State enforcement action resulting from a fish kill establishes a legal precedent for the State Water Control Board to recover fish kill investigation costs and costs for replacement fish. |
October 21, 1976
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the first comprehensive amendment of the federal Solid Waste Management Act of 1965, takes effect and is administered by EPA. |
July 1, 1978
The State Water Control Law is amended to strengthen the State Water Control Board's ability to deal with oil spills. |
December 11, 1980
The federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, known as CERCLA or Superfund, takes effect. |
May 21, 1981
The first Virginia hazardous waste management regulations go into effect based on federal RCRA regulations. |
December 9, 1983
Virginia joins other jurisdictions in signing the first Chesapeake Bay Agreement, calling for a unified effort to improve the health of the Bay. |
November 1984
The EPA authorizes the Virginia Hazardous Waste Management Program, allowing Virginia to conduct most permitting and enforcement activities using state law and regulations. |
1986
Virginia establishes the Coastal Zone Management Program to protect and manage coastal areas in the Commonwealth. |
July 1, 1986
The Virginia Department of Waste Management is formed under the new secretary of natural resources. The Waste Management Board also is established. |
July 1, 1987
The State Water Control Law is amended to establish the State Water Control Board's general supervision of underground storage tanks and establishes the Virginia Petroleum Storage Tank Fund. |
December 15, 1987
Chesapeake Bay Agreement signatories renew their commitment to improve the Bay. |
1988
Virginia adopts the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act. |
July 1, 1989
Legislation takes effect that establishes a statewide recycling mandate of 25 percent of municipal solid waste by 1995. |
July 1, 1990
The State Water Control Law is amended to establish the State Water Control Board's regulation of aboveground storage tanks. The discharge of oil also is prohibited. |
October 9, 1991
EPA regulations governing management of municipal solid waste take effect. |
1992
EPA establishes the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System policy to bring municipal combined sewer overflows into compliance with the Clean Water Act. |
July 1, 1992
The Virginia Ground Water Management Act replaces the 1973 Ground Water Act. |
October 6, 1992
The federal facilities Corrective Action Program takes effect and establishes a system for the cleanup of contaminated sites on federal lands. |
April 1, 1993
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality is formed. |
July 1, 1993
The Virginia Pollution Prevention Program is established at DEQ. |
1994
The Virginia Pollution Abatement Program begins at DEQ. |
May 1994
DEQ issues its first air quality forecasts for summer ozone. |
1995
Virginia's Voluntary Remediation Program is created by the General Assembly to encourage voluntary cleanups of potentially contaminated sites for later reuse. |
March 1998
DEQ launches "Air Check Virginia," an enhanced vehicle emissions inspection program for Northern Virginia. |
January 2000
The Virginia Naturally 2000 initiative is unveiled in the governor's State of the Commonwealth address. |
June 2000
The Chesapeake 2000 Agreement is signed. |
September 29, 2000
EPA authorizes Virginia's RCRA Corrective Action Program. |
July 1, 2005
State legislation establishes the Virginia Environmental Excellence Program to encourage business and industry to go beyond basic environmental compliance. |
January 1, 2007
DEQ implements one of the country's first nutrient trading programs, allowing for the transfer of "credits" among existing wastewater treatment facilities to meet their required nutrient limits. |
January 1, 2008
DEQ assumes oversight of land application of biosolids, or sludge, in Virginia. This ensures a more comprehensive inspection program and consistent enforcement of the biosolids regulations statewide. |
