The 1970s brought a new movement toward cleaner air—and Ward Butler was proud to play a part in making it happen. “Back in the early 1970s, we were called air pollution control officers,” says Butler. “I had five counties. I covered Central Virginia. We were strictly on our own.

 

“This was all before DEQ was established. I inspected everything from sawmills to hospitals, boilers to asphalt plants, asbestos removal projects, you name it, we did it..”

 

Butler sees the formation of DEQ as an empowering step toward a cleaner environment. “It did help when we finally started becoming an agency. Originally, ‘voluntary compliance’ was our main tool. But when you get in somebody’s purse, you get their attention. If you can’t enforce regulation, it’s not worth the paper it’s printed on.

“There were a lot of big cases in Virginia when it got out that we were an enforcement agency. It all goes back to voluntary compliance—it doesn’t work by itself, in my opinion. People have to know that you mean business.”

Voluntary Remediation Site in Richmond using electrical resistance heating to clean  up contaminated ground water.

 

That serious intent isn’t directed only to Virginia’s businesses. In one particular case, Butler had to address issues within state government. He had given a citation to a public university for problems with its heating plant. “There we were, trying to get everyone else in compliance, and here the state had a problem. It took several years for the university to get the funds, and finally there was enough money to help with the problem.”

 

As for the future, Butler says, “I hope that Virginia can slowly but surely keep getting better. But you’ve got to have support from the agency, right up to the attorney general’s office.”