In January of 1973, the Virginia Advisory Legislative Council reported to the Governor and General Assembly on the question of reorganization of Virginia's environmental agencies. This report was a result of an intensive study, first initiated in 1971 by House Joint Resolution No. 35, which directed the Council "to conduct a study of the desirability of establishing a single agency which will be empowered to regulate and control all types of environmental pollution." This study was continued by House Joint Resolution No. 50 of the 1972 Session, which directed the Council "to continue its study of the consolidation of environmental agencies" and "to make a comprehensive environmental study concerning all aspects of governmental management of environment problems."

In its report, the Council noted "a wide range of deficiencies, both specific and general, which have impaired the effectiveness of environmental management in Virginia." Among these deficiencies enumerated were: "(l) The duplication of environmental functions among several different administrative agencies. (2) The fragmentation of properly unified environmental functions among several different administrative agencies. (3) The increased· involvement of boards and commissions in the day-to-day management of agencies, largely due to insufficient delineation of responsibilities. (4) The neglect of certain critical regulatory functions (such as on-site inspection of construction projects for new sewage treatment plants) because of an absence of coordinating supervision. (5) The increase in the number of steps and delays in administrative action on permit applications, due to bureaucratic red tape, the inefficiencies of committee procedure, and a lack of accountability for final decisions."

To implement the goals delineated in its report, the Council recommended a reorganization of the Commonwealth's environmental agencies. The Council's reorganization scheme was embodied in House Bill No. 1586, an amended version of which was passed by the 1973 Session of the General Assembly and signed by the Governor. The act ("the Environmental Coordination Act of 1973") establishes a Department of Conservation, Development and Natural Resources comprised of five citizen boards, five operating divisions, and a Commissioner. Under the provisions of the act, there are no substantive changes in existing law; all current programs, controls, and regulatory functions in the environmental and natural resources areas are retained.

The act provides for the continued recognition of five citizen boards - Water Resources, Air Pollution and Solid Wastes, Natural Resources, Game and Inland Fisheries and Marine Resources - comprised initially of present members who continue to be appointed by the Governor for staggered terms. In addition, the Commissioner of Health would be named to the Water Resources and Air Pollution and Solid Wastes Boards as a member. The functions of the boards will be to focus primarily upon the development of policies, goals, and budgets, establishment of standards and regulations, and review of actions - or inactions - related to the administration and enforcement of those policies, standards, and regulations.

The act also provides for the conversion of existing agency staffs into five operating divisions (divided along the same lines as the boards), each of which would be headed by a director appointed by the respective boards. Each division, under the coordinating supervision of the Commissioner, would be charged with the duty of administering and enforcing the policies, standards, and regulations adopted by the respective boards.

The head of the Department, the Commissioner, will be appointed by the Governor and he is directed to provide advice and assistance to the citizen boards for purposes of coordination and to take the necessary administrative steps to reduce duplication of effort at the operating division level.

Before passage, the bill was amended to assure reconsideration of the measure at the 1974 Session of the General Assembly. "This act shall be in force on and after July one, nineteen hundred seventy-four, and shall expire at midnight on July one, nineteen hundred seventy-four, unless it shall be reenacted by the General Assembly prior to that date."