Director Mike Rolband joined DEQ in 2022. He is a Professional Engineer, Professional Wetland Delineator, Professional Wetland Scientist Emeritus and LEED (green building) Advanced Professional. Mike has had a lifelong interest in wetlands and stormwater management and its interaction with natural waterbodies and has contributed to changes in Virginia environmental laws. He founded Wetland Studies and Solutions Inc. in 1991 and grew his company into a multidisciplinary natural and cultural resources consulting firm with more than 200 staff. His firm constructed the first LEED Gold facility in Virginia and utilized multiple Low Impact Development practices for stormwater management in 2005.
He has testified before the General Assembly and lectured to numerous organizations on stormwater management and mitigation, wetlands and stream regulatory policy and Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act regulations. Mike was instrumental in developing Virginia’s new wetlands laws in 2000 and served on the technical advisory committee that developed subsequent regulations and has been appointed to several advisory boards and stakeholder groups. He was also involved in developing the new stormwater regulations and the energy balance method of stormwater quantity control.
In 2012, building upon a research program he started in 2007, Mike established the Resource Protection Group, Inc. to fund applied research in wetlands and stream restoration and enhancement activities.
In 2017, Mike was named a Professor of Practice by Cornell University, his alma mater, where he received his BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master of Engineering, and Master of Business Administration. He enjoyed teaching engineering students there through 2020.
