Leonard E. Robinson, Chief Deputy Director

DTSC Chief Deputy Director Leonard Robinson has three children and resides in Riverside, California. He came to DTSC from being the Environmental/Safety Manager at TAMCO Steel, California's only steel mill located in Rancho Cucamonga. He has over thirty (30) years experience in the Environmental Management and Safety Field. Mr. Robinson has the primary responsibility for the safety and health for over 350 employees at TAMCO Steel as well as protection of the environment. He also teaches and lectures about environmental management and recycling at universities, colleges and community colleges. Mr. Robinson is currently the Principal of Saturday Academy at UC Riverside.

In 1995, Mr. Robinson founded Project Isaiah, a unique recycling program. In this program, confiscated firearms from over 40 southern California law enforcement agencies are delivered to TAMCO Steel where they are melted and recycled into steel reinforcing bar (rebar) for use in the construction industry. The program is named from the Biblical scripture in Isaiah 2:4 that states "they shall beat their swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks". This program has received federal and state recognition for recycling. To date over 500,000 confiscated firearms have been melted and recycled into rebar. Other unique recycling programs started by Mr. Robinson include: used oil filters; steel tire wire and steel containers.

In 1996, Mr. Robinson was appointed by Governor Pete Wilson to the Colorado River Board of California. In 1997 he was appointed by the US EPA to the U.S. EPA to the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) serving on the Air and Water Sub-Committee and Chair of the Fish Consumption Workgroup. Mr. Robinson served on the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Environmental Justice Task Force in 1999 and the California Department of Education Environmental Education Task Force in 2000.

Other committee and community activities include:

Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) Environment and Safety Committees
California Waste Association (CWA)
Public Broadcast Station WETA Advisory Board Member
Chaffey College Environmental Technology Program Advisory Committee
City of Moreno Valley Ecological Protection Advisory Committee
Riverside County Hazardous Materials/Waste Advisory Commission
San Bernardino County Governmental/Industrial Advisory Committee
Partnership for Environmental Technology Education (PETE) Industry Advisory Committee
California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) Permit Reform Advisory Committee

If you would like to contact Mr. Robinson, please e-mail LRobinso@dtsc.ca.gov or call (916) 324-2471.