Anne Gorsuch Burford, nicknamed 'the ice queen' by her critics, again proved herself one of the most controversial appointees of President Reagan.
Brought to Washington in 1981 by Reagan, Mrs. Burford quickly became a frequent target of criticism from environmentalists, as she and Interior Secretary James Watt -- a friend from her days as a Colorado legislator -- led a drive to weaken federal environmental laws and their enforcement.
Reagan appointed her administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency despite her strong history of opposition to environmental regulations.
A leader of conservative Republicans in the Colorado legislature that called themselves the 'crazies,' she voted against bills on such issues as toxic waste cleanup, automobile pollution controls and development of scenic areas.
While the acerbic Watt initially grabbed most of the attention on environmental policy when Reagan took office in January 1981, Mrs. Burford came under increasing attack from even the most moderate environmental leaders for pushing cutbacks of the EPA's budget of almost 50 percent.
She came into the full glare of the national spotlight Dec. 16, 1982, when the House voted 259-105 to hold her in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over secret EPA files on toxic waste enforcement to a House panel.
Citing executive privilege and orders from the president, she declined to hand over the documents to a House subcommittee investigating sweetheart deals between EPA and corporate polluters.
A settlement eventually was reached to provide congressional access to the files.
Her term at the EPA ended abruptly in March 1983, with the EPA engulfed in a political firestorm over allegations of mismanagement of the Superfund toxic waste cleanup program, relaxed enforcement of pollution laws and conflicts of interest.
After leaving the EPA, she remained with her husband in their Alexandria, Va., home and began a speaking tour but was not often seen publicly in Washington.
Earlier this year, environmental leaders were shocked to find her attending a reception for Britain's Prince Philip that honored his lifelong conservation activities.
Not surprisingly, Reagan's July 2 announcement naming her chairwoman of the National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere created an uproar and turned what was to have been peace-making session the next day between Reagan and four environmental leaders into a confrontational discusion of Mrs. Burford.
A 41-year-old former corporate lawyer, she seldom backed down from controversy and continued to defend her record and that of the administration.
In her letter to Reagan Wednesday withdrawing from the panel the day before she was to be sworn in, she told him the debate over her return to the administration 'does a grave disservice to your outstanding record on the environment.'
The letter was similar to one she sent when she was forced to resign from the EPA 17 months earlier, saying, 'It is now clear that my resignation is essential to termination of the controversy and confusion.'
On both occasions, her departure was preceded by leaks from White House officials saying Mrs. Burford had become a political liability to the president.
During the controversy that drove her from office as EPA chief, she was accused of halting the cleanup of the Stringfellow Acid Pits, a waste dump near Riverdale, Calif., to damage the Democratic senatorial bid of Gov. Jerry Brown.
She also was assailed for ordering a study, allegedly to justify the action, that also halted for a year the cleanup of poisoned groundwater in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park. She denied any political motivation for her decision -- contradicting testimony from numerous agency employes.
A black-haired, stocky woman, she entered the administration as Anne Gorsuch, from a previous marriage. In the midst of the crisis at the 1983 EPA, she married a high-ranking administration official she knew in Colorado, Robert Burford, director of the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management.
Born April 21, 1942, in Casper, Wyo., she grew up in Denver. Her maiden name is Anne McGill. She studied political science as an undergraduate at the University of Colorado and graduated from its law school. She also was a Fulbright scholar, studying law in India.
She became an assistant district attorney in Jefferson County, Colo., in 1968 and in 1971 became a deputy district attorney in Denver. She was a lawyer for Mountain States Telephone from 1975-81 and served two two-year terms in the Colorado House of Representatives, where she met Burford, then House speaker.
