ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Fifty-fifth Legislature

Second Regular Session

House: NREW DP 12-0-0-0

HB 2053: department of environmental quality; continuation

Sponsor: Representative Griffin, LD 14

House Engrossed

Overview

Continues the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) for eight years until 2030.

History

ADEQ possesses delegated authority from the Environmental Protection Agency to enforce some federal environmental laws including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. In that capacity, it ensures Arizona's compliance with these environmental laws (A.R.S. §§ 49-202, 49-404, 49-761 and 49-922).

ADEQ also administers and enforces state environmental laws and rules including:

1) The Water Quality Assurance Revolving Fund program, which identifies, prioritizes, assesses and remediates threats of contaminated soil and groundwater sites; and

2) The Voluntary Remediation Program, in which ADEQ will forgo enforcement activities when an owner develops and implements and work plan to remediate a contaminated site (A.R.S. §§ 49-282, 49-172).

ADEQ will terminate on July 1, 2022 (A.R.S. § 41-3022.20). On January 5, 2022, the House Natural Resources, Energy & Water and the Senate Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee of Reference held a public hearing and recommended that ADEQ be continued until July 1, 2030 (COR minutes).

Provisions

1. Repeals ADEQ on January 1, 2031. (Sec. 2)

2. Continues, retroactive to July 1, 2022, ADEQ until July 1, 2030. (Sec. 2, 4).

3. Contains a purpose statement related to continuing ADEQ. (Sec. 3)

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7. HB 2053

8. Initials PAB/JH Page 0 House Engrossed

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