§ 49-104 — Powers and duties of the department and director

A. The department shall:

1. Formulate policies, plans and programs to implement this title to protect the environment.

2. Stimulate and encourage all local, state, regional and federal governmental agencies and all private persons and enterprises that have similar and related objectives and purposes, cooperate with those agencies, persons and enterprises and correlate department plans, programs and operations with those of the agencies, persons and enterprises.

3. Conduct research on its own initiative or at the request of the governor, the legislature or state or local agencies pertaining to any department objectives.

4. Provide information and advice on request of any local, state or federal agencies and private persons and business enterprises on matters within the scope of the department.

5. Consult with and make recommendations to the governor and the legislature on all matters concerning department objectives.

6. Promote and coordinate the management of air resources to ensure their protection, enhancement and balanced utilization consistent with the environmental policy of this state.

7. Promote and coordinate the protection and enhancement of the quality of water resources consistent with the environmental policy of this state.

8. Encourage industrial, commercial, residential and community development that maximizes environmental benefits and minimizes the effects of less desirable environmental conditions.

9. Ensure the preservation and enhancement of natural beauty and man-made scenic qualities.

10. Provide for the prevention and abatement of all water and air pollution including that related to particulates, gases, dust, vapors, noise, radiation, odor, nutrients and heated liquids in accordance with article 3 of this chapter and chapters 2 and 3 of this title.

11. Promote and recommend methods for the recovery, recycling and reuse or, if recycling is not possible, the disposal of solid wastes consistent with sound health, scenic and environmental quality policies. The department shall report annually on its revenues and expenditures relating to the solid and hazardous waste programs overseen or administered by the department.

12. Prevent pollution through regulating the storage, handling and transportation of solids, liquids and gases that may cause or contribute to pollution.

13. Promote the restoration and reclamation of degraded or despoiled areas and natural resources.

14. Participate in the state civil defense program and develop the necessary organization and facilities to meet wartime or other disasters.

15. Cooperate with the Arizona-Mexico commission in the governor's office and with researchers at universities in this state to collect data and conduct projects in the United States and Mexico on issues that are within the scope of the department's duties and that relate to quality of life, trade and economic development in this state in a manner that will help the Arizona-Mexico commission to assess and enhance the economic competitiveness of this state and of the Arizona-Mexico region.

16. Unless specifically authorized by the legislature, ensure that state laws, rules, standards, permits, variances and orders are adopted and construed to be consistent with and not more stringent than the corresponding federal law that addresses the same subject matter. This paragraph does not adversely affect standards adopted by an Indian tribe under federal law.

17. Provide administrative and staff support for the oil and gas conservation commission.

B. The department, through the director, shall:

1. Contract for the services of outside advisers, consultants and aides reasonably necessary or desirable to enable the department to adequately perform its duties.

2. Contract and incur obligations reasonably necessary or desirable within the general scope of department activities and operations to enable the department to adequately perform its duties.

3. Use any medium of communication, publication and exhibition when disseminating information, advertising and publicity in any field of its purposes, objectives or duties.

4. Adopt procedural rules that are necessary to implement the authority granted under this title but that are not inconsistent with other provisions of this title.

5. Contract with other agencies, including laboratories, in furthering any department program.

6. Use monies, facilities or services to provide matching contributions under federal or other programs that further the objectives and programs of the department.

7. Accept gifts, grants, matching monies or direct payments from public or private agencies or private persons and enterprises for department services and publications and to conduct programs that are consistent with the general purposes and objectives of this chapter. Monies received pursuant to this paragraph shall be deposited in the department fund corresponding to the service, publication or program provided.

8. Provide for the examination of any premises if the director has reasonable cause to believe that a violation of any environmental law or rule exists or is being committed on the premises. The director shall give the owner or operator the opportunity for its representative to accompany the director on an examination of those premises. Within forty-five days after the date of the examination, the department shall provide to the owner or operator a copy of any report produced as a result of any examination of the premises.

9. Supervise sanitary engineering facilities and projects in this state, authority for which is vested in the department, and own or lease land on which sanitary engineering facilities are located, and operate the facilities, if the director determines that owning, leasing or operating is necessary for the public health, safety or welfare.

10. Adopt and enforce rules relating to approving design documents for constructing, improving and operating sanitary engineering and other facilities for disposing of solid, liquid or gaseous deleterious matter.

11. Define and prescribe reasonably necessary rules regarding the water supply, sewage disposal and garbage collection and disposal for subdivisions. The rules shall:

(a) Provide for minimum sanitary facilities to be installed in the subdivision and may require that water systems plan for future needs and be of adequate size and capacity to deliver specified minimum quantities of drinking water and to treat all sewage.

(b) Provide that the design documents showing or describing the water supply, sewage disposal and garbage collection facilities be submitted with a fee to the department for review and that no lots in any subdivision be offered for sale before compliance with the standards and rules has been demonstrated by approval of the design documents by the department.

12. Prescribe reasonably necessary measures to prevent pollution of water used in public or semipublic swimming pools and bathing places and to prevent deleterious conditions at those places. The rules shall prescribe minimum standards for the design of and for sanitary conditions at any public or semipublic swimming pool or bathing place and provide for abatement as public nuisances of premises and facilities that do not comply with the minimum standards. The rules shall be developed in cooperation with the director of the department of health services and shall be consistent with the rules adopted by the director of the department of health services pursuant to section 36-136, subsection I, paragraph 10.

13. Prescribe reasonable rules regarding sewage collection, treatment, disposal and reclamation systems to prevent the transmission of sewage borne or insect borne diseases. The rules shall:

(a) Prescribe minimum standards for the design of sewage collection systems and treatment, disposal and reclamation systems and for operating the systems.

(b) Provide for inspecting the premises, systems and installations and for abating as a public nuisance any collection system, process, treatment plant, disposal system or reclamation system that does not comply with the minimum standards.

(c) Require that design documents for all sewage collection systems, sewage collection system extensions, treatment plants, processes, devices, equipment, disposal systems, on-site wastewater treatment facilities and reclamation systems be submitted with a fee for review to the department and may require that the design documents anticipate and provide for future sewage treatment needs.

(d) Require that construction, reconstruction, installation or initiation of any sewage collection system, sewage collection system extension, treatment plant, process, device, equipment, disposal system, on-site wastewater treatment facility or reclamation system conform with applicable requirements.

14. Prescribe reasonably necessary rules regarding excreta storage, handling, treatment, transportation and disposal. The rules may:

(a) Prescribe minimum standards for human excreta storage, handling, treatment, transportation and disposal and shall provide for inspection of premises, processes and vehicles and for abating as public nuisances any premises, processes or vehicles that do not comply with the minimum standards.

(b) Provide that vehicles transporting human excreta from privies, septic tanks, cesspools and other treatment processes be licensed by the department subject to compliance with the rules. The department may require payment of a fee as a condition of licensure. The department shall establish by rule a fee as a condition of licensure, including a maximum fee. The fees shall be deposited, pursuant to sections 35-146 and 35-147, in the solid waste fee fund established by section 49-881.

15. Perform the responsibilities of implementing and maintaining a data automation management system to support the reporting requirements of title III of the superfund amendments and reauthorization act of 1986 (P.L. 99-499) and article 2 of this chapter.

16. Approve remediation levels pursuant to article 4 of this chapter.

17. Establish or revise fees by rule pursuant to the authority granted under title 44, chapter 9, articles 8 and 9 and chapters 4 and 5 of this title for the department to adequately perform its duties. All fees shall be fairly assessed and impose the least burden and cost to the parties subject to the fees. In establishing or revising fees, the department shall base the fees on the direct and indirect costs of the department's relevant duties, including employee salaries and benefits, professional and outside services, equipment, in-state travel and other necessary operational expenses directly related to issuing licenses as defined in title 41, chapter 6 and enforcing the requirements of the applicable regulatory program.

18. Appoint a person with a background in oil and gas conservation to act on behalf of the oil and gas conservation commission and administer and enforce the applicable provisions of title 27, chapter 4 relating to the oil and gas conservation commission.

C. The department may:

1. Charge fees to cover the costs of all permits and inspections it performs to ensure compliance with rules adopted under section 49-203 except that state agencies are exempt from paying the fees.

2. Monies collected pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited, pursuant to sections 35-146 and 35-147, in the water quality fee fund established by section 49-210.

3. Contract with private consultants for the purposes of assisting the department in reviewing applications for licenses, permits or other authorizations to determine whether an applicant meets the criteria for issuance of the license, permit or other authorization. If the department contracts with a consultant under this paragraph, an applicant may request that the department expedite the application review by requesting that the department use the services of the consultant and by agreeing to pay the department the costs of the consultant's services. Notwithstanding any other law, monies paid by applicants for expedited reviews pursuant to this paragraph are appropriated to the department for use in paying consultants for services.

D. The director may:

1. If the director has reasonable cause to believe that a violation of any environmental law or rule exists or is being committed, inspect any person or property in transit through this state and any vehicle in which the person or property is being transported and detain or disinfect the person, property or vehicle as reasonably necessary to protect the environment if a violation exists.

2. Authorize in writing any qualified officer or employee in the department to perform any act that the director is authorized or required to do by law.