Agency: Environmental Quality

Function

The mission of the Department is to safeguard public health and quality of life by protecting and improving environmental quality while considering the benefits to public health, the impacts on economic development, property, wildlife, tourism, business, agriculture, forests, and other interests, and the costs to the public and to industry; strengthen local health departments' environmental programs; build consensus among the public, industry, and local governments in developing environmental protection goals; and appropriately balance the need for environmental protection with the need for economic and industrial development.

The Department's main offices are in state office buildings west of Redwood Road on North Temple Street with additional offices in the Cannon Health Building. The Department operates an air monitoring center on Parkway Boulevard in West Valley City. The Department also has district engineers located in St. George, Price, Richfield, Roosevelt, and Cedar City. These staff members work in coordination with local health departments to support environmental programs specifically related to the rural areas to which they are assigned.

Statutory Authority

The Utah Department of Environmental Quality is governed by the Utah Department of Environmental Code, Title 19 of the Utah Code

• UCA 19 is known as the 'Environmental Quality Code'.
• UCA 19-1-104 states the governor appoints that executive director with consent of the Senate.
• UCA 19-1-105 creates the Divisions of Air Quality, Drinking Water, Environmental Response and Remediation, Radiation, Solid and Hazardous Waste, and Water Quality.
• UCA 19-1-106 creates policymaking boards of Air Quality, Radiation Control, Drinking Water, Water Quality, and Solid and Hazardous Waste Control.
• UCA 19-1-108 creates the Environmental Quality Restricted Account.
• UCA 19-1-201 empowers the Department to complete its purpose.
• UCA 19-2 creates the Air Conservation Act and empowers the Air Quality Board and Division of Air Quality to enforce the Act.
• UCA 19-3 creates the Radiation Control Act and directs the Radiation Control Board and Division of Radiation statutes they are required to uphold.
• UCA 19-4 creates the Safe Drinking Water Act and directs the Drinking Water Board and Drinking Water Division to uphold drinking water standards in the state.
• UCA 19-5 creates the Water Quality and empowers the Water Quality Board and Division of Water Quality to enforce water quality standards.
• UCA 19-6 creates the Solid and Hazardous Waste Act and defines requirements of the Solid and Hazardous Waste Control Board and the Divisions of Environmental Response and Remediation and Solid and Hazardous Waste.

Funding Detail