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Public Health and Environmental Protection for All Arizonans | Performance Data
ADEQ supports equal access, meaningful involvement and fair treatment to all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to developing, implementing and enforcing environmental laws, regulations and policies that protect and enhance public health and Arizona’s unique environment.
ADEQ also recognizes the sovereignty of Tribal governments and their jurisdiction over their lands. Accordingly, ADEQ will engage on Tribal lands when requested by a Tribe, continue to develop cooperative relationships with Tribal Nations, and respect their challenges and concerns.
ADEQ provides notice of and invites public participation in decision making, including tools and resources to increase accessibility to data | View Program Details & Access Resources >
Federal Environmental, Climate & Economic Justice Screen Areas
The Federal government has developed and made available public-facing, web-based screening tools that support its environmental justice initiatives and related Federal investments:1
- Executive Order 14008 directed the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to create a Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) to support Federal agencies’ implementation of the Justice40 Initiative, which mandates that at least 40 percent of the benefits of certain federal programs must flow to disadvantaged communities | Learn More About the Federal Justice40 Initiative > | Learn More About CEJST > | Access CEJST >
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) EJScreen is EPA's environmental justice mapping and screening tool based on nationally consistent data and an approach that combines environmental and demographic indicators in maps and reports. EPA uses the tool to screen for areas that may be candidates for additional consideration, analysis or outreach as EPA develops programs, policies and activities that may affect communities | Learn More about EJScreen: Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool > | Access EJScreen >
ADEQ Measures Performance
ADEQ prioritizes our vital mission work and resources based on potential impacts to public health and the environment and measures our performance | View Key Performance Data >
As compared with Federal Environmental, Climate & Economic Justice Screens (Federal Screen Areas), ADEQ's data demonstrate ADEQ’s strong performance for the roughly 38 percent of Arizona’s population, including Tribes, who reside in Federal Screen Areas.2
Small Drinking Water Systems Fund
Small drinking water systems (serving 10,000 or fewer people) are often the sole water provider in rural areas and lack the customer base and revenue required for costly repairs or upgrades required to serve healthy drinking water. ADEQ, in consultation with the Arizona Corporation Commission, makes recommendations to the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA) to provide grants for small water systems to make infrastructure improvements necessary to maintain healthy and reliable water for their customers | Visit WIFA to Learn More >
July 2016 – June 2022
80% of the small drinking water system grant funds that WIFA awarded were for systems located inside Federal Screen Areas.5
74% of 35 small drinking water systems for which ADEQ recommended WIFA grant funding are located inside Federal Screen Areas.5
Brownfields State Response Grants Brownfields Assistance Program
Brownfields are abandoned or underutilized properties where reuse is complicated by actual or perceived environmental contamination. ADEQ recognizes the impact these Brownfields can have on a community, particularly properties with unresolved environmental issues, and awards grants through ADEQ’s Brownfields Assistance Program to help local governments, non-profits, Tribes, hospitals, schools, and police and fire districts revitalize the properties | Watch the Video > | Learn More About Brownfields Grants > | View Interactive Map >
January 2015 – June 2022
74% of the total Brownfields State Response Grant funds awarded were dedicated to sites located inside Federal Screen Areas.6
73% of 48 Brownfields State Response Grant sites are located inside Federal Screen Areas.6
Water Quality Assurance Revolving Fund
Created under the Environmental Quality Act of 1986, the Water Quality Assurance Revolving Fund (WQARF) program supports ADEQ in identifying, prioritizing, assessing and resolving the threat of contaminated soil and groundwater sites in Arizona. The program uses state funds and oversees privately funded cleanups | Learn More > | View Site List > | View Interactive Map >
July 2014 – June 2022
66% of 55 WQARF sites are located inside Federal Screen Areas.
60% of the total WQARF funds spent were inside Federal Screen Areas.
Water Emergency Team Assistance
ADEQ leads a multi-agency Water Emergency Team that consists of state government and water industry representatives. The team facilitates immediate relief to water providers and their customers in cases where a water emergency poses an imminent threat to public health and safety from issues like acute contaminants in drinking water or water outages. The team also provides guidance and support to all engaged organizations involved in a water emergency.
June 2016 (program start date) – June 2022
65% of 83 public water systems where the ADEQ-led, multi-agency Water Emergency Team assisted are located inside Federal Screen Areas.5
ADEQ Formal Enforcement Settlements Reached
ADEQ holds facilities accountable for compliance with environmental laws.
January 2015 – June 2022
56% of 309 formal enforcements/settlements reached were inside Federal Screen Areas.
Tank Site Improvement Program (TSIP)
Legislation passed in 2015 authorized ADEQ to provide financial assistance to underground storage tank (UST) owners, operators and property owners to offset the cost of specific tank site improvements that help prevent or reduce the chance of a future release of petroleum contamination into the environment and future costly cleanup activities. Applications for financial assistance are prioritized based on potential impacts to human health receptors, including schools, childcare centers and medical facilities. The age and construction of the UST system and other site-specific conditions are also considered during prioritization | Learn More About TSIP >
February 2018 (program start date) – June 2022
50% of 277 TSIP facilities are located inside Federal Screen Areas.
51% of the total TSIP grants were awarded to facilities located inside Federal Screen Areas.
EPA-Approved Inspections
ADEQ conducts inspections of regulated facilities on a routine basis and in response to citizen complaints to ensure compliance with environmental laws.
January 2015 – June 2022
50% of 26,086 ADEQ inspections (EPA-approved) were conducted at locations inside Federal Screen Areas.7
Permits Issued
ADEQ issues the majority – close to twice as many – permits outside Federal Screen Areas. Only 35 percent of all permits issued were inside Federal Screen Areas.
January 2015 – June 2022
35% of 27,037 ADEQ permits issued are located inside Federal Screen Areas.8
1This content is not an endorsement by ADEQ.
2Based on U.S. Census Bureau 2020 census data for Arizona and Federal CEJST Version 1.0 and EPA EJScreen Version 2.1 screening tools.
3CEQ CEJST Version 1.0 identifies disadvantaged communities as census tracts that meet the threshold for at least one of the tool’s categories of burden (e.g., environmental, climate, other) and the corresponding socioeconomic burden, or are on the lands of a Federally Recognized Tribe | See CEQ’s Methodology >
4EPA’s Technical Guidance for Assessing Environmental Justice in Regulatory Analysis (2016) proposed using the EJScreen demographic index (% low income, % minority) and one or more of EPA’s designated EJScreen environmental indicators with the 80th percentile as a starting point, i.e., “default,” to identify geographic areas in the United States that may warrant further consideration, analysis or outreach. EPA’s EJScreen “Default” areas are shown on the map as census block groups using EPA EJScreen 2.1 data | See EPA’s Methodology >
5Data are mapped as drinking water system polygons overlaid with CEJST Version 1.0 and EPA EJScreen Default Version 2.1 (CEJST/EPA EJ) data. Drinking water systems are considered inside a CEJST/EPA EJ area if any part of the drinking water system intersects with an CEJST/EPA EJ area.
6Data are mapped as points and polygons with an CEJST/EPA EJ status assigned to each parcel, which is overlaid with the CEJST/EPA EJ data and were considered inside a CEJST/EPA EJ area if any portion of the parcel overlapped a CEJST/EPA EJ area.
7Data reflect inspection types approved by EPA and include both onsite and virtual inspections.
8Data reflect the location of ADEQ permits issued in Arizona.