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Environmental Quality Bills of the 2017 Arizona State Legislative Session

 

The 2017 Legislative Session has ended and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) is pleased to announce that the session was beneficial in helping further our mission to protect and enhance public health and the environment by facilitating environmentally responsible economic growth, enhancing Arizona's unique environment, and accelerating clean-ups.

ADEQ's budget:

  • continues to save money for Arizonans subject to Vehicle Emissions Inspections (VEI) by keeping the fees the same;
  • appropriates $13.5 million to the Water Quality Assurance Revolving Fund (WQARF);
  • provides $3.2 million to continue myDEQ implementation to make permitting easier and faster for customers, while being equally protective of the environment, and;
  • establishes the Safe Drinking Water Program Fund with $1.8 million from water use taxes, the remainder of which goes to WQARF.

ADEQ Bills

H2094 | Small Water Systems Fund Uses

Last year, the Legislature reaffirmed the importance of safe drinking water throughout Arizona and budgeted $500,000 to be used for projects to help small drinking water systems return to compliance. This year, the Small Drinking Water Systems Fund was expanded to provide regular and emergency grants to owners of small drinking water systems, as well as system managers or operators. Additionally, the requirement for interim water system managers or operators to be appointed by the Arizona Corporation Commission in order to receive grants was removed. The grants were also expanded to include upgrading water infrastructure to comply with statute or rule.

While the oversight of the Small Drinking Water Systems Fund has been moved to the Water Infrastructure Funding Authority (WIFA), ADEQ is required to make grant recommendations to WIFA and certify the direct public benefit of the grant and that the disbursement of monies is in the best interest of the state.

These changes will allow almost all of the small drinking water systems, including small municipalities and drinking water improvement districts, which currently are unable to serve water at safe drinking water standards to qualify for the grants to make the improvements to their systems so they can serve safe drinking water.

H2131 | Air Quality Compliance

In 2014, several amendments to VEI's program were conditionally enacted, but were to sunset this year if not approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These amendments allowed the use of onboard diagnostics to test motor vehicles equipped with an onboard diagnostic system. They also exempted vehicles not in use and owned by out-of-state military personnel from emissions testing, and they removed the catalytic efficiency test in "Area A." This bill extends the conditional enactment of these amendments until July 1, 2020 to provide time for ADEQ to include the changes in the State Implementation Plan (SIP) and submit and receive approval from EPA.

In accordance with the Clean Air Act, the Compliance Advisory Panel of the Small Business Stationary Source Technical and Environmental Compliance Assistance Program was made permanent.

 
 
 
H2152 | Arizona Emissions Bank; Credits; Amendments

This bill provided new or expanding Arizona businesses increased opportunity to meet mandatory federal Clean Air Act requirements to improve air quality, and may serve as a draw for new industries to locate to our state.

Enactment of this legislation expands the emissions bank to accept deposits from "non-traditional sources," such as reductions generated through electrification of vehicle fleets. Allowing deposits from non-traditional sources will significantly increase the number of credits that could be deposited. For example, Maricopa County reports that 86 percent of contaminants that contribute to ozone generation come from non-traditional sources, mostly vehicles. This bill provides both an economic and environmental opportunity because it supports business growth in Arizona and incentivizes further air emissions reductions.

S1183 | Department of Environmental Quality; Omnibus

In response to Executive Order 2015-01 issued by Governor Ducey, ADEQ conducted a comprehensive review of existing statutes and rules to identify regulations that can be simplified or eliminated to reduce regulatory burden while continuing to provide environmentally responsible economic growth.  This bill reduces regulatory burden by ameliorating duplicative, contradictory or unnecessary statutes.

This bill:

  • Eliminated the requirement for ADEQ to license and adopt rules regulating dry well drillers.  The Arizona Registrar of Contractors has a robust registration program. Now dry well construction is to be performed under the direct and personal supervision of a well driller who holds an appropriate contractor's license issued by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors.
  • Began permitting, rather than requiring, ADEQ to prescribe minimum standards for septage haulers and establish a fee for licensure of vehicles transporting human waste in rule. ADEQ will now conduct a robust and collaborative stakeholder process with those counties that are required to inspect and issue licenses to septage haulers to eliminate redundant requirements and eliminate those redundancies by rule.
  • Removed the requirement that ADEQ determine the routes for transportation of hazardous wastes. Arizona Department of Transportation oversees transportation to and from a hazardous waste disposal facility.
  • Removed the reference to the outdated toxic substances list which contradicted ARS §49-961(9) and ARS §49-962(C), which require the use of the most current federal Toxic Substances List.
  • Removed the requirement for ADEQ to adopt rules relating to an office recycling emblem and a consumer awareness program. ADEQ is now able to modernize and fully utilize the recycling logo.

ADEQ Supported Bills

H2065 | Waste Tire Disposal; Continuation

This bill continues Waste Tire Fund and Program until Jan. 1, 2028, providing $8.8 million to counties to manage waste tire collection, processing and disposal programs. Since many counties contract these services, the program provides economic benefit to local businesses as well as ensuring the environment is protected.

H2368 | Oxygenated Fuel Standards; Formula

Conditioned on EPA approving the modifications as part of the SIP no later than July 1, 2022, this bill allows for iso-butanol to be blended into gasoline as an oxygenate without restrictions to its percentage by weight and allows, between November 1 and March 31, a blend other than gasoline-ethanol to be sold for fueling motor vehicles Maricopa County. Iso-butanol is currently used for marine, racing, and off-road vehicles. It can be made from renewable domestic feedstocks (increasing energy independence), has a high energy content, high octane, low water solubility, and low volatility.

S1072 | Administrative Decisions; Scope of Review

This bill requires courts to review the administrative record and supplementing evidence presented at the evidentiary hearing before affirming, reversing, modifying or vacating and remanding an agency action when a party appeals an agency action in the courts. It requires the court to affirm the agency action unless the court concludes that the agency's action is contrary to law, is not supported by substantial evidence, is arbitrary and capricious or is an abuse of discretion.