(a) The executive head of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality shall be the Director of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, who shall be appointed by the Governor with the consent of the Senate. The director shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor.
(b) (1) The director shall be the executive officer and active administrator of all pollution control activities in the state.
(2) As such, the director's duties shall include:
(A) (i) The administration of permitting, licensing, certification, and grants programs deemed necessary to protect the environmental integrity of the state.
(ii) The director, or his or her delegatee within his or her staff, shall serve as the issuing authority for the state;
(B) (i) Initiation and settlement of civil or administrative enforcement actions to compel compliance with laws, orders, and regulations charged to the responsibility of the department.
(ii) In this regard, the director may propose the assessment of civil penalties as provided by law and take all actions necessary to collect such penalties;
(C) Issuance of orders in such circumstances that reasonably require emergency measures to be taken to protect the environment or the public health and safety, except to the extent that the matter involved is reserved to the jurisdiction or orders of the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission for rulemaking procedures in ยง 8-4-202;
(D) Day-to-day administration of all activities that the department is empowered by law to perform, including, but not limited to, the employment and supervision of such technical, legal, and administrative staff, within approved appropriations, as is necessary to carry out the responsibilities vested with the department;
(E) Providing technical and legal expertise and assistance in the field of environmental protection to other agencies and subdivisions of the state as appropriate;
(F) Day-to-day administration of environmental programs delegated to the State of Arkansas by the responsible agencies of the federal government; and
(G) Any other power or duty specifically vested with the director or department by the General Assembly.
Section: 8-1-202 8-1-203 8-1-204 NextLast modified: November 15, 2016