GILA RIVER INDIAN COMMUNITY 

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY 

COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT POLICY 

Initial date: 2/5/99 Revised: 6/1/0 1 

Overview 

As ultimate landowner, the Gila River Indian Community has profound cultural and practical 

interests in protecting its land, air and water and in promoting sustainable development. The Gila 

River Indian Community (GRIC) Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is charged with 

the implementation of the environmental laws of the Community. To accomplish these goals, the 

DEQ will develop both an outreach program to assist facilities to voluntarily comply with 

environmental laws, and a strong enforcement response when voluntary compliance is not 

achieved. The DEQ's compliance and enforceinent efforts will include education and technical 

assistance to promote voluntary compliance with the law, and effective enforcement actions to 

deter and penalize violations. The DEQ will cany out compliance and enforcement actions in m 

equitable, consistent and timely manner. 

Policy 

1. The DEQ will promote voluntary compliance by writing clear and consistent rules and 

regulations, permit conditions and guidance and by providing educational and technical 

assistance to the regulated community, as resources permit. 

2. The DEQ will provide accurate, complete and prompt notification of violations to 

facilities and businesses and will manage cases to promote compliance. 

3. In situations where prompt voluntary compliance has not been achieved or where 

violations pose substantial threat to human health, the environment or quality of life, the 

DEQ will use its authorities to conduct effective and rapid enforcement. 

4. The DEQ will choose the type of formal enforcement action to pursue by considering 

comparative risk to human health, the environment and quality of life, as well as 

indifference to the law, and the compliance and enforcement history of the facility or 

business. 

5. The DEQ will manage compliance and enforcement actions with a consistent, multimedia (land, air, water) approach whenever feasible. However, each program may 

establish additional enforcement procedures and guidelines as necessary, consistent with 

DEQ policies. 

RESPONSIBILITY 

All DEQ program staff are responsible for the implementation of this policy. 
IMPLEMENTATION 

Compliance Education and Technical Assistance 

The DEQ will: 

1. Provide techmcal assistance to the regulated community, as resources permit. 

.2. Provide current rules, policies and guidelines to affected and interested parties. 

3. Provide compliance education opportunities for the regulated community. 

Compliance Tracking and Notification of Violations 

1. The DEQ will develop a database that tracks the compliance status of facilities and 

businesses. 

2. The DEQ will maintain up-to-date files on facilities and regulated entities that contain 

compliance-related information. 

3. When the DEQ identifies a violation either through an inspection or by other means, staff 

will decide whether to issue a notice of violation, a citation, an administrative order, or to 

seek injunctive relief, andlor seek civil penalties. The decision will be made based on the 

following considerations: 

Risk to hwnan health, the environment and quality of life; 

The degree of recklessness, negligence or deliberateness of the violator; 

The violator's previous compliance history 

Financial advantage gained by non-compliance. 

4. Nothing in this policy requires a notice of violation to be issued before issuing a citation, 

an administrative order, or seeking injunctive relief and civil penalties in Tribal Court. 

5. The DEQ will review all self-monitoring and other compliance-related reports submitted 

by regulated entities as quickly as possible. If such reports reveal violations, the DEQ 

will make every attempt within 45 days of receipt to send written notice of violation to 

the facility. 

6. Where a DEQ inspector discovers a violation in the course of an inspection, the inspector 

will provide notice of the violation to a facility representative at the end of the inspection. 

The inspector will make every attempt to provide written notice within 45 days of the 

inspection, for violations identified during or after the inspection. 

7. With respect to violatioils other than those addressed above, the DEQ is committed to 

sending written notice of violation within 45 days of the date that the DEQ becomes 

aware of the violation. 

8. Notwithstanding any of the above, DEQ program staff will provide immediate notice of 

any violation that presents an imminent and substantial endangerment to human health or 

the environment. Such notice will demand irmnediate action by the facility or business to 

abate the endangerment. 

9. The DEQ will seek face-to-face compliance meetings, whenever possible. The DEQ will 

attempt to co~lclude each meeting with a written statement which outlines what occurred 

during the meeting and any agreements reached; the statement should be initialed by the 

parties before the conclusion of the meeting. 
10. Written notifications of violation will include the following elements: 

A factual description of the violation. 

The legal authority regarding compliance. 

A description of what constitutes compliance and how it is to be documented. 

A timeframe in which the DEQ expects compliance to be achieved. 

[Timeframes will require compliance at the earliest possible date. Staff will set 

timeframes based upon their estimate of the time realistically required to comply.] 

Direction to the facility to provide the DEQ with written notice of its compliance 

status at the end of the allowed timeframe. 

An offer to meet with the business. 

A statement of consequences for failure to act. 

1 I. After determining that the facility or business has achieved compliance, the DEQ will send 

the facility a written notice of case closure. 

Management of Enforcement Actions 

1. The DEQ will document cases from the outset, to meet the most stringent legal requirements 

that may be required. 

2. The DEQ director or managers will hold regular staff meetings to review enforcement cases 

and to advance cases through the compliance and enforcement continuum in a consistent and 

timely manner. 

3. The DEQ, in consultation with the Law Office, will develop standard wording to be included 

in citations, notices of violation, agreements and orders. 

4. The DEQ will request assistance or review from the Law Office, if facilities are represented 

by legal counsel. 

5. The DEQ may only grant waivers and modifications in writing and only as authorized by 

law. Waivers must be approved by the director of the DEQ. 

Publication of Enforcement Information 

1. The DEQ, in coordination with the GRIC Public Information Office, may issue a press 

release when an enforcement action is filed or issued. 

2. When a press release concerning an enforcement action is to be released, the parties involved 

should be notified that a press release is being issued. However, the iilvolved parties are not 

entitled to amend or modify the press release. 

revised 6/1/01