Arkansas Code of 1987 (2023) › Title 8 - ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (§§ 8-1-101 — 8-15-119) › Chapter 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS (§§ 8-1-101 — 8-1-312) › Subchapter 2 - POWERS OF THE DEPARTMENT AND COMMISSION (§§ 8-1-201 — 8-1-206) › Section 8-1-202 - Powers of the Director of the Division of Environmental Quality

(a)
The Director of the Division of Environmental Quality shall be the executive officer and active administrator of all pollution control activities in the state.
(b)
As such, the director's duties shall include:
(1)
(A)
The administration of permitting, licensing, certification, and grants programs deemed necessary to protect the environmental integrity of the state.
(B)
The director, or his or her delegatee within his or her staff, shall serve as the issuing authority for the state;
(2)
(A)
Initiation and settlement of civil or administrative enforcement actions to compel compliance with laws, orders, rules, and federal regulations charged to the responsibility of the Division of Environmental Quality.
(B)
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;
(3)
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 §
8-4-202
;
(4)
Day-to-day administration of all activities that the Division of Environmental Quality 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 and with the approval of the Secretary of the Department of Energy and Environment, as is necessary to carry out the responsibilities vested with the Division of Environmental Quality;
(5)
Providing technical and legal expertise and assistance in the field of environmental protection to other agencies and subdivisions of the state as appropriate;
(6)
Day-to-day administration of environmental programs delegated to the State of Arkansas by the responsible agencies of the United States Government;
(7)
The supervision of the Arkansas Energy Office of the Division of Environmental Quality under the Arkansas Energy Reorganization and Policy Act of 1981, §
15-10-201
et seq.;
(8)
Any other power or duty specifically vested with the director or the Division of Environmental Quality by the General Assembly or the secretary; and
(9)
The supervision of the Division of Environmental Preservation or the successor division, office, or unit responsible for reviewing and making specific ecologically oriented recommendations on all plans, programs, and projects of all other state departments, divisions, agencies, and commissions and on all federal plans, programs, and projects affecting this state.
Amended by Act 2019, No. 315,§ 436, eff. 7/24/2019.
Amended by Act 2019, No. 910,§ 2431, eff. 7/1/2019.
Amended by Act 2017, No. 271,§ 2, eff. 8/1/2017.
Acts 1991, No. 1230, § 1; 1993, No. 163, § 6; 1993, No. 165, § 6; 1999, No. 1164, § 8.