§ 19-1-201. Powers and duties of department -- Rulemaking authority.

(1) The department shall:

(a) enter into cooperative agreements with the Department of Health to delineate specific responsibilities to assure that assessment and management of risk to human health from the environment are properly administered;

(b) consult with the Department of Health and enter into cooperative agreements, as needed, to ensure efficient use of resources and effective response to potential health and safety threats from the environment, and to prevent gaps in protection from potential risks from the environment to specific individuals or population groups;

(c) coordinate implementation of environmental programs to maximize efficient use of resources by developing, with local health departments, a Comprehensive Environmental Service Delivery Plan that:

(i) recognizes that the department and local health departments are the foundation for providing environmental health programs in the state;

(ii) delineates the responsibilities of the department and each local health department for the efficient delivery of environmental programs using federal, state, and local authorities, responsibilities, and resources;

(iii) provides for the delegation of authority and pass through of funding to local health departments for environmental programs, to the extent allowed by applicable law, identified in the plan, and requested by the local health department; and

(iv) is reviewed and updated annually; and

(d) make rules, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, as follows:

(i) for a board created in Section 19-1-106, rules regarding:

(A) board meeting attendance; and

(B) conflicts of interest procedures; and

(ii) procedural rules that govern:

(A) an adjudicative proceeding, consistent with Section 19-1-301; and

(B) a permit review adjudicative proceeding, consistent with Section 19-1-301.5.

(2) The department may:

(a) investigate matters affecting the environment;

(b) investigate and control matters affecting the public health when caused by environmental hazards;

(c) prepare, publish, and disseminate information to inform the public concerning issues involving environmental quality;

(d) establish and operate programs, as authorized by this title, necessary for protection of the environment and public health from environmental hazards;

(e) use local health departments in the delivery of environmental health programs to the extent provided by law;

(f) enter into contracts with local health departments or others to meet responsibilities established under this title;

(g) acquire real and personal property by purchase, gift, devise, and other lawful means;

(h) prepare and submit to the governor a proposed budget to be included in the budget submitted by the governor to the Legislature;

(i)

(i) establish a schedule of fees that may be assessed for actions and services of the department according to the procedures and requirements of Section 63J-1-504; and

(ii) in accordance with Section 63J-1-504, all fees shall be reasonable, fair, and reflect the cost of services provided;

(j) prescribe by rule reasonable requirements not inconsistent with law relating to environmental quality for local health departments;

(k) perform the administrative functions of the boards established by Section 19-1-106, including the acceptance and administration of grants from the federal government and from other sources, public or private, to carry out the board's functions;

(l) upon the request of any board or a division director, provide professional, technical, and clerical staff and field and laboratory services, the extent of which are limited by the funds available to the department for the staff and services; and

(m) establish a supplementary fee, not subject to Section 63J-1-504, to provide service that the person paying the fee agrees by contract to be charged for the service in order to efficiently utilize department resources, protect department permitting processes, address extraordinary or unanticipated stress on permitting processes, or make use of specialized expertise.

(3) In providing service under Subsection (2)(m), the department may not provide service in a manner that impairs any other person's service from the department.

Amended by Chapter 360, 2012 General Session
Amended by Chapter 360, 2012 General Session, (Coordination Clause)