HB 1209 Summary

• Creates a new Department of Environmental Quality to assume environmental health, air quality, water quality, and waste management programs from the State Department of Health.

• Governor appoints the department director as chief administrative officer with powers to manage operations, hire personnel, adopt rules, and execute contracts for environmental programs.

• Restricts the department from adopting rules more stringent than federal environmental regulations under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, and other federal statutes, unless supported by written findings after public comment that federal standards are inadequate to protect public health and environment.

• Allows any affected person to petition the department to review and revise rules that exceed federal standards within nine months, with ability to assert partial defense against violations or permit denials based on overly stringent rules.

• Transfers environmental quality functions and duties from the State Department of Health to the new Department of Environmental Quality throughout multiple chapters of North Dakota Century Code and repeals previous environmental quality regulations section.