Laws and Rules
ADEQ conducts rulemaking activities only after approval by the Governor’s Office, in compliance with Governor Doug Ducey’s Executive Order 2017-02 and the Secretary of State’s regulations on rulemaking. A Notice of Docket Opening (NDO) published in the Arizona Administrative Register (A.A.R.) is the first step in rulemaking and may precede one or more informal stakeholder meetings.
A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) is published in the A.A.R. to open the formal public comment period and announce any related public hearing. The NPRM shows language to be deleted in overstrike and language to be added in underline. After the comment period closes, ADEQ prepares a Responsiveness Summary and may make changes to the proposed rule. ADEQ delivers a Notice of Final Rulemaking (NFRM) to the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council (GRRC) for consideration at its Study Session and Meeting. If GRRC approves the NFRM, ADEQ delivers it to the Secretary of State’s (SOS) Office for publication in the A.A.R.
Each rule capsule will be removed 30 days after publication of the Notice of Final Rulemaking in the Arizona Administrative Register. Periodically the SOS updates the Arizona Administrative Code, showing the final text of the rule. The rule capsules summarize activities by Division on each rule in process.
Governor Doug Ducey's Executive Order 2017-02 | Download >
Final Rulemaking in Arizona Administrative Register | View >
Rules in Arizona Administrative Code | View >
- Major Environmental Laws & Pending Legislation — EPA links to major federal environmental statutes (including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) and resources for finding environmental legislation currently being considered by Congress | View >
- United States Code — Official codification of all federal statutes enacted by Congress | View >
State Environmental Legislation
- Arizona Revised Statutes — Official codification of all statutes enacted by the Arizona Legislature | View >
- Title 49, Environment & ADEQ programs | View >
- Title 45, Waters (includes Water Quality Assurance Fee fund provisions) | View >
- Title 44, Trade and Commerce (waste tires) | View >
- Title 41, Chapter 6, Arizona Administrative Procedure Act (laws governing rulemaking process) | View >
- Title 28, Transportation (Underground Storage Tank tax) | View >
- Arizona Legislative Information System (ALIS) — Official website of the Arizona Legislature provides access to pending bills, legislative calendars, committee assignments and recent session laws | View >
Rulemaking in Arizona
- Governor's Regulatory Review Council — Reviews and approves most rules adopted by state agencies in Arizona. Site includes a description of responsibilities and the rulemaking process, information about staff and council members, agendas for council meetings and a schedule of upcoming rulewriting classes | View >
- Secretary of State Administrative Code & Rules Page — The Secretary of State is responsible for publishing the Arizona Administrative Register and the Arizona Administrative Code. Links to information related to rulemaking in Arizona | View >
- Arizona Administrative Register — Official publication of proposed and final rulemakings by state agencies in Arizona | View >
- Arizona Administrative Code — Official codification of all rules adopted by state agencies in Arizona. ADEQ's rules are located in Title 18, Environmental Quality | View >
Rulemaking by Federal Agencies