There are many actions related to natural resources and the environment regulated by state law. Every two years, the Environmental Quality Council reviews how the department of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Conservation, and Environmental Quality are enforcing those laws and encouraging compliance.

The latest reports are available online.

The EQC will review the reports at its January 25 meeting.

The law grew out of a 1996 EQC study where the bipartisan panel examined state environmental enforcement policies. At the time, legislators heard various concerns over state agency enforcement of environmental regulations. Specific issues raised included questions over the ability of the state to oversee proposed hazardous waste incineration, lack of or inconsistent enforcement of water quality violations, and inequity in air quality regulation. While the 1996 EQC concluded state government regulators were not overzealous, it also found a lack of communication, education, and outreach with the regulated community and the general public leads to a lack of understanding of, dissatisfaction with, and mistrust of state government agencies and programs.

To combat those problems, the law passed in 1997 requires the three agencies to submit biennial reports that detail:
• Activities and efforts taking place to promote compliance assistance and education
• Size and description of the regulated community and the estimated proportion of that
community that is in compliance
• Number, description, method of discovery, and significance of noncompliances,
including those noncompliances that are pending
• Description of how the department has addressed the noncompliances identified…and a
list of the noncompliances left unresolved
• When practical, reporting…should include quantitative trend information.

EQC compliance and enforcement reports are a combination of data – such as the number of
instances of noncompliance – and subjective narrative – such as a description of how an agency
resolves instances of noncompliance.