environmental permitting; requirements; burdened communities

HB2141 - 572R - I Ver

PREFILED��� JAN 07 2026

REFERENCE TITLE:
environmental permitting;
requirements; burdened communities

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HB 2141

Introduced by

Representatives
De Los Santos: Contreras P

AN
ACT

amending title 49, chapter 1, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 49-119; relating to the
department of environmental quality.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 49, chapter 1, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 49-119, to read:

START_STATUTE
49-119.

Agency permitting; burdened communities; hearings; rules;
definitions

A. Not later than one hundred twenty
days after the effective date of this section, the director shall adopt a list
of burdened communities in this state. The department shall update
the list of burdened communities periodically as new data on median household
income becomes available and on issuance of a new decennial census.

B. Not later than sixty days after
the burdened community is designated pursuant to subsection a of this section,
the governing body of the municipality in which the burdened community is
located, in consultation with appropriate community groups, shall designate a
representative of the burdened community.

C. Beginning one hundred eighty days
after the effective date of this section, the department may not grant a permit
for a new facility or for the expansion of an existing facility that is located
in whole or in part in a burdened community unless the permit applicant does
all of the following:

1. Prepares a report assessing the
environmental impact of the proposed new facility or expansion of an existing
facility, including any cumulative impacts on the burdened community, any
adverse environmental effects that cannot be avoided if the permit is granted
and the public health impact on the burdened community of the proposed new
facility or expansion of an existing facility.

2. Transmits the required report
pursuant to paragraph 1 of this subsection at least thirty days before the
public hearing required pursuant to paragraph 3 of this subsection to the
department, the governing body of the municipality in which the burdened
community is located and the designated representative of the burdened
community. The report shall be made available to the public at least
thirty days before the public hearing required pursuant to paragraph 3 of this
subsection is held.

3. Organizes and conducts a public
hearing in a location that is convenient to all interested parties as much as
possible. The permit applicant shall publish public notices of the
hearing in at least two newspapers circulating within the burdened community
not less than twenty-one days before the hearing. At least
fourteen days before the date set for the hearing, the permit applicant shall
send a copy of the public notice to the department, the governing body of the
municipality in which the burdened community is located and the designated
representative of the burdened community. At the public hearing, the
permit applicant shall provide clear, accurate and complete information about
the proposed new facility or expansion of an existing facility and the
potential

environmental and health impacts of the
proposed new facility or expanded facility. The hearing shall
provide an opportunity for meaningful public participation by the residents of
the burdened community. Following the public hearing, the director
shall consider the testimony presented and evaluate any revisions or conditions
to the permit that may be necessary to reduce the adverse impact to the public
health or to the environment in the burdened community.

D. The department may not issue a
decision on the permit application until at least sixty days after the public
hearing held pursuant to this section. Notwithstanding any other law
or rule to the contrary, the department may deny a permit application in a
burdened community on finding that the approval of the permit together with the
cumulative impacts posed by the existing conditions in the burdened community,
including conditions resulting from permitted activities, would constitute an
unreasonable risk to the health of the residents of the burdened community and
to the environment in the burdened community.� Cumulative impacts shall be
evaluated based on any applicable guidance issued by department.

E. When evaluating an application for
a permit pursuant to this section, the department shall assess the community
support for the proposed new facility or expansion of an existing facility, as
demonstrated through the public hearing conducted pursuant to subsection c of
this section, letters supporting or opposing the proposed new facility or
expanded facility and any ordinance or resolution adopted by the governing body
of the municipality in which the burdened community is located.� The department
shall consider community support or the lack of community support in its
decision to grant or deny a permit.

F. If a permit applicant is applying
for more than one permit for a proposed new facility or expansion of an
existing facility, the permit applicant is required to comply with this section
only once, unless the department in its discretion determines that more than
one public hearing is necessary due to the complexity of the proposed new
facility or expanded facility.� This section does not limit the authority of
the department to hold or require additional public hearings, as may be
required by any other law or rule.

G. The department may adopt rules to
implement this section and may issue guidance on how to evaluate cumulative
impacts pursuant to this section.� The department shall publish the guidance on
its website.

H. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Burdened community"
means any census tract, as delineated in the most recent united states
decennial census, that is ranked in the bottom thirty-three percent of census
tracts in this state for median annual household income.

2. "Cumulative impacts"
means an exposure or a public health or environmental risk, or other effect
occurring in a specific geographic area, including from any environmental
pollution emitted or released routinely, accidentally or otherwise from any
source, and assessed based on the combined past, present and reasonably
foreseeable emissions and discharges affecting the geographic area.�

3. "Facility" means any of
the following:

(
a
) An electric
generating facility with a capacity of more than ten megawatts.

(
b
) A resource
recovery facility or incinerator.

(
c
) A sludge
combustor.

(
d
) A sewage
treatment plant with a capacity of more than fifty million gallons per day.

(
e
) A transfer
station, recycling center or other solid waste facility with a combined monthly
volume in excess of twenty-five tons.

(
f
) A landfill,
including a landfill that accepts ash, construction or demolition debris or
solid waste.

(
g
) An
incinerator.

(
h
) an advanced
recycling facility as defined in section 49-701.

4. "Permit":

(
a
) Means any
permit, registration or license issued by the department establishing the
regulatory and management requirements for an ongoing regulated activity as
authorized by federal law or applicable state laws.

(
b
) Does not
include any permit issued for remedial actions relating to a water quality
assurance revolving fund site.
END_STATUTE