Agency overview | |
---|---|
Formed | 1982 |
Jurisdiction | State of Alabama |
Headquarters | 1400 Coliseum Boulevard Montgomery, Alabama 32°24′42″N86°15′54″W / 32.41167°N 86.26500°W |
Agency executives |
|
Website | www |
The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) is a state government agency charged with the enforcement of environmental policy in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is authorized to adopt and enforce rules and regulations consistent with the statutory authority granted to the Alabama Environmental Management Commission and ADEM by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It was created in 1982 with the passage of the Alabama Environmental Management Act by the Alabama Legislature. The act consolidated the various commissions, agencies, and programs that had been responsible for implementing environmental law into the Alabama Environmental Management Commission and ADEM. [1] In past years, the agency has been repeatedly accused of not enforcing environmental regulations. [2] [3]
The Alabama Environmental Management Commission (AEMC), whose members are appointed to six-year terms by the Governor of Alabama with advice and consent by the Alabama Senate, [4] provides oversight of ADEM. This seven-member panel develops state environmental policy; hears administrative appeals of permits, administrative orders, and variances issued by ADEM; adopts environmental regulations; and selects the ADEM director. The commission must include a physician licensed to practice medicine in the state, a professional engineer registered in the state, an attorney licensed to practice law in the state, a chemist or veterinarian, an individual certified by the National Water Well Association certification program, a biologist or an ecologist, and one member-at-large who has been a resident of the state for at least two years. [5]
ADEM administers federal environmental laws, including the Clean Air, Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water acts and federal solid and hazardous waste laws. The agency assumed these responsibilities after state laws and regulations were demonstrated to be at least equivalent to the federal standards and that the state had the funds and personnel available to administer them. [1] The agency has eight internal divisions: Air Division, Land Division, Water Division, Field Operations Division, the Office of Environmental Quality, Permits and Services Division, Office of General Counsel, and Human Resources. All are overseen by the Office of the Director. The Office of the Director is headed by the commission-appointed director and includes a deputy director, environmental counsel, and an environmental justice ombudsman. [6]
Since the 1990s the agency and commission have been criticized by numerous Alabama-based environmental protection groups for not enforcing regulations, and one consequence of this criticism was the establishment of the ADEM Reform Coalition in 2002. It comprises 38 organizations and has an agenda of improving the agency’s enforcement of existing environment laws. In the past, the coalition has accused the Alabama Environmental Management Commission of not doing its job of holding the director and agency accountable. In 2003, coalition member groups gained the right for the public to speak at commission meetings. Following this, the commission supported the establishment of stronger enforcement policies. The former director, Jim Warr, retired from the agency. A new director, Trey Glenn, was brought on board in January 2005, although his hiring, in itself, would later prove controversial and prompt a grand jury inquiry into accusations of ethics violations by him. [2] [7] In 2006 an environmental justice ombudsman was appointed to oversee ADEM's efforts to ensure that burdens of pollution are not borne disproportionately by communities with low income or "people of color." [8]
During his tenure with the agency, Glenn took some controversial positions. [3] [9] Accusations of non-enforcement continued to be leveled against the agency, most notably by the Southern Environmental Law Center, which filed a lawsuit on December 22, 2008. The lawsuit challenged ADEM's issuance of a permit for a proposed strip coal mine that would discharge waste water into the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River, 800 feet (240 m) upstream from a major drinking water intake for Birmingham. [10] [11] Glenn, a former engineer with Alabama Power, was also noted during his time at the agency for his effort to enable Alabama companies to emit more air pollution than their permits allow. [3] Following lawsuits and legal wrangling, the EPA refused to authorize that rule change. [12] A review by the ADEM Reform Coalition found that pollution penalties assessed to emitters by ADEM declined by roughly 78 percent in 2009, compared to 2007 and 2008. Glenn resigned his position on December 11, 2009. The commission appointed John Hagood, an ADEM attorney, as the interim director. [3] On January 15, 2010, the environmental group coalition petitioned the EPA to take away Alabama's regulatory authority, charging that ADEM failed to enforce key sections of the federal Clean Water Act. [13]
After narrowing down their choices from sixteen applicants, the Environmental Management Commission appointed Lance R. LeFleur to serve as director on April 16, 2010. LeFleur has operated Materials Recovery Corporation, a recycling business, in Mobile since 1990. He assumed the director post on June 1, 2010. [14]
2009 Innovative Alabama Governments Awards Honorable Mention [15]
2012 Green Apple Award Winner [16]
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on December 2, 1970, after Nixon signed an executive order. The order establishing the EPA was ratified by committee hearings in the House and Senate. The agency is led by its administrator, who is appointed by the president and approved by the Senate. The current administrator is Michael S. Regan. The EPA is not a Cabinet department, but the administrator is normally given cabinet rank. The EPA has its headquarters in Washington, D.C., regional offices for each of the agency's ten regions and 27 laboratories. The agency conducts environmental assessment, research, and education. It has the responsibility of maintaining and enforcing national standards under a variety of environmental laws, in consultation with state, tribal, and local governments. It delegates some permitting, monitoring, and enforcement responsibility to U.S. states and the federally recognized tribes. EPA enforcement powers include fines, sanctions, and other measures. The agency also works with industries and all levels of government in a wide variety of voluntary pollution prevention programs and energy conservation efforts. The agency's budgeted employee level in 2022 is 14,581. More than half of EPA's employees are engineers, scientists, and environmental protection specialists; other employees include legal, public affairs, financial, and information technologists. Many public health and environmental groups advocate for the agency and believe that it is creating a better world. Other critics believe that the agency commits government overreach by adding unnecessary regulations on business and property owners.
The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Its objective is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters; recognizing the responsibilities of the states in addressing pollution and providing assistance to states to do so, including funding for publicly owned treatment works for the improvement of wastewater treatment; and maintaining the integrity of wetlands.
In animal husbandry, a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO), as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is an intensive animal feeding operation (AFO) in which over 1,000 animal units are confined for over 45 days a year. An animal unit is the equivalent of 1,000 pounds of "live" animal weight. A thousand animal units equates to 700 dairy cows, 1,000 meat cows, 2,500 pigs weighing more than 55 pounds (25 kg), 10,000 pigs weighing under 55 pounds, 10,000 sheep, 55,000 turkeys, 125,000 chickens, or 82,000 egg laying hens or pullets.
United States environmental law concerns legal standards to protect human health and improve the natural environment of the United States. While subject to criticism at home and abroad on issues of protection, enforcement, and over-regulation, the country remains an important source of environmental legal expertise and experience.
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the principal federal law in the United States intended to ensure safe drinking water for the public. Pursuant to the act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to set standards for drinking water quality and oversee all states, localities, and water suppliers that implement the standards.
William Kane Reilly was Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President George H. W. Bush. He has served as president of World Wildlife Fund, as a founder or advisor to several business ventures, and on many boards of directors. In 2010, he was appointed by President Barack Obama co-chair of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling to investigate the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Lisa Perez Jackson is an American chemical engineer who served as the administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 2009 to 2013. She was the first African American to hold that position.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is the environmental agency for the state of Texas. The commission's headquarters are located at 12100 Park 35 Circle in Austin. The fourth largest environmental agency in the United States, it employs approximately 2,780 employees, has 16 regional offices, and has a $420 million operating budget for the 2016 fiscal year.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency of the state of Illinois is the primary body concerned with the protection of the environment for the state. The Illinois EPA's mission is "to safeguard environmental quality, consistent with the social and economic needs of the State, so as to protect health, welfare, property and the quality of life."
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is a department/agency of the U.S. state of Iowa formed in 1986, charged with maintaining state parks and forests, protecting the environment of Iowa, and managing energy, fish, wildlife, land resources, and water resources of Iowa.
The California Environmental Protection Agency, or CalEPA, is a state cabinet-level agency within the government of California. The mission of CalEPA is to restore, protect and enhance the environment, to ensure public health, environmental quality and economic vitality.
The Tulane Environmental Law Clinic (TELC) is a legal clinic that Tulane Law School has operated since 1989 to offer law students the practical experience of representing real clients in actual legal proceedings under state and federal environmental laws.
The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery is a branch of the California Environmental Protection Agency that oversees the state's waste management, recycling, and waste reduction programs. CalRecycle was established in 2010 to replace the California Integrated Waste Management Board. It is known for administering the California Redemption Value (CRV) program, among other responsibilities.
The Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) is the law enforcement arm of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It is made up of attorneys, special agents, scientists and other employees.
Missouri Coalition for the Environment, a non-profit, non-partisan, 501(c)(3) state-level conservation organization, campaigns for clean air, clean water and clean energy in Missouri. The organization is member and grant supported.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is the administrative department of the Ohio state government responsible for protecting the environment and public health by ensuring compliance with environmental laws. Those laws and related rules outline Ohio EPA's authority and what things the Agency can consider when making decisions about regulated activities.
There are benefits to leaving environmental regulation both to the federal government to the states.For example, wildlife conservation is much more of a concern for Alaska than for New York. New York, however, has much bigger air and light pollution issues than Alaska.
The Alabama Plating Company Superfund site is a former industrial site in Vincent, Alabama. The site covers 6 acres and was used by the Alabama Plating Company as an electroplating facility between 1956-1986. The facility caused contamination of the ground water with hazardous waste containing heavy metals. After assessment by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) it was added to the National Priorities List in September 2012 for remedial action. The site cleanup is directed by the federal Superfund program.
Water in Arkansas is an important issue encompassing the conservation, protection, management, distribution and use of the water resource in the state. Arkansas contains a mixture of groundwater and surface water, with a variety of state and federal agencies responsible for the regulation of the water resource. In accordance with agency rules, state, and federal law, the state's water treatment facilities utilize engineering, chemistry, science and technology to treat raw water from the environment to potable water standards and distribute it through water mains to homes, farms, business and industrial customers. Following use, wastewater is collected in collection and conveyance systems, decentralized sewer systems or septic tanks and treated in accordance with regulations at publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) before being discharged to the environment.
The Frasure Creek lawsuit was a legal action by environmental organizations Waterkeeper Alliance and Appalachian Voices against Frasure Creek Mining and International Coal Group (ICG) on grounds of falsifying pollution discharge in their reports. This violated many key components of the Clean Water Act (CWA), which controls and regulates many types of pollution entering into waterway. Individual citizens joined the environmental organizations to sue the coal mining companies under the CWA. The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet attempted to settle in Franklin Circuit Court in December, 2010 but was denied. The case moved forward to the Kentucky Supreme Court in April, 2012 who agreed with lower court rulings that Appalachian Voices and others were legally supported by the CWA to intervene in the lawsuit against Frasure Creek Mining and ICG.