The division will issue permits that limit the amount of pollutants which can be discharged to the air and water of the State. The division has a variety of permitting programs that deal with such discharges. Permit compliance is ensured through design reviews, inspections, review of monitoring reports and enforcement actions.

In support of Washoe and Clark county efforts to achieve and maintain ambient air quality standards the division, will continue to support the Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety, in the implementation of the vehicle inspection and maintenance program in Clark and Washoe County. The Division will also continue to implement the requirements of public fleets with ten or more vehicles purchase or convert to alternative fueled vehicles.

The division will continue to operate an extensive air quality monitoring network designed to assess public air quality. The division will continue to work with local, state and private companies in evaluating the multi-media consequences of using fuel standards as pollution control strategies. The division will continue efforts to monitor and assess rural (non Clark or Washoe county) areas with potential air quality impacts due to growth and will develop and implement reasonable and effective air pollutant control measures.

The division will conduct environmental planning, monitoring, and oversight. The division will receive, track, and log spills of hazardous chemicals within the State and will implement the State's own Corrective Action Program for clean-up of hazardous and regulated chemicals. The division will assist counties and cities in planning for the appropriate siting of commercial and industrial facilities. The division will also assist communities to identify and characterize Brownfield sites. The division will assist Nevada's communities in the siting of solid waste disposal facilities, such as landfills and transfer stations and recycling centers.

The division will use Federal funding and Hazardous Waste Management fees to initiate investigation and clean-up activities at sites where responsible parties cannot, or will not, conduct actions to protect public health and the environment. The division will continue protect the general public and business communities by continuing the certification of environmental consultants.

The division will identify facilities that dispose of solid waste; issue permits for all active solid waste disposal facilities; and conduct inspections of permitted facilities along with the investigation of unauthorized sites. The division will work with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to maintain federal approval of the State's solid waste management authority. The division will review the programs of other solid waste management authorities within the State for consistency with federal landfill regulations. The division will continue to recognize and support efforts to reduce waste volumes while encouraging the recycling of a significant portion of the waste stream.

The division will oversee the construction, upgrade, operation, and closure of underground storage tanks. Using federal funds and state contract consultants, the division will initiate investigations and clean-up actions at sites where releases have occurred. The Division will continue the processing and issuing of hazardous waste facility permits.

When necessary, the division will conduct appropriate enforcement activities to compel underground storage tank owners and operators to comply with applicable laws. The division will conduct cost recovery activities for state and federal funds that have been expended in the investigation and clean-up of releases from underground storage tanks. The Division will review and oversee claims made to the Petroleum Fund for payment of clean-up costs to tank owners and operators. The Division shall use risk assessments incorporating cost vs benefit analysis will be used in planning the cleanup of leaking underground storage tanks.

Implementation of the Chemical Accident Prevention Program will continue to focus on prevention of accidental releases of chemicals into the environment. The program's strategy is to protect the environment by identifying facilities that produce, use, store or handle threshold quantities of highly hazardous substances. The division will prioritize regulated facilities based upon the potential for catastrophic releases and will work with industry by preparing and providing technical and regulatory guidelines, workshops, and assistance covering safety regulations. In addition the division will focus on reviewing and approving chemical accident prevention plans and on conducting annual inspections of regulated facilities. The integration of the State's chemical accident prevention program with the requirements of the national Clean Air Act's 112R Risk Management Program will begin in FY 1999.

The division will review subdivisions, in conjunction with the Division of Water Resources, who reviews for available water quantity and the Division of Health, with the aim of preventing water pollution. The division will perform studies on residential areas presently vulnerable to ground water pollution from the high density of septic tanks. In addition the Division will assess the pollution impacts of wastewater treatment facilities that are permitted to discharge to the ground waters of the state.

Recycling remains an area of public concern, and the division supports solid waste management, waste prevention and recycling. Staff will work with the Commission on Economic Development and State Purchasing to expand markets for recyclable materials. The Division will continue to foster the reuse of wastewater for recreational, commercial, municipal and industrials uses.

The division with work with federal land managers and environmental officials to establish a coherent approach to prescribed burning of public lands to protects the public health and the air resources of the state.

The division will support wastewater management planning in addition to providing financial and technical assistance to regulated communities, such as farmers, ranchers, and the construction and mining industries. The division will continue watershed water quality management program with a holistic view of water quality planning for a single hydrographic basin. The division will provide financial assistance to publicly owned facilities to assist them in the construction of wastewater treatment facilities and facilities to control non-point sources of water pollution. The division will continue to provide education, financial and technical resources to state and local governments to control nonpoint source pollution and to protect community ground drinking water resources through wellhead protection programs and community education. The division will continue to monitor the environmental quality and update applicable water quality standards for the State's rivers and water bodies

The division will be focusing significant resource in dealing with water pollution due to perchlorate (a component of rocket fuel) to southern Nevada's water resources. The effort will include characterization of the extent of contamination, developing remediation technologies and the cleanup of waters polluted with perchlorate.

The division will continue to provide technical assistance to the operators of small wastewater treatment facilities with a circuit rider program.

Environmental oversight of major federal facilities, such as the Nevada Test Site and the Nellis Air Force Range, will be a priority for the division. Oversight activities to ensure compliance with state pollution control laws will continue, along with the development of expanded state authority, to ensure that the State has the ability to protect human health and the environment on major federal installations.

The division will work to ensure activities required under the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Orders with the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) are conducted in accordance with negotiated schedules for the remediation of contaminated sites on their respective facilities. The division will also continue to develop a Joint USDOE and State Low-Level Waste Oversight Program at the Nevada Test Site.

During the biennium, the division will focus on integrating federal superfund activities with State Remedial Action activities to create a combined and coordinated remedial action program for the State of Nevada. This will lessen the regulatory impacts to the regulated community, streamline program activities and use resources more efficiently. The division will also integrate these activities in an ongoing effort to identify, characterize and remediate "Brownfield" sites.

The division will continue to regulate the permitting of mine sites for both water pollution control permits and mining reclamation permits. The division will focus on educating the regulated mining community and federal agencies by conducting workshops on the State's mining regulations and reclamation programs.

The division plans to revise its inspection program to include verification sampling at mining facilities that conduct self-monitoring activities. The division will also increase the number of inspections, with particular emphasis on facilities under construction.

The depressed price of gold is resulting in marginal gold mining operations to cease operations. The division will continue to ensure that these mining operations do not become a public burden and that the sites are properly closed and reclamation is conducted.

The division will continue to expand its small business assistance program to help businesses meet environmental permitting and other regulatory requirements. The program will focus on comprehensive approach to the delivery of technical assistance to small businesses regulated by the Division. To support this effort the Division will work with the Air Quality Compliance Advisory Panel to articulate better methods in helping small businesses.

The division will also work with the general public, other governmental institutions, and small business and industry to focus on pollution prevention through an education program about available control technologies and how to integrate technologies to reduce pollution at the source of emissions or discharges.

The division will expand it efforts at providing technical assistance to Nevada's rural communities. The division will coordinate environmental compliance assistance activities with county health districts and other county and city agencies. The division will develop a INTERNET site to facilitate public access to compliance assistance and general information about the activities of the division.