The Department of Environmental Quality is created, has power to sue and be sued, and is responsible for administering and enforcing Louisiana’s environmental laws.
CHAPTER 5-A. DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY §231. Department of Environmental Quality; creation; domicile; composition; purposes and functions A. The Department of Environmental Quality is created and shall be a body corporate with the power to sue and be sued. The domicile of the department shall be in Baton Rouge. B. The Department of Environmental Quality through its offices and officers shall in accordance with law provide for the administration and enforcement of the environmental laws of this state to insure the maintenance of a healthful and safe environment in Louisiana and shall have the regulation and control over matters pertaining to the protection of air quality, water quality, regulation and control of radiation, regulation of solid and hazardous waste, transportation of sewage sludge and biosolids, and such other matters as the legislature places under its jurisdiction. C.(1) The Department of Environmental Quality shall be composed of the executive office of the secretary, the office of management and finance, the office of environmental assessment, the office of environmental compliance, and the office of environmental services. (2) Whenever the secretary determines that the administration of the functions of the department may be more efficiently performed by eliminating, merging, or consolidating existing offices or establishing new offices, he shall present a plan therefor to the legislature for its approval by statute. Acts 1983, No. 97, §2, eff. Feb. 1, 1984; Acts 1987, No. 736, §1; Acts 1990, No. 245, §2; Acts 1997, No. 27, §2; Acts 1999, No. 303, §2, eff. June 14, 1999; Acts 2008, No. 56, §2, eff. July 1, 2009; Acts 2010, No. 48, §2; Acts 2016, No. 378, §1.