The Office of the Auditor General has conducted a sunset review of the Department of Environmental Quality using the criteria in Arizona’s sunset law. This report includes responses to the sunset factors and is the final in a series of three reports on the Department. The first report focused on the Department’s processes for monitoring and enforcing regulated facilities’ compliance with state and federal environmental laws and regulations. The second report examined the Department’s processes for ensuring that owners and operators of petroleum underground storage tanks comply with state and federal laws and regulations regarding financial responsibility for leaks and spills.

The Handbook on Arizona’s Sunset and Sunrise Review is a guide for parties involved in the sunset and sunrise review of state agencies, boards, commissions, institutions and programs (agencies). Because statute prescribes both the sunset and sunrise processes, it is recommended that statute be consulted in conjunction with the use of this handbook.

The Arizona Department of Transportation, the Arizona Game & Fish Department and the Arizona State Parks Board are required to conduct a study every three years on watercraft fuel consumption and recreational watercraft usage. The fuel consumption data is collected to determine the allocation of motor vehicle fuel tax to the State Lake Improvement Fund. The information on recreational watercraft usage patterns on Arizona’s lakes and rivers is necessary, in part, to determine the distribution of SLIF funds to applicants.