Disability Nondiscrimination Plan 

The Utah Department of Environmental Quality (UDEQ) is committed to providing individuals with disabilities the opportunity for full participation in its programs, services, and activities through its compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, as amended by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. To this end, UDEQ developed this Disability Nondiscrimination Plan (Plan).

UDEQ recognizes that individuals with disabilities may need accommodations or modifications to have equal opportunities to participate in or benefit from UDEQ’s programs, services, and activities. UDEQ’s policy is that no otherwise qualified individual with a disability will be denied access to or participation in any program, service, or activity offered by UDEQ. UDEQ will administer programs, services, and activities in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of qualified individuals with disabilities.

UDEQ will, upon request, provide at no cost to affected individuals appropriate auxiliary aids and services, including, for example, qualified interpreters to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing and to other individuals as necessary to ensure effective communication or an equal opportunity to participate fully in the programs, services, and activities provided by UDEQ in a timely manner and in such a way as to protect the privacy and independence of the individual.

Individuals with disabilities can request and receive reasonable accommodations appropriate to their needs to fully participate in or benefit from UDEQ’s programs, services, and activities in the most integrated setting. UDEQ and any of its agents will not coerce, intimidate, retaliate against, or discriminate against any individual for exercising a right under the ADA or Section 504 or assisting or supporting another to exercise a right under the ADA or Section 504.

This Plan applies to all UDEQ agents and contractors.

Free language assistance 

If you speak a non-English language, we offer language assistance services for free. Call (385) 332-9574.

Definitions

1. “Disability” means, with respect to an individual:
   1. A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the person’s major life activities;
   2. A history of such an impairment; or
   3. Being regarded as having such an impairment.
2. “Qualified Individual with a Disability” is someone who (with or without accommodations) meets the essential eligibility requirements for participating in UDEQ’s programs, services, and activities.
3. “Accommodation” means adjustments including reasonable modifications to rules, policies, or practices; environmental adjustments such as removing architectural, communication, or transportation barriers; or auxiliary aids and services. Examples of accommodations include but are not limited to scribe, interpreter, an environment free of distractions, material in Braille, tapes, and computer-assisted instruction.

Nondiscrimination coordinator

The Nondiscrimination Coordinator, designated pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 7.85(g), will coordinate UDEQ’s efforts to comply with Section 504 and ADA, including ensuring the following as applicable:

1. UDEQ will adopt and make readily available in suitable formats (e.g., enlarged, audio-taped):
   1. A procedure that allows an individual to disclose a disabling condition and request accommodations believed needed to obtain equal access to and enable participation in UDEQ programs, services, and activities;
   2. A procedure for maintaining personal information in a manner that protects the privacy and independence of the individual and
   3. A procedure for providing accommodations.
2. UDEQ will maintain data on the nature and extent of the services provided to individuals with disabilities and develop data collection requirements as part of the operational guidelines for implementing this policy.
3. UDEQ will provide reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities to participate in or benefit from UDEQ and its programs, services, and activities in the most appropriate integrated setting.
4. UDEQ will utilize the grievance procedures outlined in its nondiscrimination program and policy to provide prompt and equitable resolution of complaints alleging any action violating Title II of the ADA or Section 504. These procedures should apply to any anticipated complaint, including an appeal of a denied accommodation request.
5. UDEQ will provide services required to follow ADA and Section 504 for free.
6. UDEQ will provide periodic in-service training for faculty and staff to develop their awareness and understanding of the needs of individuals with disabilities and legal compliance issues.

Facility accessibility

UDEQ will consider, via self-assessment, the extent to which any UDEQ facilities are “public facilities” or will be used by the public. UDEQ, when operating its programs, services, and activities out of those facilities, will operate consistent with 40 C.F.R. § 7.65 so that when each program, service, or activity is viewed in its entirety, it is readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.

1. Structural changes in existing facilities are not required when other methods provide program accessibility. Such methods include but are not limited to:
   1. Redesigning equipment or the facility after case review.
   2. Providing appropriate signage directing people to accessible features.
   3. Reassigning staff or services to accessible sites.
   4. Providing virtual access, where appropriate.
2. Each facility or part of a facility constructed by, on behalf of, or for the use of UDEQ must be designed and constructed so that the facility is readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities. Alterations to existing facilities shall, to the maximum extent feasible, be designed and constructed to be readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.
3. Contractual or lease agreements for using non-UDEQ facilities should reflect efforts to secure accessibility. Any program, service, or activity in that facility must be accessible. If a program, service, or activity is not wholly operated by UDEQ, UDEQ will attempt to assure that these programs, services, or activities, as a whole, provide an equal opportunity for the participation of individuals with disabilities.
4. Evacuation procedures for facilities will be developed by UDEQ for disabled people.

Accommodations

1. No participant with a disability in a UDEQ program, service, or activity will be denied the benefits of, excluded from participation in, or otherwise discriminated against in providing services available to all individuals in general.
2. Each individual is responsible for making timely requests regarding accommodations to meet their particular needs and enabling UDEQ to respond to the accommodation request appropriately. Requests may be directed directly to UDEQ staff responsible for a program, service, or activity or to the Nondiscrimination Coordinator.
3. Accommodations are not required that fundamentally alter the nature of the program, service, or activity; that require waiver of essential program or licensure requirements; that violate applicable accreditation requirements; or that pose an undue fiscal or administrative burden on UDEQ.
4. In determining appropriate accommodations, UDEQ shall consider the individual’s wishes and, in certain appropriate circumstances, the documentation provided and institutional expertise in working with individuals with disabilities.
5. UDEQ will not require an individual with a disability to accept an accommodation, aid, service, opportunity, or benefit as a condition of participation where such accommodations do not impact the safety of the individual with a disability or any other person. However, UDEQ reserves the right to determine the safety of any and all participants in a program, service, or activity and may require individuals with disabilities to accept certain accommodations or modifications where personal safety is implicated.