Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) requests

The Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) takes requests for its records under Utah's Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA). Its records request page covers DEQ alone; for other Utah agencies it points to the state Division of Archives and Records Service. DEQ's page says GRAMA requires it to answer a request within ten working days of receiving it. Section 63G-2-201 of GRAMA gives a person the right, subject to sections 63G-2-203 and 63G-2-204, to inspect a public record without charge and to take a copy of it during normal working hours. Among the records the right does not reach are one the agency has already given that person, and one that is publicly accessible online once the agency tells the requester where to find it.

In a Phase I ESA

A listing says a record exists. The reports and letters are in the file, and a GRAMA request is how to ask DEQ for one. DEQ says many of its records, though not all, can be found free of charge with its online records search and its interactive map, and that a GRAMA request is the route for what is not found there. Its Division of Environmental Response and Remediation (DERR) notes that not every record can be reviewed electronically. DEQ adds that it gives no warranty for its data and accepts no liability where data is inaccurate or incomplete, so read what a search returns against the file itself.

Making a request

• What a request must give. DEQ's page says GRAMA requires a written request with the requester's name, mailing address and daytime phone number and a reasonably specific description of the records.
• The form. DEQ uses one GRAMA request form for the department or a division. DEQ says it should be filled out before any files are researched and must be completed even when no fee is expected, and that it can be emailed, faxed, mailed or delivered. If you know which division holds the records, DEQ says you may go to that division's GRAMA clerk directly.
• What DWMRC asks for. DWMRC says it does not usually file its records by address, coordinates or parcel number, and asks for details such as the facility name, EPA ID number, radiation control license number, or the name of the operator, permittee or licensee.
• Sensitive records. DEQ says that in rare cases department management may deny a request with sensitive content, and that facility location data, source protection zones, water system inventories and monitoring schedules, among other things, are treated as sensitive for security reasons.

DEQ's page gives the Division of Air Quality's route through named staff.

Viewing files

Files are seen by appointment, so that staff can find them first. For DERR's files, DEQ says to call the GRAMA Coordinator at (801) 536-4100 to arrange one. Records may be viewed on weekdays other than holidays, between 8:30 in the morning and 4:30 in the afternoon. DEQ's page gives two cutoffs after which a request waits for the next business day: 4:00 p.m. in DERR's section and 5:00 p.m. under viewing records. Files may not leave the building, all review and copying happens at DEQ, and the page says video monitoring protects the files. A requester may bring copying equipment or hire an outside copier, with enough notice.

What it costs

DEQ's page, last modified April 21, 2026, lists these charges:

• The first ten single-sided copies are free. After that, a copy is 5 cents if the customer makes it on a DEQ machine, when one is available, and 25 cents if DEQ staff make it.
• Copying more than 25 pages can take up to five working days.
• A staff search or investigation of 15 minutes or less is free; a longer one is billed at the hourly rate of the lowest-paid employee who can do it.
• Scanning and emailing, or copying to media, is 25 cents a single-sided page, $10 per CD and $15 per thumb drive, paid before the records are released.
• Where copy fees are expected to pass $50, DEQ may ask for a deposit first. Payment is due before or at the time of service, by check, cash or DEQ's online payment portal, and DEQ cannot bill for copies. A customer outside Utah pays before copies are mailed, and DEQ adds that all customers, not only those out of state, may be required to pay.

Where to look a site up

• DEQ's records request page links its Archive Document Search and its Interactive Map for searching on your own.

Getting the file

The routes are in the table above. DEQ's office, at 195 North 1950 West in Salt Lake City (84116), answers at (801) 536-4000.

Sources

Utah Department of Environmental Quality pages, read October 13, 2026:

• Environmental Quality Records Request (GRAMA), last modified April 21, 2026.
• Record Search Tools, last modified May 18, 2026.

Utah State Legislature page, read October 13, 2026, no modified date shown:

• Utah Code Section 63G-2-201, the version effective July 1, 2026