Environmental Protection Department develops national environmental protection policy and supervises policy's realisation, elaborates strategies, plans, programs and legal acts accordingly with requirements set by EU, UNO and other international organisations, as well as co-ordinates international co-operation on environmental matters.

Department consists from 4 units:

Environmental Quality Unit co-ordinates development of national policy, legal acts and international co-operation in following sectors:

• waste management,
• sustainable organic pollutants,
• assessment of impact on environment,
• underground and surface water quality,
• radiation protection and nuclear safety,
• use of nature resources and implementation of economical instruments.

Unit develops national environmental quality targets, evaluates effectiveness of environmental policy instruments, shapes policy for environmental monitoring and registers, ensures inventarisation, investigation and remediation of contaminated sites.

Technology Unit co-ordinates development of pollution prevention policy in industry, power sector, transport, waste management, agriculture and informs representatives from industry on best available technologies and cleaner production concepts, introduces environmental management and eco-labelling systems, pollution registers and sustainable development projects realisation in branches of national economics. Unit elaborates national policy, legal acts and co-ordinates international co-operation in following sectors:

• air, water and soil protection,
• evaluation and prevention of risks caused by chemical substances and products, including ozone layer depleting substances,
• safe production, use and circulation of chemical substances and products,
• evaluation and prevention of accidents and accidental risks caused by industrial and transport activities.

Unit elaborates standards for pollution emissions and co-ordinates development of chemical substances, waste and pollution registers.

Waste Management Unit coordinates development of waste management national policy, legislative acts and recomendations as well as international coorporation.

Unit of Water Resorces has been founded on April of 2005. Unit is in charge for:

• development of policy papers and legislative acts, which refers to the management and protection of underground and surface water,
• overlook, how directives of the European Union on water management and protection are being implemented in Latvia and co-orperate with other ministries and  institutions of environmental protection,
• coordinate coorperation with Lithuania, Estonia, Belarus and Russia in management and protection of transboundary river basins
• participate in working groups of European Union in development of strategical documents, guidelines and other papers on management and protection of water
• coordinate program of "Blue Flag" in Latvia.