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Utah Department of
Environmental Quality
The 2006 Legislature could shape up to be a busy session for the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. Although no new programs are being sought, the budget is frugal, and just two DEQ proposals are on the Legislative table – a continuation of a battery recycle program and a quick fix to the beleaguered Petroleum Storage Tank Fund (see related stories), there are a plethora of bills filed that could affect DEQ.
Efforts are under way to establish a financially sound Petroleum Storage Tank Trust Fund, a state insurance policy against damages caused by leaky underground storage tanks. According to the most recent actuarial study, the fund could run out of money by 2008.
The Lead Acid Battery Act, a cost-free program to the taxpayer that recycles lead acid batteries commonly found in vehicles, is set to expire July 1, 2006. Dennis Downs, director of the Utah Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste, has asked the 2006 Legislature to renew the program for 10 more years.
Department of Environmental Quality officials are hopeful the Department will receive much of the $48.7 million designated by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. – a request that does not rely significantly on general fund dollars and would not be impacted by the governor’s proposed $60 million tax cut.
Proposed during the 2006 General Session is a bill that lays the foundation of Utah’s energy future, a result of efforts by a bipartisan Energy Policy Work Group formed last summer to develop energy policy for the state of Utah.
Loren Morton, a section manager for the Utah Division of Radiation Control, was awarded the prestigious Governor’s Science and Technology Medal for his scientific work that led to the U.S. Department of Energy’s decision to move 13.5 million tons of uranium mill tailings from the banks of the Colorado River.
The first Department of Environmental Quality’s Leadership Development Group graduated December 14, 2005 after successfully completing a two-year course that led to recommendations on how to improve Department communications.
With reports of elevated mercury levels discovered in Utah game fish, anglers who subscribe to the adage “hook ‘em and cook ‘em” might be thinking twice before frying up their favorite bass recipe or blackened catfish.