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Utah Department of
Environmental Quality
The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is seeking passage of three bills during the 2007 Legislature that essentially would improve the way the Department safeguards public health and the environment.
Rep. Ronda Menlove (R-Garland) is sponsoring a bill that would make a technical correction to the so-called “tolling” provisions of an administrative enforcement proceeding to cover DEQ programs not covered under the law. The Hazardous Substances Mitigation Act, Used Oil Management Act and the Waste Tire Recycling Act would be added to the provision giving the Department the ability to “toll” or delay seeking resolution in court in a dispute on a potential violation of one of these acts.
Bill Sinclair, deputy director of DEQ who keeps track of legislation during the session, said, “Other DEQ programs are currently covered under the tolling provisions; this bill would simply add the three that aren’t.”
Rep. Patrick Painter (R-Nephi) is sponsoring a bill that would amend language to give the Water Quality Board and the Drinking Water Board more flexibility in funding, either with loans or grants, studies and activities that will protect the waters of Utah. For instance, the funding could be used to study a water issue, thereby reducing the cost or improving the quality of water resources.
“I think this is going to be good legislation,” said Sinclair. “This will allow some flexibility to the Water Quality Board when providing loan monies to wastewater treatment facilities.”
There may be controversy with legislation that would establish a perpetual care fund for commercial hazardous waste facilities like Clean Harbor’s Grassy Mountain landfill. EnergySolutions’ low-level radioactive waste facility has such a fund currently in place. The fund would be used to pay for problems that surface years after the facilities close. In Clean Harbor’s case, it would provide about $2.6 million to address environmental problems that occur more than 30 years later. At EnergySolutions, the fund would be closer to $93 million to cover problems such as radioactive leaks into the environment if they occurred more than 100 years after the closure of the disposal site.
Members of the Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Interim Committee decided in November that the perpetual care funds were unnecessary and rejected the recommendations altogether.
EnergySolutions has stated that it would support leaving the existing perpetual care fund for their facility as is, which means the company would continue to pay the $400,000 annual payment to the fund.
In addition to those bills, Sen. Scott McCoy (D-Salt Lake) is hoping to pass legislation that addresses the recycling and disposal of electronic waste, a growing problem in Utah and across the nation. McCoy is working with the Recycling Coalition of Utah, along with DEQ, and other stakeholders.
Another 35 bill titles deal with various environmental issues, from tax credits for alternative power generation and tax incentives for fuel efficient vehicles to a state declaration for the first week of May to be recognized as “Water Week.”
The Legislature convened Jan. 15 for a 45-day session that ends Feb. 28.