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Utah Department of
Environmental Quality
The Department of Environmental Quality is crucial in carrying out the state’s top initiatives and priorities, Governor Jon Huntsman told DEQ employees during a visit here on Oct. 18.
Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr.
“This is a premiere organization,” he said. “We are relying on you.”
Huntsman came to DEQ at the invite of Leadership Development Group No. 3, which created a twice-yearly speaker’s forum to hear from leaders around the state on matters of significant interest to DEQ.
The Governor was the first ambassador to participate.
“Since this is a professional development forum we wanted to get the Governor to kick it off,” said Tom Ball, a member of the group who works in Solid and Hazardous Waste. “I filled out a request form from the Governor’s Web site and the Governor’s Office responded in two days.”
Executive Director Rick Sprott was pleased Huntsman accepted. “This is the first Governor to come down here, absent a ‘going away’ event or some award,” he joked. He later remarked that he was pleased with the Governor’s visit and what he had to say.
“The Governor sincerely cares about what we do and respects the quality of our work,” he said. “We will invite the Governor back in the future for a smaller discussion group.”
Huntsman said he was honored to speak before public servants who help carry out his mission of leaving a legacy of a better environment.
“The environment is about humanity,” he said. “It’s about the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we share. These are truly important legacy issues.”
Utah has a long-standing tradition of environmental stewardship, Huntsman added. For instance, when President Theodore Roosevelt visited Utah in 1903 he thanked the people of the state for being good conservationists, he said. “That ethos gets forgotten but we shouldn’t forget we come from roots firmly planted with a respect for land conservation. We need to continue to carry out that ethos.”
Utah’s growing population and economic development opportunities have changed the state’s landscape, putting “stress and strains on our land,” he said. Currently the state receives roughly 20 million visitors a year. “We need to be mindful of the fact that is growing because more people romanticize about coming out West.”
Huntsman’s focus is on three key areas: education, quality of life and governance. His priorities this year reflect that – health care, teacher pay, and air quality.
“Air quality, because it has arrived to the point in time where we now know it is harmful,” he said. “DEQ’s mission to ‘safeguard public health and our quality of life by protecting and enhancing the environment’ is important, but we have a serious challenge.”
Huntsman said his energy efficiency initiative and climate change can help improve the air. “I have an ambitious plan to improve energy efficiency in this state by 20 percent by 2015.”
Utah is part of the Western Regional Climate Initiative that has set a regional goal of 15 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. “In June of next year, Utah will have a state goal,” he said.
Huntsman also established the Blue Ribbon Advisory Council on Climate Change to help develop strategies to achieve the state and regional goals. A renewable portfolio initiative is under way, he added. He anticipates a goal of 20 percent by 2025 to reduce emissions. “That gets to the heart and soul of reducing air pollution.”
“Part of what we are doing, you are in the middle of making it happen,” Huntsman said.
Huntsman’s visit can be viewed on the Internet at: http://real2.state.ut.us:554/RAMGEN/deq/10-18-2007_deq.rm
Speaker Forum
Pictured (L-R) Jon Huntsman Jr., Tom Ball (DSHW),
Gwyn Galloway (DRC), Mark Wensel (DTS), Carl Adams (DWQ),
Joseph Randolph (DAQ), Doug Bacon (DERR),
Frank Roberts (DDW), Dennis Downs (Director, DSHW)
Leadership Development Group No. 3 has handed off the twice-yearly forums to the Department’s Employee Development Committee to schedule the speakers and its topic.
The group provided the Employee Committee with lists of potential speakers and topics that were development from DEQ employees in a survey. The Employee Committee will use these lists as suggestions for future forums.
Dennis Downs, director of Solid and Hazardous Waste and group mentor, liked what the group came up with.
“I think it’s a good idea to have Department folks hear the perspectives of other agencies,” he said. “Some of the speakers are the movers and shakers of environmental issues.”
Doug Bacon of Environmental Response and Remediation hopes other forums will come off as good as the one Huntsman delivered.
“I think Huntsman far exceeded the bar,” he said. “The goal was to hear his vision and I’m glad to hear he has a willingness to come back.”