Appropriations hearing spotlights DEQ budget, waste‑tire backlog and permit modernization plans

Paige Filia briefed the House Appropriations Committee on the Department of Environmental Quality’s FY26 budget on April 1, 2025, and LDEQ leadership answered lawmakers’ questions about waste tires, permitting modernization and staffing.

Filia said DEQ’s recommended FY26 budget totals about $156,200,000. She told the committee that approximately $107,800,000, or roughly 69 percent of that total, is fees and self‑generated revenue; federal funding was cited at about $20,400,000 and state general fund at $13,900,000.

Michelle Barnett of LDEQ’s Office of Management and Finance told the committee the state charges $2.25 per tire; she said revenue from that fee has reached $8,800,000 for the current fiscal year. Barnett also said enforcement spending is about $6,200,000 — roughly 4 percent of the department’s budget — and that the department uses those dollars to fund audits, inspections and enforcement work, including a five‑person criminal division that handles higher‑priority cases.

Lawmakers pressed whether DEQ has the authority and resources to address illegal tire dumping and pulpiles; Barnett and the acting LDEQ leadership said enforcement is split depending on location (DOTD handles tires on state rights‑of‑way; private property requires a complaint or permission to inspect), and that regulatory and funding changes could be needed to increase proactive inspections. Barnett also said the state has four authorized waste‑tire processors and that one proposed permit was being litigated, limiting near‑term expansion of processing capacity.

Members raised employee morale numbers from a legislative auditor survey; in response, LDEQ leadership said turnover and other audit findings must be read alongside operational metrics. The secretary (not named in the transcript) emphasized the department’s focus on “comprehensive environmental health” and cited two executive orders issued by Governor Landry in 2024 that aim to streamline and modernize permitting (EO 24‑17 and EO 24‑166).

On permitting modernization, the secretary said LDEQ operates about 19 separate IT/data systems and has mapped more than 900 process flows for permits and certificates. The department held an innovation summit in July 2024 and said a second summit is scheduled for July 2025; the secretary said a phased public dashboard will show applicants the status of permit phases and processing times.

Lawmakers also asked about legacy tire piles such as the Cottonport site; the secretary said DEQ created a “tiger team” to work with the parish and to remove liens that impeded cleanup and that the department had solicited cost estimates from multiple processors for removal work. The department said it prefers to resolve such problems within state resources where possible before involving federal agencies.

The hearing generated follow‑up requests for a breakdown of enforcement spending on illegal dumping and for the status of specific processor permits and cleanup plans. No formal committee votes were taken.