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DEQ warns proposed federal cuts would sharply curtail state environmental programs; tribal coordination and dust monitoring cited as priorities
Summary
Department of Environmental Quality director Tim Davis told lawmakers the president’s federal budget proposed deep cuts to EPA and that Congressional bills have restored some state funding; DEQ highlighted dust monitoring, a canceled radon grant appeal, and the need for better coordination with EPA on tribal jurisdictions.
Tim Davis, executive director of the Department of Environmental Quality, told the Natural Resources Interim Committee that the president’s budget for the next federal fiscal year proposed a 55% cut to the Environmental Protection Agency and that the state would face steep reductions to funds used by Utah to implement federal environmental statutes.
Davis said the cuts in the president’s proposal would translate into a roughly 71% reduction in federal funding that supports state implementation activities because states implement most federal environmental programs. He told the committee that the House and Senate appropriations process had restored substantial portions of the funding, with the House at about a 29% cut and the Senate about a 15% cut compared with the prior year. He urged the legislature and Utah’s federal delegation to protect state-implementation funding as budgets are negotiated in Washington.
The agency said EPA Region 8 has already cut staff by about 25 percent; Davis said Utah needs federal partners to provide continuity or to allow state programs to fill gaps. He also described one specific grant outcome: a roughly $1 million environmental-justice radon-mitigation grant was canceled at EPA, and DEQ has appealed that cancellation so the funds can be used to help rural homeowners mitigate radon in their residences.
Committee members raised questions about tribal primacy and coordination. Davis said tribal nations are sovereign and that coordination — including invitations to participate in state efforts — is generally the quickest path to improve outcomes. He noted, however, that EPA regional assignments complicate cooperation because tribal lands in Utah may report to different EPA regions (for example, the Navajo Nation largely falls under Region 9 while tribes in Utah are in Region 8), which complicates coordination.
DEQ and legislative staff also discussed dust monitoring tied to Great Salt Lake and the West Desert. Davis said DEQ received a state allocation last session to add a full-time employee to focus on dust and has been working with the Great Salt Lake Commission on a $500,000 commitment for broader dust monitoring; he said the department is expanding the monitoring network and working to distinguish lake-derived dust from other regional dust sources.
Davis asked lawmakers for help in conveying the consequences of deep EPA cuts to the state’s capacity: permitting, safe-drinking-water implementation, industrial compliance and other statutory obligations depend heavily on federal funding that flows through EPA to the state. “The president’s budget came out with a 55% cut to EPA’s budget,” Davis said, and “it’s actually a 71% cut to funding to states and tribes to implement” environmental laws, because Utah implements most programs for its residents.
DEQ staff said they are coordinating with Region 8 leadership and the state’s congressional delegation about funding permutations and urged legislative awareness as Congress completes appropriations.
