Lawmakers and industry press DEQ on permit backlog, fee increase and business impacts

Lawmakers and representatives of regulated businesses used an informational hearing Thursday to press the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality for data and a timeline to clear a backlog of expired Title V permits and to evaluate the effects of a recent fee increase.

Chair Lively opened the session to allow DEQ to brief the House Climate, Energy and Environment Committee on permitting timelines and to hear from the regulated community. Director Leah Feldon and Air Quality Division administrator Ali Mirzakalili described program staffing, recent fee legislation and work the agency plans to reduce delays.

DEQ told the committee that in 2023 it proposed an 83% increase to Title V fees after not adjusting fees for more than a decade. Mirzakalili said the phased increase was approved by the Legislature to restore a sufficient fund balance and begin hiring for program vacancies. “That fee increase allowed the EQ to reestablish an adequate ending fund balance and begin to fill vacant positions,” Feldon said.

Several legislators questioned how permitting practice changed during the period of fiscal shortfall. Representative Owens said: “In…