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DEQ warns staffing shortfalls slow permitting; seeks targeted pay increases and uses of loan funds for remediation
Summary
The Department of Environmental Quality told the Joint Committee vacancies and turnover are lengthening permit timelines; DEQ proposed targeted pay increases and described transfers from the water pollution control account to fund Bunker Hill Basin remediation and other loan‑fund commitments.
Janet Jessup, a budget and policy analyst with legislative services, introduced the Department of Environmental Quality presentation and directed the committee to pages in the legislative budget book and the department’s ARPA and remediation reports on SharePoint.
For the record, Jess Byrne identified herself as director of the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and introduced staff present, including deputy director Tiffany Floyd and financial and program managers.
Byrne told the committee the agency is experiencing turnover that has lengthened permitting timelines and created backlogs. She cited examples: a recent average of 89.1 days to issue an air quality permit that has increased toward 160 days on average in recent months; a roughly 50% vacancy rate in the air‑permitting program during a recent 12‑month window; approximately 60% vacancy in the surface‑water individual permit…
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