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DEQ urges targeted pay increases to stem turnover, cites permit delays and loan/fund activity
Summary
The Department of Environmental Quality told the budget committee it needs targeted pay increases to retain technical staff and reduce permit backlogs, described large dedicated fund balances and transfers (including wastewater loan program and Bunker Hill basin remediation funding), and explained ARPA and federal fund timing.
During the same March budget session, the committee heard testimony from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) about staffing shortages, permitting delays and several dedicated funds the agency manages.
Jess Byrne, director of DEQ, identified turnover and vacancies as the principal drivers of recent permitting delays and asked for targeted compensation enhancements to improve recruitment and retention. Byrne said DEQ's permitting timelines have lengthened in some programs — citing air permits as an example — and urged that targeted pay adjustments, combined with the cost‑of‑employment compensation measures the committee has already considered, would improve the agency's ability to issue permits.
Why it matters: permitting delays can slow private construction and industrial projects because applicants often cannot build until air or wastewater discharge permits are issued. Committee members pressed DEQ for details on where targeted increases would be…
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