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Utah DEQ outlines budget priorities, requests funds to monitor Great Salt Lake dust and boost emergency cleanup
Summary
Utah Department of Environmental Quality told a legislative subcommittee it will press for funding this session to monitor dust from the Great Salt Lake, strengthen its radioactive materials program and add one-time money to the state's environmental emergency response fund.
Kim Shelley, executive director of Utah's Department of Environmental Quality, told the Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environmental Quality Appropriations Subcommittee that DEQ will press three budget requests this year: ongoing funding to study critical dust concerns (focused on the Great Salt Lake but statewide in scope), support for the radioactive materials program, and a one-time $4,000,000 transfer to the environmental emergency response and cleanup fund.
“Our mission is to safeguard and to improve Utah's air, land and water through balanced regulation,” Shelley said as she opened the department's overview and described its five divisions: air quality, drinking water, environmental response and remediation, waste management and radiation control, and water quality.
Shelley said DEQ's approach prioritizes local control, collaboration, and regulatory discretion to tailor solutions to Utah’s needs. She told lawmakers the agency emphasizes continuous improvement across more than 50 work units and that DEQ met internal targets for continuous-improvement projects and timely audit resolutions.
Representative Kevin Snyder asked specifically about two acid spills by US Magnesium on the Great Salt Lake and enforcement actions. Shelley said she was aware of spills in 2016 and 2017 but did not have current enforcement details and offered to follow up with the committee after consulting her staff.
Shelley also described the department's funding mix (restricted funds, dedicated credits, general funds and federal funds) and said the requests align with ongoing work to reduce health risks and support economic growth while protecting property rights. The $4,000,000 one-time transfer appears on the department's list of priorities and will be pursued through the regular budget process and separate legislative vehicles if needed.
The department said it will provide more detail later this session on the scope, intended analyses, and timeline for the ongoing dust-monitoring work and on steps it will take to follow up about historic releases reported near the Great Salt Lake.
