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DEQ warns permitting delays as staff turnover rises; seeks targeted pay increases and funding transfers
Summary
Idaho Department of Environmental Quality officials told the legislative budget committee that turnover and vacancies are lengthening permit timelines, and they proposed targeted pay increases plus a work plan for transfers from wastewater funds to support Bunker Hill remediation; legislators asked for detailed plans and timelines.
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) told the joint legislative budget committee that persistent staff turnover and vacancies have lengthened permitting timelines and that the agency needs targeted pay adjustments to retain specialized staff.
Director Jess Byrne introduced DEQ’s budget materials and described an agency that has fewer technical staff in many permitting programs today than in prior years. Byrne told the committee that vacancies and turnover are the principal drivers of slower permit issuance and that training new technical staff is time‑consuming. “The average amount of time new employees are staying with us is 2.8 years,” Byrne said, and several technical permitting programs have experienced high vacancy percentages in the last year.
Why it matters: Legislators from both parties pressed for data showing how permitting delays affect local businesses and projects, and for a clearer plan tying compensation changes to hiring and retention outcomes.
Permitting performance: Committee members…
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