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Idaho DEQ asks targeted pay increases to reduce turnover that officials say is slowing permits
Summary
Department of Environmental Quality leaders told the Legislature the agency is losing technical permitting staff at rates that are delaying air and water permits, and proposed targeted pay increases and class‑wide adjustments to improve recruitment and retention.
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality told the Joint Appropriations Committee that high turnover among technical staff is lengthening permit timelines and that targeted pay increases, combined with the committee’s cost‑of‑compensation consideration, are needed to stabilize permitting programs.
Director Jess Byrne said recent turnover in specialized permitting positions has left the agency short‑staffed in air and surface‑water permitting. Byrne told the committee that some programs experienced vacancies in roughly half or more of the positions over the past year — for example, she said the agency’s air‑permit program had been averaging about 89 days to issue permits earlier, and now averages about 160 days — and that training new hires takes substantial time.
Why it matters: delayed permits can slow construction, industrial and municipal projects that require air quality or wastewater permits, Byrne said. The agency asked for targeted minimum hiring adjustments (to raise an entry step to about 83% of policy in most classes and to…
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