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Idaho DEQ warns permit delays, seeks targeted pay increases to curb turnover
Summary
Department of Environmental Quality officials told legislators permitting backlogs and staff turnover are slowing economic projects and asked for targeted pay increases and related actions to retain specialized staff and preserve state primacy over environmental programs.
At a legislative budget hearing, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) told lawmakers permit-writing backlogs and staff turnover have lengthened permit timelines and are delaying some development, and the agency requested targeted pay increases to improve recruitment and retention.
Budget analyst Janet Jessup briefed the committee on DEQ’s budget and staffing before Director Jess Byrne took questions. Jessup told the committee the department is “currently allocated 385 FTP” and reported a vacancy count of 37 positions (about a 9.7% vacancy rate) at the time of submission. She also told the committee the agency expended roughly $35,000,000 — about 23% of its appropriation for personnel in the year shown in materials.
Director Byrne said permitting delays are linked to turnover and training timelines for specialized staff. He described examples in the agency’s permitting…
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