DEQ reports permit-by-rule expansions and pilot for paid consultant reviews to speed permits
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Summary
Utah Department of Environmental Quality reported permit‑by‑rule additions and process improvements intended to speed reviews, including a pilot where applicants pay a consultant to prepare review material. DEQ also plans e‑permitting and a proposed state nuclear regulatory office.
Tim Davis, executive director of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, briefed the commission on interim permitting reforms the department has undertaken under House Bill 85 and an executive order implementing permitting efficiency.
Davis said the department pursued permit‑by‑rule approaches that put objective criteria in rule text and allow applicants who meet the criteria to proceed after providing a notification. The Division of Air Quality developed seven permit‑by‑rule categories — including fuel storage tanks, abrasive blasting, degreasing, municipal landfills, emergency engines, dry cleaners and auto‑body refinishing — and the Division of Drinking Water extended a permit‑by‑rule approach for water lines in partnership with the American Public Works Association to allow certain water-lines up to 16 inches in diameter to be installed without an engineering review.
The Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control created 15 checklists intended to reduce back‑and‑forth by ensuring upfront completeness. Davis described a pilot in San Juan County in which an applicant agreed to hire and pay a consultant to assemble the technical materials and prepare a review package to accelerate agency review; DEQ retains final responsibility to ensure legal compliance. Davis said the department is moving toward e‑permitting, dashboards and electronic tracking so applicants and third‑party consultants can see progress and agency turnaround time.
Commissioners asked whether reforms would improve accountability and reduce the time that applications languish. Davis said the department’s goal is clearer timelines and accountability and to expand successful pilots department‑wide. He also said the agency is preparing staff to develop a Utah nuclear regulatory office and that he will meet federal regulators in Washington to discuss delegated implementation where Utah already administers most federal environmental programs.
No formal action was taken; commissioners welcomed the reforms and asked for updates as pilots and rulemaking proceed.