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House approves bill to streamline DEQ adjudicative hearings after floor debate on notice and stakeholder rights
Summary
Senate Bill 11, which aims to expedite adjudicative proceedings under the Utah Department of Environmental Quality by requiring earlier disclosure and front-loading stakeholder participation, passed the House 73-0 after members discussed concerns about notice and fairness.
The Utah House on Feb. 1, 2012, approved Senate Bill 11, a measure the sponsor said will expedite adjudicative proceedings under the Department of Environmental Quality by requiring earlier disclosure of evidence and participants.
Representative Wright, the House sponsor, told the chamber the bill is the result of a two‑year working group and is intended to tighten procedures in DEQ adjudicative hearings so that evidence and involved parties are known earlier in the process. "This bill will do is tend to expedite those hearings," Wright said on the floor. "Basically, evidence and those involved in those hearings would have to, have to be made known to the court previous."
Representative King, who said the committee had a thorough hearing on the bill, acknowledged the rationale but urged caution: "It's a sensitive issue because it deals with some important procedures ... To a greater extent, it requires input by stakeholders or interested people on the front end of the process. And if they don't get involved in the front end of the process, they may have their ability to raise questions or issues or present evidence later in the process restricted." King told colleagues he was "a little ambivalent" but, given assurances from DEQ leadership, encouraged support while recommending continued monitoring to ensure public notice is effective.
Wright responded that the measure does not change the even-handed nature of the process and emphasized the need for proper notice. He said some parts of the bill mirror federal Environmental Protection Agency practice and that, once the parties and the public adjust, the process will likely be more efficient. "It's important we give time for people for them to understand and know what's going on," he said.
After floor discussion and waived summation, voting was opened and closed; the reading clerk announced SB 11 had passed the House with a 73-0 vote. The bill will be signed by the Speaker and returned to the Senate for the president’s signature.
Next steps: SB 11 will return to the Senate for its final signature and implementation steps will be carried out by the Department of Environmental Quality per statutory provisions.
