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DEQ Brownfields program introduces new staff, signals fee and statutory changes in 2025
Summary
Program lead Bruce announced three new Brownfields staff and said DEQ plans a statutory package and fee adjustments in 2025, including cost-recovery provisions for compliance enforcement.
Bruce, speaking for the Brownfields program, opened the meeting by announcing three new staff hires: Stephanie Hempel and Josh Billiett in the property management branch and Celeste Dobill as eligibility coordinator; he said the previous eligibility coordinator, Lauren Fleming, has moved into project management support.
Bruce said the program is nearing full staffing and that the new positions should improve throughput in property management. He also said the program is preparing a statutory package timed with the transition to a new governor that may include fee changes and other statutory corrections: "We are planning on doing that... we're talking about inflation-type adjustments to those fees," Bruce said.
Bruce also noted that the statute already provides for cost recovery in compliance enforcement and that DEQ will consider cost-recovery fees for situations requiring enforcement or extra compliance review.
The announcements were presented as program updates; no formal votes or rule changes were adopted at the meeting. The staff asked stakeholders to engage with the Access DEQ rollout and follow-up materials that will be posted to the DEQ website.
