Proposal Would Shake Up Utah DEQ

A proposal from the Utah state legislature would combine two divisions within the Department of Environmental Quality for “efficiency” reasons, according to a Utah DEQ spokesperson yesterday. The proposal would combine the divisions of radiation control and the division of solid and hazardous waste into one entity. “There is a legislative proposal that essentially combines the two divisions for efficiencies,” DEQ spokesperson Donna Kemp Spangler said. “The Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste’s workload has really dwindled because of the closure of the Kemp Chemical Weapons Depot. With that, there are opportunities to look at consolidating two divisions into one because radiation control has the same kind of engineers and scientists who can do the job. At this stage, it’s just a proposal, and it’s being driven by a legislative proponent.” With the proposed consolidation, the oversight responsibilities at the EnergySolutions’ Clive facility would remain unchanged while the review of depleted uranium would continue as usual, Spangler said.