Air Quality
Drinking Water
Environmental Response and Remediation
Waste Management and Radiation Control
Water Quality
Executive Director’s Office
DEQ Scientists: Keeping Utahns Safe This Summer
For the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, summer is a time for field work: Testing for water pollution, cleaning up contaminated lands, or monitoring the air for ozone levels.
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Jordan River: Monitoring Ecological Change with Smartphones and Social Media
Salt Lake County Watershed Planning & Restoration is using crowd-sourced photos to help with the ongoing monitoring of its stream restoration projects on the Jordan River. The county invites people to set their phone or camera in an angle bracket, take a photo, and post it to Twitter with a site-specific hashtag.
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DEQ Values in Action: Keeping Clean Drinking Water Flowing
It’s easy to take drinking water for granted. At least in Utah. For the most part, you turn on the tap and clean water flows.
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“Golden Spoke” Bike Ride Celebrates Completion of Jordan River Parkway
Come participate in the Golden Spoke Bike Ride on Saturday, June 2, a 100-mile trail celebration beginning at Rainbow Gardens at the mouth of Ogden Canyon(north) and Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon (south). Ride the longest continuous paved urban trail west of the Mississippi River! Hope to see you there.
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New Locations in Utah Added to Fish Advisory List
Utah added three new waterbodies to its Mercury Fish Consumption Advisory list after officials found elevated levels of mercury in fish tissue at Causey Reservoir, Minersville Reservoir, and Navajo Lake.
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Asbestos in Your Home: Precaution, Not Panic
Asbestos was once considered a “miracle material” for its heat-resistant properties, but we now know that airborne asbestos fibers can cause respiratory damage. Learn what to do if you find asbestos in your home, and remember, removal isn’t necessarily your best option.
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Earth Day Every Day at DEQ
It’s pretty amazing that we set aside a day every year to honor the Earth and promote its protection. Did you know that over 193 countries participate in this celebration of our planet? According to the Earth Day Network, Earth Day is “the largest secular holiday in the world – celebrated by more than 1 billion people every year.”
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Recycling: This Earth Day, Let’s Get Back to Basics
Wondering what you can and can’t put in your blue recycling bin? Guest blogger Sophia Nicholas from Salt Lake City Sustainability lets you know how you can reduce, reuse, and recycle right.by reducing your consumption of disposable items, reuse what you can, and then recycle, but in the right way.
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Recapping the 2017-18 Inversion Season
At the end of March, spring took its turn at the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Along with the warmer weather, budding trees and blooming flowers, DEQ’s Division of Air Quality declared an end to the 2017-18 inversion season and stopped issuing its Action Forecasts for PM2.5 pollution. Rest assured, the Action Forecasts will return in Nov., along with colder weather.
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Utah DEQ Unveils Website Redesign
By DEQ Web Team (part of the Communication Team) In 2016, the DEQ Web Team embarked on a website redesign that is an integral part of the department-wide rebranding effort. This rebranding initiative made DEQ more accessible and relevant to our constituents, bringing to the forefront our mission, vision, and values. On March 23, 2018, …
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Legislative Session Helps Protect Air, Land and Water
By Scott Baird The atmosphere at the State Capitol Thursday night was one of mixed emotions. Legislators (and those of us that work with them) were both elated and exhausted as they completed the annual 45-day session of the Utah State Legislature. This year’s appropriations and legislation ensure that we can continue our ongoing work of safeguarding …
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DEQ Values in Action: Exceptional Service
By Jared Mendenhall The mess, pun intended, started in the mid-2000s. This is when two entrepreneurial college students bought a metal plating company in Northern Utah. Along with the company they unknowingly purchased a large amount of hazardous waste. The problem came to their attention a few years later during a routine inspection from Utah’s …
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DEQ Employees Take Opportunity to Clear the Air
By Jared Mendenhall Forty-eight percent of winter air pollution along the Wasatch Front comes from mobile sources. Mobile source pollution is the emissions produced by cars and trucks. Reducing these emissions, is one of the easiest things residents can do to improve air quality. During February, the Salt Lake Chamber sponsors the Clear the Air …
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Air Quality, Your Health, and Transportation at Intermountain Healthcare
By Steve Bergstrom Guest Blogger Poor air quality affects everyone. It is especially hard on children, elderly and those with asthma, lung disease, cardiovascular disease and risk of stroke. Also, research is showing a strong connection between poor air quality and developmental issues with the fetus, increased respiratory infections, and neurologic conditions. One-third of Utah’s population …
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Clear the Air Challenge: Skip the Trip, Hop on Your Bike!
By Søren Simonsen, guest blogger DEQ invites guest bloggers to share their thoughts on issues that impact our environment. We appreciate their insights and the opportunity to broaden the conversation with others in the community. I remember getting my very first road-worthy bike when I turned five. It was a lime-green, three-speed with chopper-style handlebars, …
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Rethink Your Relationship With Cars
Take the Clear the Air Challenge By Jared Mendenhall In 1888, a housewife changed the course of human history. Bertha’s husband Karl, an engineer, had fallen into a deep depression because his latest invention failed to live up to its promise. Early one morning, Bertha stole away with his creation to prove to the family …
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