by Tammie Bostick Cooper, 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. Ten years ago, my niece came to my mountain home and announced her class was campaigning to stop the …
Read MoreBy Amy Dickey Editor’s Note: The recent release of metals-laden sediment from Tibble Fork Reservoir has raised concerns among anglers about heavy-metals contamination in fish in the American Fork River. The Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) is currently collecting live fish downstream from the reservoir and will be testing them for the presence of metals …
Read MoreBy Austin Pettey It’s awesome when an incredible opportunity opens up, and it seems like all your hard work is beginning to pay off. I was recently selected as a summer intern with the Utah Division of Air Quality (DAQ). I am a third year student at the University of Utah studying chemical engineering. While …
Read MoreBy Christine Osborne The Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has consistently demonstrated its commitment to reducing air pollution by encouraging employee vanpools, issuing free Eco-Pass annual transit passes to all employees, and providing lockers and changing rooms for bike commuters. We brought hybrid cars, then electric vehicles, into our fleet. And now we’re ready …
Read MoreBy Ben Holcomb Harmful algal blooms have been in the news a lot lately, from the massive scums lining the Florida coast to the blue-green mats that covered Utah Lake and forced its closure. Predicting when these blooms will occur is one of the greatest challenges we face at the Division of Water Quality (DWQ). …
Read MoreBy Donna Kemp Spangler It was like a scene from Ghostbusters: a mysterious green ooze was bubbling up from a street drain in a Bluffdale neighborhood on July 21, prompting a social media frenzy that it was somehow connected to the harmful algal bloom that had engulfed Utah Lake and spread throughout the Jordan River …
Read MoreBy Bailey Toolson, 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. As part of the annual Clear the Air Challenge, the Utah Clean Air Partnership (UCAIR) and the Department of Environmental …
Read MoreInterview with Ben Holcomb If you’ve ever recreated at one of Utah’s lakes or reservoirs, you’ve probably seen areas where greenish scum was floating on the water or collecting on the shore. What you probably didn’t know — at least until this past week with the closure of Utah Lake — was that this bright-green water …
Read MoreBy: Michael Grange One thing we can all be certain of, stuff happens. And when that stuff happens to your drinking water system, whether it’s expected or unexpected, sometimes you just aren’t quite ready for it. If the solution to the stuff that happens has a financial component to it, you may really not be …
Read MoreOriginally published July 5, 2016 By Donna Kemp Spangler Wildfire season is in full swing, most notably in central and southern Utah, where firefighters continue to battle several stubborn wildfires. Although individuals along the Wasatch Front may not be directly impacted by the wildfires burning south of here, the smoke from fires can have a …
Read MoreBy Jeff Ostermiller Sometimes it’s hard for me to keep my inner cynic in check. This is particularly true during presidential elections, when the divisive nature of our political system makes compromise among differing viewpoints seem impossible. In contrast to presidential politics, our collaboration on Willard Spur embraced divergent views to help find solutions to …
Read MoreBy Bailey Toolson, 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. The Division of Air Quality often writes and revises air quality rules to help reduce pollution and improve the air …
Read MoreBy: Lisa Gelino-Titcomb When you think of air pollution, you automatically think of diesel-engine fumes, smokestacks from industrial plants, or car exhaust. You usually don’t think of a charbroiled hamburger. While it may be hard to imagine the all-beef patty as an environmental nuisance, previous findings show that the commercial charbroilers used to cook hamburgers …
Read MoreBy: Utah DEQ Communications Office May is Bike Month, and DEQ is celebrating by showcasing stories about how people are choosing bicycles as an environmentally friendly form of transportation. If you’ve seen folks pedaling around downtown Salt Lake City on green-colored bikes, you know that trees, flowers, and lawns aren’t the only green things that …
Read MoreBy Chamonix Larsen May is Bike Month, and DEQ is celebrating by inviting guest bloggers to share their thoughts on choosing bicycles as an environmentally friendly form of transportation. We appreciate their insights and the opportunity to broaden the conversation with others in our community. Do you ever dream you can fly? Do you dream …
Read MoreInterview with Jon Black Stericycle has submitted a permit application to the Division of Air Quality (DAQ) for a proposed hospital, medical, and infectious waste incinerator (HMIWI) in Tooele, Utah, to replace Stericycle’s North Salt Lake facility. We spoke with DAQ environmental engineer Jon Black about the proposed permit. Why is Stericycle relocating to Tooele …
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Air Quality
Drinking Water
Environmental Response and Remediation
Waste Management and Radiation Control
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Executive Director’s Office