Category: News

  • DEQ Forecasters Keep Their Eyes on the Sky during Ozone Season

    By Kimberly Kreykes Like many people, my day starts with the weather forecast. Not just because it is my passion, but because it is my responsibility to stay informed — I am the lead air-quality forecaster for the Utah Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ’s) Division of Air Quality (DAQ). Along with two other DAQ forecasters,…

  • ZOOm Go Electric: Clean Transportation at a Discount Price

    By Clayton Johnson, 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. Local nonprofit organizations Utah Clean Energy and Utah’s Hogle Zoo have joined forces to offer the ZOOm Go Electric program,…

  • Water, Water, Everywhere: Is Your Drinking Water Safe after a Flood?

    Over the past month, snowpack runoff, wet weather, and warm conditions have led to major flooding in northern Utah. When the Bear River crested in mid-February 2017, Garland City, Tremonton, Bothwell, Thatcher, East Garland Park, Riverside, Fielding, Plymouth, Corinne, Deweyville, Portage, and areas below the Cutler dam were hit with area-wide flooding. Roads and railroad…

  • Employer-Based Trip Reduction Programs Improve Air Quality

    By Mat Carlile Last week’s inversion wasn’t the kind of “present” any of us wanted for the holidays. We know that fine particulates caused by the buildup of  pollutants under the inversion’s “lid” create poor air quality and poses a health risk, particularly to the young, elderly, and those with respiratory and heart disease. We…

  • Mercury in Fish: When Catch and Release Is Good for You, Too

    By 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…

  • Wildfires: Where There’s Smoke, There’s Pollution

    Originally 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…

  • Willard Spur: Resolving Conflict through Collaboration

    By 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…

  • Radon Test High? Rid your Home of Radon

    By Eleanor Divver You’ve probably heard that one in three homes in Utah has elevated levels of radon, and that radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers. And since you care about your family’s health and safety, you’ve tested your home — and your results came in above the EPA action level…

  • Why Flint’s Water Crisis Couldn’t Happen in Utah

    Interview with Ken Bousfield Lead contamination in Flint, Michigan’s drinking water has gotten national attention in recent weeks, raising concerns about whether this could happen in Utah. Ken Bousfield, director of the Division of Drinking Water (DDW), explains why this is unlikely. How did Flint’s drinking water become contaminated with lead? In April 2014, Flint City’s…

  • Talking Trash at DEQ

    Interview with Matt Sullivan Most of us take our trash to the curb for pickup and don’t really consider where it goes after that. But did you know that the landfill that accepts your trash has to meet and maintain rigorous environmental standards to protect soils, ground water, and air? We asked Matt Sullivan, an…

  • Water Quality: Helping Communities Protect Their Water Quality

    By Lisa Nelson, P.E. On September 23, 2015, on a beautiful sunny day in the mountains of Summit County, members of Utah’s Water Quality Board, along with Trever Johnson and Duane Schmidt, current and former mayors of Coalville City, gathered together with the Coalville City Council for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of…

  • Radon: Silent Killer Lurks in One Out of Three Utah Homes

    By Jan Poulsen, 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. My name is Jan Poulsen, and I am a lung cancer survivor. I want to share my story in the…

  • Drinking Water: Boiling Water Woes

    By Kim Dyches Following the recent news coverage about communities boiling their water, water customers may want to know if this contamination could have easily been prevented. The answer is YES. These contamination events were the result of a cross-connection between someone’s pressurized irrigation system and the culinary water line into their home. Contaminated water…

  • Water Quality: Keeping Pollutants from Going down the (Storm) Drain

    By Harry Campbell You may have noticed a lot of water rushing into storm drains during the heavy rains this past month. This storm water runoff comes from homes, city streets, parking lots, industrial facilities, and construction sites and often contains sediment, fertilizer, pesticides, oil, gasoline, pet waste, or hazardous waste. And because storm water…

  • Air Quality: Utah Clears the Skies over National Parks

    By Colleen Delaney Utah has some of the most spectacular scenery in the West, particularly in our state’s five national parks. But hazy skies can spoil the experience, and the pollution that creates this haze can also harm human health. Thanks to over 20 years of collaborative work with regional stakeholders, Utah has significantly reduced…

  • Radiation Control: Proposal to Dispose Depleted Uranium in Utah Receives Extensive Analysis

    By Helge Gabert Although depleted uranium (DU) once constituted a small percentage of the low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) generated in the United States, increased production in recent years has led to a growing need to find sites that are best suited for its long-term disposal. EnergySolutions, a commercial LLRW company in Utah, is seeking a…

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