By Suzan Tahir Some of you might have heard about harmful algal blooms (HABs), and some of you might not…yet. But HABs are happening nationwide, mostly in the warm summer months. As you know, we have trillions of bacteria (good bacteria and bad bacteria) living in our gut (gastrointestinal tract), and they coexist until something …
Read MoreBy Barbara Crouch, 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. Most people think of the Utah Poison Control Center (UPCC) as the go-to resource if their child/grandchild puts something in …
Read MoreBy Scott Baird The whirlwind of Utah’s 45 day legislative session is over, the dust has settled, and we at the Department of Environmental Quality want to thank you for helping this session to be a success. The appropriations and legislation approved in this session will ensure that the Department can continue its ongoing work …
Read MoreBy Kevin Okleberry It was on a bright Monday morning, July 11, 2016, when I walked into the Multi-Agency State Office Building in west Salt Lake City to begin my new job as the Spills Coordinator for the Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ’s) Division of Water Quality (DWQ). I was a bit nervous, but also …
Read MoreBy: Amy Christensen Two years ago, the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) had some very astute hunches that were confirmed by comprehensive state-wide research. Of the over 600 Utah households surveyed, only three percent could name DEQ as an environmental entity, and even less knew anything about what we do. By finding a way to …
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 …
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