DEQ budget set

Idaho’s state Department of Environmental Quality would see an 8.8 percent cut in state general funds next year and a 19.7 percent cut overall, under a budget just approved unanimously by JFAC. The department will lose six more positions as part of the plan. Sen. Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise, raised questions about cutbacks in water quality monitoring. DEQ Director Toni Hardesty said statewide water quality monitoring surveys will have to be suspended due to budget cuts for a second year, but she hopes to resume them the following year; specific monitoring projects continue. The budget also includes dedicated funds for Coeur d’Alene Basin remediation and the cleanup of the Idora mill site in North Idaho. Sen. Joyce Broadsword, R-Sagle, noted, “There are several items in this budget that reflect on-the-ground jobs in my district, and in North Idaho in general.” Broadsword was among a group of JFAC members who worked on the budget plan.