The Utah Senate signed off on a bill this morning that revamps the five citizen boards within Utah’s Department of Environmental Quality, such as the air quality and drinking water boards. But that didn’t happen until it was amended to guarantee that environmental groups would have representation on them. The bill’s sponsor, Republican Senator Margaret Dayton, said she approved of the amendment, which was sponsored by a Democratic lawmaker.
The legislation shifts many functions of the DEQ boards to the department’s director instead. It passed on a vote of 19-to-3, but must be approved by the Senate a second time before moving to the House of Representatives.