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Citizen
and governmental committees frequently provide DEQ with guidance
on local and statewide issues. Members of these committees, often
citizens, industry representatives, or elected officials, offer
valuable insight into how environmental issues affect Idaho's citizens
and businesses.
In addition
to receiving input from citizens through DEQ advisory committees,
DEQ staff members also serve on and chair many other technical and
advisory committees. |
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| Citizen Advisory Committees |
| DEQ
invites interested parties to serve on committees to advise DEQ
on certain issues. Some committees require a long-term time commitment;
others may only meet once or twice. Committee meetings are open
to the public. |
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Airshed Advisory
Groups |
Some
parts of Idaho have been classified by EPA as air quality nonattainment
areas. Site-specific plans must be developed and implemented
for these areas to re-gain "attainment" status. Airshed
Advisory Groups are formed to provide citizen input as these site-specific
plans are developed. more
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BAGs and WAGs |
| Watershed
advisory groups (WAGs) and basin advisory groups (BAGs) are committees
of interested individuals that provide information and advice to
DEQ on water quality issues and objectives in specific areas of
the state. The roles of WAGs and BAGs are outlined in Idaho
Statute (39-3613 through 39-3616).
BAGs
The state
is divided into six basins and each basin has a BAG whose role is
to advise DEQ on water quality objectives in its basin. The DEQ
director appoints BAG members who represent a cross-section of interests
in the basin, such as agriculture, forestry, municipalities, industry,
recreation, Native American tribes, and environmental interests.
more
WAGs
The BAGs recommend people
for the DEQ director to appoint to WAGs. As the name implies, WAGs
provide guidance on specific watersheds, whereas BAGs provide guidance
on much larger basins. Watershed advisory groups provide local public
input and guidance to DEQ when developing water quality improvement
plans or TMDLs. more |
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Drinking Water
Advisory Committee |
The
Drinking Water Advisory Committee is a standing committee appointed
by the DEQ director to provide guidance and advice to DEQ on issues
related to safe drinking water policy and programs. The committee
is composed of representatives from large and small water systems,
the drinking water industry, and elected officials. more |
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Ground Water Quality
Advisory Committees |
| Ground water quality advisory committees are formed
in specific areas of the state to develop management strategies and
plans for areas with significantly degraded ground water. The committees
generally consist of local residents and government agency representatives.
Contact your DEQ regional
office to learn if a committee has been formed in your area. more |
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Joint
Legislative Environmental Common Sense Committee |
The
Joint Legislative Environmental Common Sense Committee (ECSC) is
a panel of six state legislators who work closely with representatives
of the regulated community; environmental groups; federal, state,
and local government regulators; and the public to develop recommendations
to streamline governmental processes and approaches to resolving
environmental problems. The committee was created by the Idaho Legislature in January
1995. |
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Current Issues |
Eurasian
Watermilfoil |
Eurasian
watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) is a plant with feathery underwater
foliage. The introduction of milfoil can drastically alter a waterbody's
ecology. Milfoil forms very dense mats of vegetation on the surface
of the water. These mats interfere with recreational activities,
cause flooding, breed mosquitos, rob oxygen from the water, and
trap sediments. Milfoil can infest an entire lake within two years
of introduction to the system. Once milfoil becomes well-established
within a waterbody, it is difficult or impossible to remove. more |
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Urban
Drainage Subcommittee |
Urbanization
and a changing regulatory environment are bringing new focus to
urban drainage issues. In the past, drainage issues in Idaho have
been largely associated with irrigated agriculture. Urbanization
and new regulations are increasing the work and cost involved in
stormwater management, however, and raising questions about who
should manage urban drainage and how these new requirements should
be paid for. At the initiative of the ECSC, a special subcommittee
has been formed to identify the stormwater management issues facing
communities and propose legislative or administrative soutions to
help Idaho address this growing water quality concern. more |
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Environmental
Area of Impact Initiative |
Areas
of impact are areas that cross jurisdictional boundaries and share
the same or similar benefits or consequences. At the initiative
of the ECSC, a special subcommittee has been established to address
environmental area of impact issues in Idaho. The goal of the subcommittee
is to develop recommendations on how local governments can improve
sharing of infrastructure and services to ensure protection of the
environment and the public health and safety of Idaho citizens.
The subcommittee is co-chaired by Sen. Hal Bunderson (R-Meridian)
and John Moeller of Forsgreen Associates and consists of representatives
of public and private sector organizations with an interest in areas
of impact. more |
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Previous Issues |
Waste
Tire Management |
| Among the major achievements of the ECSC was development
of draft legislation to manage waste tires in Idaho. Working with
representatives of public and private sector organizations with an
interest in waste tire management, DEQ, and the public, the ECSC submitted
proposed amendments to the state's Waste Tire Act to the Idaho Legislature
for consideration during its 2003 session. The subcommittee's draft
was introduced as House Bill 198, amended to address a number of additional
issues identified by local governments and legislators, passed by
the House and Senate, and signed into law on April 14, 2003, by Governor
Dirk Kempthorne. The law took effect July 1, 2003. more |
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NPDES
and State Primacy |
| Under
the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program,
point sources that discharge into surface waters are required to
obtain an NPDES permit. Idaho is one of only a handful of states
where the NPDES program is administered by the federal U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) rather than a state agency.
In August 2004, at the
initiative of various industries and interested parties, a work
group was chartered by the ECSC to consider whether Idaho should
seek primacy for the NPDES program. The committee considered the
pros and cons of shifting responsibility for the NPDES program from
EPA to DEQ and, in view of the complexity of this issue, recommended
that DEQ hire two staff to thoroughly review the NPDES primacy issue
and develop recommendations as to whether it would be appropriate
for Idaho to pursue primacy. more |
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