The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has seen some of the deepest budget and staffing cuts of any state environmental agency in the country. That’s according to a new analysis from a group called the Environmental Integrity Project.

ADEQ says technology is helping to make up for some of those cuts and that the agency remains committed to its mission of “protecting and enhancing public health and the environment of Arizona.”

Eric Schaeffer, director of the Environmental Integrity Project, joined The Show to talk more about the report titled “The Thin Green Line: Cuts to State Pollution Control Agencies Threaten Public Health.”

ADEQ released a statement about the report:

"ADEQ remains committed to our mission of protecting and enhancing public health and the environment of Arizona. Some of the measures ADEQ is employing to more effectively and efficiently meet our mission goals is through the implementation and use of lean management principles, focusing on technical excellence and employee engagement by staff, and advancements in technology. These measures have improved performance and reduced turnover at the agency. The agency’s work, efforts and achievements have even gained attention from around the state, country and world.

Some of the achievements ADEQ has seen include:

• 91% reduction in the time to begin cleanup and an 81% reduction in the time to complete cleanup for UST leaks reported since 2012.
• 46% reduction in the cost to clean up a UST leak from FY14 to FY19.
• Six sites removed from Water Quality Assurance Revolving Fund (WQARF) registry since FY13 (the first in program history).
• 266% reduction in number of days it takes for a drinking water system to return to compliance since 2013, and an improvement of tools to assist small water systems with funding and technical assistance, when needed (See an example.)
• Development of an online permitting and reporting portal called myDEQ, and applications already on the platform have:
- Allowed for same-day identification of potential violations.
- Increased compliance rates by 60%.
- Reduced permit application processing times by 95%.
- Saved ADEQ staff 100,000 hours, allowing them to focus on additional efforts to protect public health and the environment.
• Creation of unique mobile apps, including:
- Air Arizona with hourly air quality forecasts (See more information.) 
- Arizona Water Watch, for which 12 other states have requested the source code to potentially develop their own (See more information.)

As you can see the numbers in the report don’t necessarily reflect the continued progress ADEQ is achieving through innovative use of resources, thinking and modern technology. Just as these efforts have improved productivity across many other sectors of business, they have also proven effective to ADEQ."