A report by the D.C. based Environmental Integrity Project shows the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality saw it’s budget cut by 35 percent between 2008 and 2018.
Those cuts came while the state saw an increasing number of petrochemical projects take hold, but DEQ Secretary Chuck Brown says it hasn’t significantly hampered their capabilities.
“Would you rather have 1,052 people, well of course. But be that as it may, we’ve managed to carry out and meet our commitments with the staff that we had.”
The department also saw a 35 percent decline in staffing during that period, the fourth-highest percentage of cuts to staffing of any state during that period, but LDEQ spokesperson Greg Langley says much of the losses were not to regulatory staff.
Brown notes the department does not get money from the state general fund, but their staffing levels, and how much they can charge in fees are determined by the state.
“Along with EPA grants and fees and other entities that we get from industry we are self-sustained.”
The Secretary says despite the cuts in staff and funding, they’ve never failed to obtain key benchmarks set by the EPA.
“We are in attainment for every air quality measure except for one in one parish and that is SO2 in St. Bernard.”
