Cuts will hurt state,
DEQ official asserts
By Kathy Smith
Of (f>« Emmrmkt
A proposed 10-percent cut
in the Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality’s bud
get would mean “Oregonians
will have to live with dirtier air
and water," says Mark Fritzler,
a DEQ representative
And that is a slap at what
makes Oregon Oregon, he
says
Budget cuts created by the
1980 special session and the
1981 regular session of the
state Legislature already have
reduced the DEO budget to
levels established during the
1975-77 biennium
With an $8 1 million budget
for 1981-83, DEO is operating
at 85-percent of the previous
biennium's funding A
10-percent cut, combined with
a massive reduction in federal
funds, will bring about serious
effects on the Oregon envir
onment, Fritzler says
uov vie Atiyen is proposing
the most recent cut as part of a
budget-balancing act de
signed to rid the state of a
projected $239 million deficit
Reductions in state funds
will result in the loss of 12
positions and related services,
Fritzler says Many services
will be limited to the Portland
Medford corridor, and several
monitoring stations will be
closed Technical assistance
to small communities also will
be limited
"We will have to be reactive
rather than active," Fritzler
says
The effects of a reduced
DEQ budget could include
• A reduction in air quality
monitoring, "The air program
will have to rely on self-moni
toring by industrial sources,"
Fritzler says
• A 50-percent reduction in
DEQ's ability to analyze in
dustrial waste water dis
charges
• A reduction in technical
assistance for sewage treat
ment systems This would af
fect planning and design
review, and possibly lead to
more breakdowns, growth
problems, and increased taxes
or user charges
• A major reduction in pub
lic information programs on
recycling, DEQ would lose half
its financial ability to develop
and disseminate information
• An almost total destruc
tion of noise pollution pro
grams Noise pollution control
is at the top of the budget-cut
ting list.
In a recent report to Atiyeh,
Fritzler outlined a few long
term consequences that —
although they are hard to
predict — "can be expected
with some assurance " Possi
ble long-term consequences
include:
• More public health clo
sures of popular swimming
and boating areas on the Wil
lamette. Clackamas. Santiam,
and Rogue rivers and other
public waters. The closures
would be due to the entrance
of raw sewage, as assistance
to small communities is
reduced, and sewage treat
ment plants reach capacity.
• A reduction in salmon and
steelhead runs due to
Emerald graphic
water pollution.
• A regression in the
40-year struggle to restore the
Willamette River
• Increased air pollution
that would aggravate respira
tory problems, block views of
Oregon mountains and coun
tryside, and adversely affect
forest and wilderness areas
• Deterioration of well
water quality and contamina
tion of groundwater from un
noticed sewage and water
discharges
While Atiyeh is proposing a
10-percent reduction in the
DEQ budget, the Joint Ways
and Means Committee is sug
gesting a less damaging
2.5-percent cut. Fritzler
refuses to bet on the passage
of the 2 5-percent cut, how
ever, calling that bet "poor
poker.”
The possible state budget
cuts, combined with almost
assured federal cuts, could
mean a grim future for
Oregon's famous clean envir
onment, Fritzler says.
"Oregon will no longer re
flect the kind of livability so
many people sought in coming
here, and were proud of in
living here.”
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INTERVIEWS
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Bargain Book Sale!
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