March 15, 2017 – The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality has scheduled its annual Environmental Update workshops to be held in three locations in Nebraska this May:

Tuesday, May 23 – North Platte, Holiday Inn Express and Suites, 300 Holiday Frontage Rd, North Platte

Wednesday, May 24 – Saunders County Extension Office, 1071 County Road G, Ithaca

Thursday, May 25 – Norfolk, Lifelong Learning Center, Northeast Community College, 801 East Benjamin Avenue, Norfolk

March 24, 2017 -- The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality has launched some new pages on its web site to discuss how regional controlled burning can impact air quality. Called “Smoke Awareness in Nebraska,” this site will be updated regularly from March to mid-April, when large controlled burns in the Flint Hills area of Kansas and Oklahoma occur and can potentially impact air quality in surrounding states.

April 21, 2017 -- The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality has entered into a contract with Engineering Solutions and Design, Inc (ESD) to perform a study to modernize NDEQ’s solid waste management programs. The study is required by LB 1101, which was signed by Governor Rickets on April 7, 2016.

On May 1, the state began its weekly monitoring of harmful algal blooms (also known as toxic blue-green algae) and bacteria at 50 public recreational lakes in Nebraska. Sampling will continue weekly through September.

The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality has announced a public comment period and a public hearing regarding the proposal to renew the operating permit for G&P Development, Inc. Municipal Solid Waste Landfill in Milford. The public comment period is open through May 23, 2017. The hearing will begin at 6 p.m. May 31 at the Milford Webermeier Public Library, 617 2nd Street, Milford.

LINCOLN – Today, Governor Pete Ricketts and the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) announced the approval of over 1,000 online applications for coverage under the stormwater construction general permit. The online process has been in effect since November 2016.

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality Director Jim Macy announced today that the state is awarding $1.71 million to support 100 tire recycling and cleanup projects across the state.

"The agency received many outstanding applications from across the state,” Macy said. “These funds will provide needed support to local efforts which effectively deal with scrap tires in Nebraska.”

May 26, 2017 -- The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality is soliciting input from local governmental agencies and other interested parties regarding a request from U.S. EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) to provide state and local input relating a forthcoming proposal to revise the definition of waters of the United States.

The Environmental Quality Council, will hold its next meeting June 13, 2017 at the Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln. The meeting begins at 10 a.m., and hearings will be conducted on:
 

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality Director Jim Macy today announced the awarding of $2,623,217 in grants through the Waste Reduction and Recycling Incentive Grant Fund.