In Georgia, state budget cuts and hiring freezes may lead to a decrease in enforcement of environmental laws.

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division is in charge of issuing permits to businesses throughout the state that release air and water pollution, run landfills, collect scrap tires or treat drinking water. The EPD also monitors and investigates violations of environmental laws.

“When there are cuts, it affects how quickly we can issue permits…And then we’re not out there to make sure it’s being done right,” says Lon Revall, Manager of the waste reduction and abatement program for one EPD branch.

Revall’s program handled enforcement of asbestos laws.

Asbestos is a fibrous mineral once commonly used in building materials such as insulation and tiles. It is now known that asbestos can cause lung scarring and cancers such as mesothelioma if accidentally breathed in.

Georgia’s asbestos program was mostly discontinued last month, and the state has given most responsibility for enforcing environmental law to the federal Environmental Protection Agency. By doing so, the state has saved $179,000.

The state will continue to approve asbestos contractor licenses, as well as monitoring notifications about upcoming projects that will disturb asbestos.

Mr. Revall believes the 4,000 project notifications the state receives a year are only a fraction of the projects going on. Now that state funding has been cut, Georgia officials will be even less likely to catch contractors who remove asbestos without telling anyone. Even in previous years, there have been too few employees to conduct unannounced inspections.

Revall is not pleased by the budget cuts, saying “It was extremely frustrating to the staff because we know asbestos is dangerous. There is no safe exposure level and the program is needed, but yet we were under-resourced.”

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