Richard Opper, Director
Welcome to the DEQ Web Site
I have the dual honor of being appointed to head the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and of welcoming you to our web site. The former honor is daunting, the latter a pleasure. The DEQ has too many responsibilities to cover in this short intro but our work touches the lives of most everyone who lives in or visits our wonderful state.
Among our many responsibilities, we issue air, land use, and water permits that protect the state’s natural resources. We clean up abandoned mines and other contaminated sites around the state. We provide assistance to those who want to protect waters of the state, use energy more wisely, or promote recycling. And we enforce Montana’s environmental laws. Controversy always seems to surround us; such is the life of a regulatory agency. But our dedicated and talented staff remains true to our mission of protecting, sustaining and improving a clean and healthful environment for the benefit of current and future generations.
Our work helps ensure that the water you drink, the air that you breathe, and the land that you live, work, and play on is free from contamination. I hope you do your part as well to keep our state clean and beautiful. I also hope you find our site instructive and helpful, and that you will share with us your suggestions of how to improve our site by contacting us.
Meanwhile, happy browsing.
Richard Opper
Director
