Now it's back to the drawing board for the Utah Department of Environmental Quality's Division of Air Quality. Department officials are trying to identify an annual funding stream of at least $3 million to pay for air monitoring, scientific studies and the drafting of a plan to bring the state into compliance with new, more-stringent federal Environmental Protection Agency regulations for fine particle pollution and ozone.

Failure to comply could result in limits on transportation projects, the loss of federal transportation funds or even a federal takeover of the state's air quality regulation program. And worse, failure to comply would result in continued risks to the public health, particularly for residents living along the Wasatch Front, where heavy traffic contributes to air pollution.

A DEQ stakeholders task force, composed of industry reps, lawmakers, DEQ officials and environmentalists, proposed a nominal increase in the gas tax and/or vehicle registration fees to help cover the cost of compliance. A tiny tax could raise a lot of money - a 2-cent tax on each 10 gallons of gas would net an estimated $3.5 million a year; a $1.96 increase in the annual vehicle registration fee would generate about $3.9 million.

The proposal made sense, considering that automobile emissions account for about half of the fine particle pollution in the state, while contributing heavily to the mix of chemicals that form ozone when baked under a hot summer sun. But the interim committee, which could have recommended legislation to put the plan in place, rejected the road map, and failed to suggest an alternative route.

Now DEQ will be forced to seek money for air quality planning directly from lawmakers, who have been less than forthcoming with funding for environmental programs. The agency's work force has been static for 15 years, and budget cuts from several years ago have never been restored.

The Legislature needs to stop treating the DEQ like an ugly stepchild, and give it the money it needs to do its job. Our health, and our lives, depend on it.

Now DEQ will be forced to seek money for air quality planning directly from lawmakers, who have been less than forthcoming with funding for environmental programs.