| Updated: Jan. 22, 2021, 12:55 a.m. Under a proposal expected to be unveiled in coming days for the upcoming legislative session, two major Utah state agencies would be merged, teaming environmental regulators with officials who oversee the development of the state’s natural resources. The bill proposes folding the departments of Natural Resources (DNR) and Environmental Quality (DEQ) under one umbrella, possibly along with other state agencies currently housed in the governor’s office. The goal of the bill is to promote government efficiency, according to the sponsoring lawmaker Rep. Casey Snider, R-Paradise, who believes the agencies’ overlapping missions result in bureaucratic redundancy. But critics are concerned its effect, intended or otherwise, would dilute and diminish the authority of officials charged with protecting Utah’s environment.