Biden’s EPA Backs Trump Rule to Let Utah’s Coal Plants Pollute National Parks

Conservation Groups Pursue Lawsuit to Defend Clean Air Act’s Regional Haze Program

SALT LAKE CITY, UT — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has notified HEAL Utah, National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), Sierra Club, and Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment that it will defend the Trump administration’s decision to let Utah’s massive coal plants pollute 11 national parks and 14 wilderness areas in violation of the Regional Haze Rule, established by the Clean Air Act.

The four groups sued the EPA at the end of the Trump administration, and now intend to continue that lawsuit against the Biden administration to defend the Regional Haze Rule. The Regional Haze Rule is designed to protect our national parks and wilderness areas from fossil fuel pollution that causes haze clouds in our country’s most iconic parks, and to return those wild places to natural visibility by 2064.

The coal-fired Hunter and Huntington power plants, located in central Utah and operated by a subsidiary of PacifiCorp, are two of the biggest polluters in the country and are among the top sources of haze pollution in our national parks, including “The Mighty Five” in Utah — Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion — and many other national parks and wilderness areas beyond Utah’s borders, including the Grand Canyon.

Huntington Power Plant, Emery County, UT

During the Obama presidency, the EPA issued a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) that included cost-effective pollution reduction measures to cut haze-causing nitrogen oxide emissions by 76 percent from Utah’s coal plants. The Trump administration superseded the 2016 FIP with one that required no controls on Hunter or Huntington. The Biden administration could have easily rejected Trump’s rule and simply reverted to the prior Obama rule.

Since the Trump administration rejected coal pollution controls in Utah, more than 100,000 people submitted comments to state and federal agencies asking for stronger nitrogen oxide pollution controls on Utah’s Hunter and Huntington coal plants to clear up haze in the region’s national parks.

We are beyond disappointed that the Biden administration’s EPA is defending a Trump era decision that allows the views of southern Utah’s iconic scenery to be blurred by air pollution,” said Alex Veilleux, Policy Associate at the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah. “Communities and advocates fought hard for the original plan to improve the visibility in these locations. Is the bar really so low that we can’t even expect Rocky Mountain Power to modify its coal plant smokestacks to clean up the air in our national parks?”

“The medical research on air pollution is well established–there is no safe level of air pollution exposure. Even levels far below the EPA’s national standards precipitate a long list of human diseases, acceleration of the aging process and premature death. The do-nothing rule left over from the Trump Administration is unacceptable. The pollution from Hunter and Huntington not only creates regional haze but the burning of the coal represents a health hazard to people throughout Southern Utah and beyond,” said Jonny Vasic, Executive Director for Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment.

“It’s outrageous that the Biden administration is rejecting the best opportunity to slash pollution from these enormous coal plants that have been damaging Utah’s people and parks for decades,” said Cory MacNulty, associate southwest director of the National Parks Conservation Association. “The awe-inspiring views at places such as Arches, Canyonlands and Zion are obscured by the pollution from two of the biggest park polluters in the country, and allowing these places to continue to pollute the air unabated is a huge disappointment.”

“The decision to side with Trump on an issue that has such great consequences for clean air in the West is indefensible, and is a failure of the Biden administration to match action in Utah with its rhetoric on cutting fossil fuel pollution,” said Holly Bender, Sierra Club’s Senior Director of Energy Campaigns. “Restoring strong clean air protections for Utah should have been one of the Biden administration’s easiest decisions; instead Biden’s EPA has sided with Trump and the coal industry in Utah, allowing more harmful pollution for decades to come.

🎉 Join us in celebration on Thursday, March 28th at the Utah State Capitol from 11-12 pm MT to kick off our campaign to save the Phalaropes - and the Great Salt Lake.

Featuring speakers like Phalarope scientist Ryan Carle, Terry Tempest Williams, Ben Abbott (@growtheflow), Patrick Donnelly (@centerforbiod), representatives from @uphe and UYES, and more. Plus, don't miss the Great Salt Lake Vigil bird puppets and signs expressing our love for the Lake.

🐦 What exactly is at stake for the Great Salt Lake if the Wilson’s Phalarope gains Endangered Species Act protection?

Protecting the Wilson’s Phalarope under the Endangered Species Act could mean crucial safeguards for the Great Salt Lake, including regulations on water levels and ecosystem preservation. Federal involvement might push leaders to prioritize water flow to the lake.

We can't wait to see you there ❗️RSVP: Link in Bio.

🎉 Join us in celebration on Thursday, March 28th at the Utah State Capitol from 11-12 pm MT to kick off our campaign to save the Phalaropes - and the Great Salt Lake.

Featuring speakers like Phalarope scientist Ryan Carle, Terry Tempest Williams, Ben Abbott (@growtheflow), Patrick Donnelly (@centerforbiod), representatives from @uphe and UYES, and more. Plus, don`t miss the Great Salt Lake Vigil bird puppets and signs expressing our love for the Lake.

🐦 What exactly is at stake for the Great Salt Lake if the Wilson’s Phalarope gains Endangered Species Act protection?

Protecting the Wilson’s Phalarope under the Endangered Species Act could mean crucial safeguards for the Great Salt Lake, including regulations on water levels and ecosystem preservation. Federal involvement might push leaders to prioritize water flow to the lake.

We can`t wait to see you there ❗️RSVP: Link in Bio.
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Immigration at the southern border and inflation, especially food inflation, have been the top two political issues this year according to recent polls. Did you know that both are being affected, if not largely driven by, the climate crisis? 🌎
 
Agricultural stability hinges on consistent precipitation and temperatures. However, the climate crisis, marked by extreme temperatures, droughts, floods, hurricanes, and more, is significantly disrupting food production. Already, millions of people worldwide have been displaced from their homes as a result. In 2022, over 30 million people became climate or earthquake refugees. Not surprisingly, a new study directly connected the climate crisis with food inflation throughout the world. 📈
 
Central America, the origin of much the immigration surge at the southern border, contributes hardly any greenhouse gases to the global atmosphere, but is especially at risk from the climate crisis. Honduras is pummeled with hurricanes, rising seas and storm surges, and coastal erosion. In Western Mexico it’s drought. In Guatemala and El Salvador its hurricanes, drought, floods, and malnutrition from crop failure.
 
By 2050, weather extremes and ecosystem destruction, and the ensuing societal collapse, will create as many as 1.2 billion climate refugees and risk the lives of even more. Food inflation that we’re seeing now is just the beginning of this dangerous trend. It is in our own self-interest and our moral obligation for Utah and the United States to end our dependency on greenhouse gas emitting dirty energy. Taking care of our local environment helps us take care of our shared world. 💚

Immigration at the southern border and inflation, especially food inflation, have been the top two political issues this year according to recent polls. Did you know that both are being affected, if not largely driven by, the climate crisis? 🌎

Agricultural stability hinges on consistent precipitation and temperatures. However, the climate crisis, marked by extreme temperatures, droughts, floods, hurricanes, and more, is significantly disrupting food production. Already, millions of people worldwide have been displaced from their homes as a result. In 2022, over 30 million people became climate or earthquake refugees. Not surprisingly, a new study directly connected the climate crisis with food inflation throughout the world. 📈

Central America, the origin of much the immigration surge at the southern border, contributes hardly any greenhouse gases to the global atmosphere, but is especially at risk from the climate crisis. Honduras is pummeled with hurricanes, rising seas and storm surges, and coastal erosion. In Western Mexico it’s drought. In Guatemala and El Salvador its hurricanes, drought, floods, and malnutrition from crop failure.

By 2050, weather extremes and ecosystem destruction, and the ensuing societal collapse, will create as many as 1.2 billion climate refugees and risk the lives of even more. Food inflation that we’re seeing now is just the beginning of this dangerous trend. It is in our own self-interest and our moral obligation for Utah and the United States to end our dependency on greenhouse gas emitting dirty energy. Taking care of our local environment helps us take care of our shared world. 💚
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🤔 What does enacting the Endangered Species Act for the Wilson’s Phalarope mean for the Great Salt Lake? 

If we’re successful in achieving this status, an Endangered Species Act listing of the Wilson’s Phalarope would trigger a full range of protections that would likely include mandates around 💧water levels and ecosystem protections at the lake. The potential for federal involvement is a lever we hope will push our leaders to get serious about sending water to Great Salt Lake. 

💪 Help us make this launch as powerful as it can be so that we can address the great public health and ecological crises we face due to the drying Great Salt Lake. 

🎉 Join us on Thursday, March 28th at the Utah State Capitol from 11-12 pm MT for the campaign launch and celebration. 

Speakers will include Phalarope scientist Ryan Carle, Terry Tempest Williams, Ben Abbott (@growtheflow) Patrick Donnelly (@centerforbiod), representatives from @uphe and UYES and more. We’ll also have the Great Salt Lake Vigil bird puppets and signs showing our love for the lake.

❗️RSVP Link in Bio.

🤔 What does enacting the Endangered Species Act for the Wilson’s Phalarope mean for the Great Salt Lake?

If we’re successful in achieving this status, an Endangered Species Act listing of the Wilson’s Phalarope would trigger a full range of protections that would likely include mandates around 💧water levels and ecosystem protections at the lake. The potential for federal involvement is a lever we hope will push our leaders to get serious about sending water to Great Salt Lake.

💪 Help us make this launch as powerful as it can be so that we can address the great public health and ecological crises we face due to the drying Great Salt Lake.

🎉 Join us on Thursday, March 28th at the Utah State Capitol from 11-12 pm MT for the campaign launch and celebration.

Speakers will include Phalarope scientist Ryan Carle, Terry Tempest Williams, Ben Abbott (@growtheflow) Patrick Donnelly (@centerforbiod), representatives from @uphe and UYES and more. We’ll also have the Great Salt Lake Vigil bird puppets and signs showing our love for the lake.

❗️RSVP Link in Bio.
...

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SAVE THE DATE to SAVE THE PHALAROPES! 🐦
March 28th (Thursday), 11am @ Utah State Capitol. 

Protecting wildlife is not our agenda, that is the worthy focus of many other groups. But in this case protecting this endangered bird that depends on the lake overlaps completely with protecting public health on the Wasatch Front.  If we allow the lake to continue to shrivel up we will have allowed a pollution nightmare (toxic dust storms) to unfold.  Wherever you have a pollution nightmare you find a public health nightmare if you look hard enough or wait long enough.

❗️RSVP Link in Bio.

SAVE THE DATE to SAVE THE PHALAROPES! 🐦
March 28th (Thursday), 11am @ Utah State Capitol.

Protecting wildlife is not our agenda, that is the worthy focus of many other groups. But in this case protecting this endangered bird that depends on the lake overlaps completely with protecting public health on the Wasatch Front. If we allow the lake to continue to shrivel up we will have allowed a pollution nightmare (toxic dust storms) to unfold. Wherever you have a pollution nightmare you find a public health nightmare if you look hard enough or wait long enough.

❗️RSVP Link in Bio.
...

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