The details on a UPHE prompted environmental justice study
UPHE has been meeting with the EPA over our concerns about adding a major new source of pollution with the proposed inland port on the West side for a few years now. We, along with westside advocates and Mayor Mendenhall, were able to prompt the EPA to conduct an environmental justice study for Salt Lake City’s west side.
Axios had an excellent outline of what the study entails. “Daniel Strong, president of the Westside Coalition, who lives in Rose Park, told Axios the study would raise greater awareness of the issues and help them advocate for solutions to address the environmental disparities.
“We already bear the brunt of so much of that,” Strong said. “As we grow and develop the west side, we [should] do it in a way that tries to make things better and not worse on the environmental front.”
The west side includes neighborhoods like Rose Park, Glendale, Westpointe, Fairpark and Poplar Grove. These areas have the highest population of low-income and minority communities, and are often under-represented and unprotected by harmful development.
With so many of our complaints about the Utah Inland Port recently confirmed by a state audit, and independent assessment by a logistics expert, now is a great time for this environmental justice study. We are hopeful it will expose the extent of exploitation of the west side faces and help deter future polluting projects and encourage environmental initiatives.
An EPA spokesperson estimated the study will take 6-9 months, and will include multiple opportunities for the public to get involved. Please be on the lookout for ways to participate in the process, especially if you are a west side resident.