The feds want cleaner air in Utah, but the state legislature is ready to fight them

Jan. 30, 2024

A Salt Lake Tribune headline writes, “The feds want cleaner air in Utah, but the state legislature is ready to fight them.” While unsurprising, the headline is the worst  we’ve seen this week. The state of Utah has notoriously weak air quality standards, despite a unique geography that exposes the majority of the population to extended time periods of poor air. They also have a history of trying to circumvent stronger federal rules and guidelines.

The Utah Legislative session began just a few weeks ago, and instead of focusing their efforts on trying to protect the state from the looming “nuclear bomb” that is Great Salt Lake, a new piece of legislation focuses on exempting Utah from federal air quality standards. 

SB57 seems to be specifically targeting the EPA’s good neighbor rule, but would allow Utah to ignore federal laws. 

The Salt Lake Tribune reports, “The EPA found that ozone-forming nitrogen oxide emissions from Utah power plants had traveled east to Colorado in 2023. The “good neighbor” rule would have Utah power plants implement selective catalytic reduction, a method that the EPA says can reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 70 to 90%, to solve the problem.”

Last year the legislature used a whopping $2 million to fight the good neighbor rule in court. 

In September, 2023, the court rejected Utah’s attempt to avoid the EPA rule. “Utah politicians, including Gov. Spencer Cox, criticized the rule, claiming that it could prematurely phase out the state’s power plants and hurt the economy,” the Deseret News reported. What about hurting the publics health, Utah?

The bill is in the Senate for a final vote. PLEASE CALL YOUR STATE SENATORS. Find yours here. It takes a few short minutes. 

After the Senate vote, the bill will have to go through Governor Cox. PLEASE CALL GOVERNOR COX 801-538-1000