Corruption causes pollution in Utah

You may remember an article about a year ago which announced that one company, US Magnesium, was responsible for about 25% of the pollution in a typical Wasatch Front inversion. 

Well, the Salt Lake Tribune recently reported that four days before the Utah Air Quality Board approved reduced penalties, US Magnesium’s parent company donated $50,000 to Governor Cox’s campaign. The board members are appointed by the governor. 

On top of the amount of water the company’s operations take from the fragile Great Salt Lake, they’ve committed more than a handful of environmental violations. “DEQ’s Division of Air Quality has dinged US Magnesium with at least 30 violations since 2013. Five of the claimed violations harmed the environment, DEQ staff noted, and included releases of hydrochloric acid, chlorine and particulate pollution into the Wasatch Front airshed that exceeded the company’s permitted limits,” the Salt Lake Tribune writes. 

US Magnesium has expertly skirted regulations and fines for previous incidents. If they had not settled with the Air Quality Board, they could have been ordered to pay millions. Instead, the company agreed to pay $413,772.

An opinion piece also published in the Tribune, expresses concern over an increasing lack of transparency in Utah politics. Joel Campbell writes, “While lawmakers might accuse journalists of malpractice, lawmakers continue to create the need for watchdog reporting. For example, two decades ago Utah’s Open and Public Meetings Act only had a handful of reasons to bar citizens from proceedings. Today, that law is packed with reasons to close meetings — resembling a proverbial block of Swiss cheese.” 

The piece goes on to call out ways Utahns are left out of the legislative process. 

Read more here.