Your support helped protect Parley’s, but we’re not done yet
You did it! All of your emails, phone calls, and texts helped kill one of the worst bills the legislature has ever seen, S.B. 172 and modify H.B. 502.
H.B. 502 became a study, and S.B. 172 appears to be dead but we will be monitoring it until the very end of the session, this Friday, March 1. Both bills would have made it almost impossible for local governments to stop or regulate gravel pits anywhere in the state. This was especially scary due to the looming threat of a massive gravel pit in Parley’s Canyon.
Granite Construction has been proposing operations in the iconic gateway canyon and trying to skirt public process along the way. Fugitive dust that blows off gravel pits is as much of a health hazard as other types of air pollution; the dust carries a wide array of toxins. State regulations don’t require compliance with fugitive dust protocols from gravel pit operators when wind speed exceeds 25 miles per hour. Wind reports for lower Parleys Canyon show that wind speeds in the area exceed 25 miles per hour 40 percent of the time.
From the mouth of Parleys Canyon, 21,000 people live within a 1-mile radius and 139,000 people live within a 3-mile radius.
There is more work to be done, though. We still expect that the Division of Air Quality will issue a permit for the mine in Parley’s Canyon, and the minute they do, UPHE will lead the legal challenge to that permit.
But for now, we can celebrate winning these battles. We will continue this fight as long as it takes, and with your help, we’re going to win.
H.B. 353 Mining Operation Amendments snuck in at the last minute and is quickly passing the legislature. GOVERNOR COX CAN STILL VETO IT. UPHE has major concerns about this bill because it makes it difficult for the public to have input on mining amendments. Granite Construction’s first attempt at Parley’s was to apply for a small mining permit and then increase the size later. This would allow them to do that without public input. Please call Governor Cox and ask him to veto H.B. 353. The public worked too hard to prevent other bad mining bills to let this pass! 801-538-1000