Air pollution from warehousing, and what’s coming in Weber County
UPHE has long been outspoken in opposition against the Utah Inland Port’s vision for our beautiful state. Utah faces unique air quality challenges. Our state is prone to winter inversions, which trap pollutants close to the ground, and summer wildfires, which release large amounts of particulate matter into the air. These natural factors, combined with poor state regulations, already compromise our air quality. Introducing a large number of warehouses will only worsen this situation, adding to the pollution burden.
Recent research confirms our concerns about warehouses impact on air quality. With nearly 150,000 warehouses, these facilities contribute to a 20% increase in local nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels due to increased truck traffic. This rise in NO2, a traffic-related pollutant, is linked to multiple severe health issues such as lung and cardiovascular disease. NO2 is also a precursor to PM2.5 and ozone. The study also reveals that warehouses are disproportionately located in marginalized communities, exacerbating environmental and health inequities. Increased warehouse density correlates with higher truck traffic and pollution, underscoring the need for stricter regulations and cleaner technologies.

With promises to be clean, but no clear plan or policies to enforce the promises, this research reflects what you can expect from the developments the Utah Inland Port is planning on, now in 10 different locations across Utah.
One of the most recently approved, and most concerning areas set for development by the port authority is in Weber County. The Weber County project, should it reach its intended dimensions, would not only likely do exactly what the above research suggests, but also expand over an astounding 8966 acres of land and wetlands adjacent to the Great Salt Lake.

UPHE’s Dr. Courtney Henley will be there to answer any air quality concerns from the community.
See the below information from the Stop the Polluting Port’s page on the Weber County proposal potential harms:
According to geological survey maps, west Weber County is rich in wetlands. Research reveals that wetlands can actually reduce pollution by acting as “kidneys” of the earth…storing carbon, reducing sediment and filtering water.
- As Heather Dove, as President of Great Salt Lake Audubon, stated in a recent Salt Lake Tribune column: “I continue to be ever more shocked at the staggering loss of wetlands and uplands that we face if UIPA and their various county partners are allowed to proceed with this proliferation of inland ports around and on the shores of Great Salt Lake…”
- Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems in the world, comparable to rain forests and coral reefs. An immense variety of species of microbes, plants, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish and mammals can be part of a wetland ecosystem.
- Wetlands can be thought of as “biological supermarkets.” They provide great volumes of food that attract many animal species. These animals use wetlands for part of or all of their life-cycle. The functions of a wetland and the values of these functions to humans depend on a complex set of relationships between the wetland and the other ecosystems in the watershed.
- In the watershed, water, sediments and dissolved materials drain from higher elevations to a common low-lying outlet or basin…such as a larger stream, lake, underlying aquifer or estuary.
- UPHE President Dr. Brian Moench, put it unequivocally in a December Salt Lake Tribune editorial: We cannot save the Great Salt Lake ecosystem if we amputate its wetlands.