A gift to mining companies, and you’re paying

Hasn’t the Utah legislature been arguing with the federal government over local control for decades? You wouldn’t know it by a new bill which would strip Utah counties and cities of their ability to protect residents from hazardous mining operations. 

Last year, we asked for your help to defeat a bill, H.B. 502, that would have done something similar. Thanks to everyone who contacted their representatives, this bill turned into a study to see the need for “critical infrastructure materials.” The Division of Oil, Gas and Mining (DOGM) commissioned report ordered by the Legislature shows there is no shortage of aggregate and no urgent need for more gravel pits. 

Despite the results of that study, the legislature is pushing forward two bills which serve as a gift to the gravel industry, at the expense of your health. 

Under H.B. 355 – Cities and counties would have little power to regulate or stop harmful gravel pits and similar operations, even if local ordinances would otherwise prevent them. Existing operations could expand without the current regulations put in place to prevent rampant dust pollution. 

Send a message on H.B. 355 here! 

(Don’t forget to customize the message with your own thoughts and personal stories!)

Under H.B. 85, it would be easier for pollution sources like gravel pits to bypass important air quality reviews, allowing more pollution, with less oversight. 

Send a message on H.B. 85 here! 

(Don’t forget to customize the message with your own thoughts and personal stories!)

With increasing dust storms from Great Salt Lake, inevitable winter inversions, and increasing wildfire smoke in the summers, the last thing Utah, the Wasatch Front in particular, needs is less control over industrial pollution sources. Please speak up for your health and the health of your communities today! 

The DOGM report on the need for the materials these bills seek to expand and shut local authorities out of, showed that land- use designation and permitting decisions should remain with local governments. The Santec report: “The majority of representatives from counties, cities, and municipalities expressed some level of dissatisfaction with the current regulatory process, including a lack of enforcement authority, capacity, and/or capability to control the negative impacts of quarry operations.” Most local officials believe “they are best positioned to make these decisions, as they are more attuned to the needs and preferences of their communities… In Stantec’s opinion, land-use designations, rezoning, and permit decisions should remain with local officials where the benefits and impacts of quarries are most realized.”