How Utah’s new bill changes the Inland Port

The Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA) is set to reapprove 11 inland port project areas—spanning 76,138 acres across 13 counties. The reapproval seems an attempt to skirt the consequences for a lawsuit we brought with partners, showing the makeup of the board may violate the state’s constitution, which would mean all of these project areas were illegally approved. Instead of addressing these concerns, the Utah Legislature just passed a bill to restructure the board in a way that decreases transparency.

“This law will decrease transparency of the Utah Inland Port Authority. The authority has a spotty record with transparency as it is, and this will only make it worse,” UPHE’s Executive Director, Jonny Vasic told KSL. 

We worked with the Stop the Polluting Port Coalition on a detailed report which shows $1.3 billion in taxpayer funds are used to finance the authority’s project operations.

UPHE joined the Stop the Polluting Port Coalition in a press conference ahead of the UIPA vote.

“Utahns don’t want our highways jam packed with hundreds of thousands more semi-trucks. They don’t want to breathe diesel exhaust everywhere they go. They don’t want our wetlands turned into seas of asphalt. They don’t want the Great Salt Lake turned into a toxic dust bowl. They don’t want the Wasatch Front turned into a gigantic warehouse farm. And all that means, they don’t want what the Utah Inland Port Authority is selling. Just like no one elected Elon Musk to dictate the future of the United States, no one elected UIPA to dictate the future of the state of Utah,” Dr. Brian Moench, UPHE’s president and cofounder said at the rally and to the Inland Port Board.