Lawsuit to stop rampant industrialization from UIPA proceeds
UPHE, our partners and our lawyers are working to update our case against the Utah Inland Port Authority. The lawsuit we filed against the Port in the fall of 2024 challenges the makeup of the board. Seemingly in response to that lawsuit, the Utah Legislature worked to make amendments to the board, and the Utah Inland Port Authority quickly re-elected members of the board and reapproved their project areas across the state.
Despite this scramble by the powers that be, the judge is giving us time to amend our lawsuit and proceed this summer.
“We’re encouraged on the one hand that the judge sees that there’s the potential for us here to prevail. So we’re looking forward to the next opportunity,” Dr. Brian Moench of UPHE told FOX 13 News. “We need to protect the public interest here. We need to protect the Great Salt Lake, we need to protect our air quality. We need to protect us from this rapid-fire industrialization of the Wasatch Front.”
The Utah Inland Port was originally supposed to create and manage a freight transferring facility and warehouse district in west salt lake. While that project has been riddled with controversy and questions (unused leases, questionable contracts and connected partners), they’ve expanded across the state with over 10 project areas. The Utah Inland Port Authority is taxpayer funded and gives breaks to businesses to develop in fragile or rural areas.
