A common-sense message on the inversion
December 5th, 2024
UPHE Board Member and Emergency Room Physician, Dr. E. Thomas Nelson, relays the following message on the current inversion – We live in a deeply polarizing time. In our tribalist…
Progressive pollution policies save lives AND money
December 3rd, 2024
The Guardian recently reported on a study that showed early deaths from air pollution in the US could be reduced by between 4,000 and 15,000 a year by 2035. In…
Why we appreciate federal oversight on air quality
December 3rd, 2024
Photo courtesy of E P Kosmicki Utah legislatures may be seeking looser air quality regulations under a new administration. Not surprising, but still disappointing. Federal air quality regulations are often…
Environmental, Public Health Groups Outline Utah Oil Train’s Upcoming Supreme Court Case
December 2nd, 2024
Environmental and public health groups opposing a Utah oil train’s efforts to shortcut environmental review will hold a virtual press briefing on Tuesday, Dec. 3, to outline the arguments the…
Costs of not cleaning up the air
November 26th, 2024
As Utah eyes hosting the 2034 Winter Olympics, air pollution could jeopardize the event and damage Utah’s reputation as a winter sports destination, Edwin Stafford, a Utah State University professor,…
Great Salt Lake levels are back down
November 26th, 2024
The state has been touting the rise of Great Salt Lake, specifically the 70,000 acre-feet of water dedicated to the lake. While we got a temporary reprieve of extremely low…
Southern Utah construction is resulting in a scary reality for some
November 19th, 2024
As Utah’s climate warms and drought intensifies, development in places like St. George is creating health risks we cannot ignore, a recent article warns. The Mojave Desert, home to unique…
Compensation for radiation victims has been paused long enough
November 19th, 2024
UPHE is proud to be one of many organizations pushing Congress to do right by the government’s victims of nuclear weapons testing. We are urging them to act NOW to…
Op-Ed: We don’t need to sacrifice the Wasatch to meet our need for gravel
November 19th, 2024
Parley’s Canyon photo from County Lemonade on Flickr UPHE member, Malin Moench, has been a strong and thoroughly educated voice of reason in the battle against a proposed mine for…
A chance to get involved with Great Salt Lake management
November 12th, 2024
Appropriate management of Great Salt Lake should be one of the highest priorities for the state, in order to protect our health, livelihoods and quality of life on the Wasatch…
What exactly is at risk from UDOT’s I-15 Expansion
November 12th, 2024
A recent Salt Lake Tribune article broke down some of what is being sacrificed to expand I-15. The Utah Department of Transportation recently finished their final environmental study on their…
Why you should care about protections for U.S. victims of radiation
November 6th, 2024
UPHE has been urgently pushing for Congress to resume compensation for “downwinders.” Downwinders are people, many Utahns included, who were impacted by nuclear testing. The fallout of nuclear testing resulted…
Why Utah should ban PFAS pesticides
October 28th, 2024
UPHE held a press conference earlier this month discussing a new danger – harmful PFAS chemicals being found in pesticides which are widely sprayed, virtually unregulated by the state. Press…
Environmental and Public Health Groups File Brief Opposing Utah Oil Train’s U.S. Supreme Court Appeal
October 28th, 2024
Environmental and public health groups defended the nation’s landmark environmental law in a brief filed today with the U.S. Supreme Court in a case challenging the law’s scope. Utah’s Seven County Infrastructure…
Why the state taking over federal lands could be bad for the climate
October 15th, 2024
In a recent interview with the Salt Lake Tribune, the outgoing BLM Director highlighted the growing emphasis on recreation as the future of public lands management. With 11 million visitors…
State Must Take Action Against “the Greatest Chemical Threat of the 21st Century.”
October 15th, 2024
Utah doctors call on State and Federal Agencies to protect Utahns from PFAS (“forever chemicals”) in Pesticides 🎥 Watch the Press Conference: A few months ago, the CDC made an…
Communities are protesting the threat of mining expansion
October 8th, 2024
While tribal members from the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe protested uranium mining near their White Mesa community, certain Utah lawmakers were cheerleading nuclear energy as a climate solution. While nuclear…
Oil and gas company is being forced to pay for air violations
October 8th, 2024
Because of Utah’s notoriously weak regulations and oversight of large industries, our state has become a dumping ground for corporate pollution, namely from oil, gas and mining companies. Luckily, we…
100 acres under contract in Tooele, on our dime
October 8th, 2024
We’ve been very vocal opponents of the Utah Inland Port Authority’s proposed development for Tooele County. That’s because UIPA is granting significant tax breaks and public funding to industrial developers,…
Op-ed explains financial concerns about the Inland Port
October 1st, 2024
Patricia Becnel, a Weber County resident and one of our friends on the Stop the Polluting Port Coalition, had an excellent op-ed in the Standard Examiner. She unpacks the Inland…
Community protests state authorized sale of tax-exempt junk bonds to fund industrial development in wetlands next to Great Salt Lake
September 25th, 2024
On Tuesday, September 24 at 10 am, the Tooele Valley Public Infrastructure District (TVPID), a Utah special service district created by the Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA), held a public…
Utah’s regional haze plan was inadequate
September 24th, 2024
Last week, UPHE participated in a “People’s Filibuster,” hosted by our friends at Sierra Club Utah. Over 6,000 comments opposing Utah’s regional haze plan were read out loud. A powerful…
Lawsuit challenges Utah Inland Port Authority as unconstitutional
September 24th, 2024
UPHE, along with our friends at the Center for Biological Diversity, filed a lawsuit last week aimed at preventing the Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA) from moving forward with plans…
Lawsuit Challenges Utah Inland Port Authority as Unconstitutional
September 19th, 2024
SALT LAKE CITY— Environmental and public advocacy groups sued Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and state legislative leaders today to challenge the Utah Inland Port Authority as unconstitutional under the state’s principle of…
Utahns ‘Filibuster’ at Capitol, Demand Measurable Emissions Reductions as EPA says State Plan Fails to Deliver
September 19th, 2024
Utah – On Wednesday, September 18, 2024, clean air advocates gathered at the Utah State Capitol, for a powerful “filibuster,” reading aloud from 6,000 public comments submitted to the EPA. The…
Concerns around Utah Inland Port funding explained
September 17th, 2024
The Stop the Polluting Port Coalitions recent press release on funding concerns around the Tooele Inland Ports. A recent KSL article tackles an issue that many people have had difficulty…
We’re asking Utah’s congressional delegation to push action on radiation law
September 17th, 2024
In our latest push for environmental justice, UPHE stands with a coalition of organizations calling for the immediate reauthorization and expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA). Up until…
Saving Great Salt Lake means saving ourselves
September 17th, 2024
Dr. Brian Moench had another excellent op-ed on the importance of saving Great Salt Lake. This one was published in the Deseret News. A physician’s first obligation is to “do…
Court Hearing Today: The Future of the Disappearing Great Salt Lake
September 17th, 2024
September 17, 2024 SALT LAKE CITY, UT — Today, conservation and community groups will argue their case in court against the state of Utah for failing to comply with its public trust obligations to ensure that enough…
Recreation at Great Salt Lake – is it safe?
September 11th, 2024
When we talk about losing Great Salt Lake, we’re often talking about the health consequences for residents. What we don’t always talk about, though, is what a detrimental loss it…
Communities Demand Action Against Inland Port Projects
September 10th, 2024
Photo above courtesy of Xiangyao-Axe-Tang. The Stop the Polluting Port coalition, which UPHE is heavily involved in, is urging the State Finance Review Commission to halt the approval of billions…
Expanding I-15 is bad for Utah’s mobility, health and economy
September 10th, 2024
Photo above of Los Angeles traffic. Let’s not turn Utah into the next California. UPHE’s cofounder and president had the following op-ed in the Salt Lake Tribune on the Utah…
Comments on Granite Construction’s proposal for a concrete manufacturing facility
September 9th, 2024
UPHE sent the following comments to the Salt Lake City Planning Commission ahead of their September 11, 2024 meeting to hear Granite Constructions permit for a concrete manufacturing. Summary In…
UDOT says expanding I-15 won’t increase pollution, here’s why they’re wrong
September 4th, 2024
The Utah Dept. of Transportation is in it’s final stages of the environmental review on their proposal to expand I-15, and we have some MAJOR concerns. Their study showed that…
Why are Utahns paying for Rocky Mountain Power to stay with coal?
September 4th, 2024
Photo above shows the Castle Gate Power Plant, one of the dirtiest in the country, which closed in 2015 as a result of tighter federal standards. Photo from Flickr We…
Project 2025 looks to resume nuclear testing that had deadly fallout for Utahns
September 4th, 2024
As a clean air and public health advocacy group, hearing of plans to resume nuclear testing, which previously had such devastating consequences for Utahns, is a nightmare come true. The…
PFAS, where they are, what they do and how to protect yourself
September 4th, 2024
PFAS, forever chemicals, teflon. Whatever you call them, two things are true; they are being widely used across the nation, and they have alarming human health consequences. PFAS, a man-made…
It’s more than just dust, and it will impact some more than others
August 27th, 2024
“Everybody studies and the dust keeps coming and we don’t do anything about it,” Terry Marasco, a west-side activist, told the Salt Lake Tribune. A recently published study revealed that…
Dr. Brian Moench – Don’t buy what the port authority is selling
August 21st, 2024
The Standard-Examiner published the following guest opinion piece from UPHE’s Dr. Brian Moench: In the waning hours of the 2018 legislative session, in a move intended to handcuff almost certain…
While we push for radiation victim protections, others want to resume the nuclear testing that did that damage
August 20th, 2024
Photo: Nuclear weapons test in Nevada in 1957. Courtesy of International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons The legislature’s inaction which allowed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to lapse is…
People are leaving because of pollution
August 13th, 2024
A sad, and excellently written op-ed in the Salt Lake Tribune expressing a sentiment that many of us, especially those with health issues, can relate to. The op-ed, written by…
Two places in Utah with worse air than the Salt Lake Valley
August 13th, 2024
For many of us in the Salt Lake Valley, it’s hard to imagine that there’s somewhere else in the state with worse air quality. Last year, eastern Utah’s Uintah and…
The cost of continuing coal power
August 13th, 2024
UPHE member and retired legal and economic analyst for public utility regulators at the federal level, Malin Moench, had an excellent op-ed in the Deseret News. His op-ed highlights the…
Good news on pesticide spraying
August 6th, 2024
UPHE has been sounding the alarm on pesticide spraying for years. These toxic chemicals, aggressively marketed by agrochemical giants, permeate our daily lives, exposing us to a host of serious…
Great Salt Lake is releasing more than dust
August 6th, 2024
A new harm of allowing Great Salt Lake to shrink has come to light, thanks to research from Utah State University. By now, we’ve sounded the alarms about the lakebed…
Weber County meeting on the Inland Port, recap
August 6th, 2024
Photo from Weber County, courtesy of Ken Kraus.
Temporary good news for protecting Parley’s Canyon
July 30th, 2024
UPHE is actively engaged in efforts to squash the development of a massive gravel pit and limestone quarry proposed by Granite Construction in Parley’s Canyon. Recently, the Utah Division of…
Air pollution from warehousing, and what’s coming in Weber County
July 30th, 2024
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,…
Brian Moench, M.D – U.S. Supreme Court decisions will hurt Utah and its neighbors
July 30th, 2024
UPHE’s co-founder and board president, Dr. Brian Moench, had the following op-ed published in the Salt Lake Tribune on recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions that will impact Utah residents health.…
Reducing single-use plastics & why it matters
July 23rd, 2024
In another significant environmental milestone, the Biden Administration recently unveiled a strategy to eliminate single-use plastics in all federal operations by 2035. The plan also aims to halt federal purchases…
UTA’s New Electric Bus Fleet: A Step Towards Cleaner Air and Environmental Justice
July 23rd, 2024
We are excited to share that the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) has been awarded over $18 million by the Federal Transit Administration to replace old diesel-powered buses with a new…
Keep a smoke-free home these wildfire ridden weeks
July 23rd, 2024
As wildfires continue to sweep across Utah, the air quality has significantly deteriorated, posing serious health risks to residents. One of the most alarming incidents occurred over the weekend, just…
Who will GSL dust impact the most?
July 16th, 2024
A recent study highlighted by The Guardian reveals that toxic dust storms from the drying Great Salt Lake disproportionately affect Utah’s Hispanic and Pacific Islander communities. As the lake continues…
Utah’s summer air, wildfires, and what you can do
July 16th, 2024
As temperatures rise and wildfires burn, Utah’s air quality is taking a severe hit, impacting the health of residents across the state. Hot weather is a major driver of poor…
Tell Utah to protect its residents, so the federal government doesn’t have to
July 16th, 2024
In a recent editorial, The Salt Lake Tribune highlighted the ongoing struggle between Utah’s state officials and the federal government over environmental protection. Despite state officials’ frequent claims that they…
We are proceeding with our Harley Davidson case, minus a few claims
July 9th, 2024
In 2022, in a significant legal move, UPHE took action against four Harley-Davidson dealerships in Utah for violating federal air and noise pollution laws. The suit, filed under the Clean…
A Utah industrial site is a major source of pollution
July 9th, 2024
Recent reports from the Salt Lake Tribune have shed light on the extensive toxic chemical releases from the Bingham Canyon Mine, operated by Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation. This mine, one…
More on the Supreme Court’s recent environmental protection failures
July 9th, 2024
In recent weeks, two significant Supreme Court rulings have shaken the foundations of environmental protection, with major implications for air quality and public health in Utah. The court’s decisions to…
Status of Great Salt Lake – lake levels, industry and governmental negligence
July 2nd, 2024
A recent Salt Lake Tribune article highlighted the current state and challenges of Great Salt Lake, emphasizing that this summer’s conditions are unlikely to be an anomaly. The lake’s southern…
The Supreme Court suspends the ‘Good Neighbor’ EPA air quality rule
July 2nd, 2024
Just prior to the devastating Chevron ruling, the Supreme Court canonized another major environmental/public health setback. It suspended a crucial air quality rule designed to protect states and residents from…
Supreme Court dismantles the historical role of federal agencies
July 2nd, 2024
With multiple radical decisions this year, the current Supreme Court has dismantled the historical role of federal agencies to protect the public from economic and environmental harm wrought by corporations…
Granite Construction shareholders oppose their proposal for Parley’s Canyon
June 25th, 2024
UPHE has been a strong voice of opposition to the proposed limestone quarry in Parleys Canyon since we found out about the proposal. The project poses severe threats to air…
Lawmakers are concerned about farmlands for GSL conservation, but quick to sacrifice them for development
June 25th, 2024
Utah has lost 20% of its farmland over the past six decades, a Salt Lake Tribune article reports. Conservation easements, where farmers are paid to limit certain development rights on…
The Supreme Court is taking up one of several issues brought up in our Uinta Basin Railway case
June 25th, 2024
In August of 2023, an Appeals Court sided with UPHE and other environmental groups and decided to throw out the permit granted for the Uinta Basin Railway. Shortly after the…
The impact of our air purifier program in Utah schools with DHHS
June 25th, 2024
We are thrilled to share the results from a recent study by Women for a Healthy Environment, which underscores the effectiveness of portable air filters in reducing indoor pollutants in…
Summer doesn’t mean safe – how to protect yourself from ozone pollution
June 18th, 2024
During the winter months, air quality is on most everyone’s minds along the Wasatch Front. It’s difficult to ignore, because we can all see it. Summer air quality is a…
Wildfire season is upon us. How it can impact your health and what you can do
June 11th, 2024
The leader of the Healthy Air Campaign for the American Lung Association, Laura Kate Bender, was recently interviewed on PBS NewsHour regarding the severe health risks posed by wildfire smoke. …
Can the military protect Great Salt Lake?
June 11th, 2024
A new federal agency has stated Great Salt Lake as a priority, and it may be unexpected to some, but after a closer look, it makes sense why. The lake,…
Update: Congress fails to continue funding for radiation victims
June 11th, 2024
Last week, UPHE board president and cofounder, Dr. Brian Moench, wrote a call-to-action op-ed in the Salt Lake Tribune, urging residents to reach out to Congress over the proposed expansion…
Tell Utah’s Reps to stand with victims of radiation exposure
June 4th, 2024
Call Senator Mitt Romney: (202) 224-5251 Call Senator Mike Lee: (202) 224-5444 UPHE president and cofounder, Dr. Brian Moench, recently had the following op-ed published in the Salt Lake Tribune,…
Comments on Granite Construction’s application for stream alteration in Parley’s Canyon
June 4th, 2024
Granite Construction has been trying to build a massive mine and gravel pit in Parley’s Canyon. Despite “reassurances” they would not impact the environment, they filed for a permit to…
Listen: Utah Public Radio covers the recent approval of controversial Weber County Inland Port
May 29th, 2024
Utah Public Radio (UPR) covered a few areas of important concern on their latest “Behind the Headlines” radio segment. Last week, there were a slew of articles (↓) on the…
Dr. Moench weighs in on pesticides in Millcreek
May 29th, 2024
Pesticides are a pervasive and insidious threat to human health, undermining the very safety of our food, water, and environment. These toxic chemicals, aggressively marketed by agrochemical giants, permeate our…
Feds could pull highway funding due to Utah’s bad air
May 21st, 2024
Surprise, surprise, Utah state officials are once again attempting to dodge federal efforts to improve our air. A Salt Lake Tribune article reports that the state could lose federal funding…
Residents speak out in strong opposition of Weber County Inland Port, again citing public input issues
May 21st, 2024
Earlier this week, residents rallied at the Utah Capitol Building ahead of the Utah Inland Port’s meeting, where they once again disregarded widespread public opposition to their proposal and approved…
Another study supports our mission – we need clean air!
May 14th, 2024
A recent study out of the University of Utah resulted in alarming findings concerning indoor air quality, furthering evidence backing much of our work. The study, which focused on over…
Great Salt Lake lawsuit update – law professors agree with our claim
May 14th, 2024
In September of 2023, we announced a lawsuit with other conservation and community groups, targeting the state for their failure to protect public interests by their mismanagement of one of…
The state is attempting to dodge accountability for GSL
May 7th, 2024
The state is once again attempting to thwart their responsibility to bring water back to Great Salt Lake. UPHE, along with other groups, filed a lawsuit late in 2023 to…
Legal petition filed to try and stop Tooele rail line and protect wetlands
May 7th, 2024
In March, 2024, the Surface Transportation Board (a federal agency responsible for freight rail regulation), approved a freight line through Tooele County. UPHE, along with concerned local residents, filed a…
EPA strengthened carbon pollution standards for coal power plants
April 30th, 2024
The EPA recently tightened carbon emissions for coal power plants. States like Utah, which are dangerously lenient with industry pollution controls, rely heavily on federal standards to protect residents. Utah…
Another reason to push back on industrialization in Parley’s Canyon
April 30th, 2024
Headlines late last week served as stark reminders of why so many are opposing mining and gravel operations in Parley’s Canyon. “The truck lost control at about 4 a.m. and…
Ask Us Anything – UPHE on Reddit
April 29th, 2024
On April 23, 2024, UPHE posted an inaugural Ask Me Anything (AMA) on the social networking site, Reddit. We answered questions that concerned Salt Lake residents posted on general air…
The problem with PFAS
April 24th, 2024
What are PFAS or “forever chemicals”? Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are probably the most toxic chemicals ever produced. They’ve been nicknamed “forever chemicals” or “teflon” because they do not…
UPHE and Residents of Tooele County Appeal the Approval of a New Rail Line in Tooele
April 23rd, 2024
(Salt Lake City, UT) – Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment (UPHE), the Erda Community Association, and individual residents of Tooele County, with the support of the Stop the Polluting Port…
Diseases in desert dust
April 16th, 2024
Valley Fever is traditionally thought to only be a risk in the far southwest of the United States, barely including southern Utah’s desert. However, in 2001, archeologists were diagnosed after…
Proposal for Southern Utah Puts Residents at Risk
April 16th, 2024
A plan for a community in Ivins, Utah, could expose 47 acres of lakebed dust to a surrounding community, as the city council contemplates a $22 million plan for treated…
Tooele residents explain frustration with Inland Port
April 11th, 2024
“Tooele County moving forward with 2 inland port projects despite resident concerns,” a December, 2023 headline wrote. Following suit with their 2018 approval of an Inland Port in Utah’s capitol…
Rocky Mountain Power pushes back closing date for coal plants
April 8th, 2024
We are disappointed but not surprised to hear Rocky Mountain Power’s recent decision to backtrack on its commitment for early retirement of coal-fired power plants in Utah. Initially, the company…
Update on UPHE’s legal win against diesel pollution
April 8th, 2024
UPHE has won two lawsuits (Diesel Brothers and 4Wheel Parts) using the Clean Air Act to prevent illegal exhaust modification of diesel vehicles. The result of these lawsuits is hugely…
Petition for the Wilson’s Phalarope and the link between GSL and Inland ports
April 2nd, 2024
By now, many of you, UPHE supporters and environmental champions, are aware of the harms of the Utah Inland Port; drastically increased diesel emissions, irresponsible uses of resident tax dollars,…
Comments to the EPA on deadly paraquat use
April 1st, 2024
TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN COMMENTS: click here and use Docket ID EPA–HQ–OPP–2011–0855. DEADLINE IS APRIL 1, 2024. In the far left hand side of the page, click the box that says…
Reasons to break up with beef
March 19th, 2024
One of the most important, and easiest, things we can do to conserve water on a personal level in the West is to reduce our beef consumption. The water footprint…
Utah ranks among worst in the world in this critical climate change metric
March 19th, 2024
Utah ranks among the worst in the world in carbon footprint generated per capita. The state ranks 19th in the country. On average, each person in Utah generates more than…
Inland port darkens Utah’s future
March 12th, 2024
Utah News Dispatch published an op-ed from UPHE president and co-founder, Dr. Brian Moench, on the frightening future of Utah if the Inland Port continues. Full op-ed: Utah’s future quality…
Our lawsuit to protect GSL and why it’s needed
March 12th, 2024
NPR’s All Things Considered did a story on Great Salt Lake, the agriculture problem associated with it’s condition, and UPHE’s lawsuit to hold the state accountable. The piece mentions state…
Trying to avert disaster, Great Salt Lake
March 5th, 2024
In September of 2023, UPHE and other groups announced a lawsuit aimed at preserving Great Salt Lake. And it’s a good thing, because the legislature proved to do little to…
Ask the Governor to veto an anti-Great Salt Lake bill
March 5th, 2024
As always, there is good news and bad news to report now that the legislative session is over. First, the good news. Massive public outcry from people like you against…
Corruption causes pollution in Utah
February 27th, 2024
You may remember an article about a year ago which announced that one company, US Magnesium, was responsible for about 25% of the pollution in a typical Wasatch Front inversion. …
The future is looking polluted! What can help?
February 27th, 2024
The Guardian covered a concerning report from the First Street Foundation indicating that a significant portion of the continental US will face unhealthy air pollution levels by 2054. Currently, one…
Your support helped protect Parley’s, but we’re not done yet
February 27th, 2024
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.…