On January 21, clean air advocates rallied at the Utah State Capitol urging State legislators to adopt a list of 19 policies to help clean up dirty air along the Wasatch Front. Three of the most important ideas are:
1) boost funding so that the Division of Air Quality can enforce existing rules
2) develop a serious State Implementation Plan (SIP) for Air Quality (Utah has been in violation of federal health standards for more than 10 years, and EPA recently downgraded nonattainment status to “serious” ), and
3) stop plans to divert water from the Bear River which would turn the Great Salt Lake into a toxic dustbowl.
The plan also advocates cleaner vehicles, more support for walking and biking, reducing emissions from lawn equipment, industry and buildings and more transparent air quality monitoring.
Citizen groups that developed the plan include HEAL Utah, Physicians for a Healthy Environment, Utah Moms for Clean Air and Western Resource Advocates.
A Clean Air Blueprint for Utah: healutah.org/campaigns/ cleanair/blueprint. Save Our Canyons: Wasatch Mountain Updates
For more Feb. 2017 Environews, click here.