Coal power threatens National Park vistas
Two Utah national parks are listed among the top 10 at risk from air pollution from new coal-fired power plants, according to a new report from the National Parks and Conservation Association. Seven new coal-fired power plants are either already under development or currently seeking permits in the region surrounding Capitol Reef National Park and Zion National Park. These plants will emit toxic mercury and fine particles of soot that cause haze, as well as other air pollution. The problematic power plants are Sevier Power Company Project, Intermountain Power Plant and Bonanza Power Plant in Utah; Topquop Energy Project, White Pine Energy Station and Ely Energy Center in Nevada and Desert Rock Energy Project in New Mexico. Citizen groups including the Sierra Club, Sevier Citizens for Clean Air and Water, Western Resource Advocates, Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, and NationalParks and Conservation Association oppose this flurry of coal-powered energy development. Sevier County citizens have collected enough signatures to put a citizen's referendum concerning the Sevier Power Company project on the November ballot. However, during the 2008 General Session, the Utah legislature passed SB53, a new law that "prohibits the use of local initiatives for land use ordinances or changes in land use ordinances." It is unclear whether the law is constitutional, and if so, whether it applies retroactively to the anti-coal power initiative.
NPCA report: Dark Horizons: www.npca.org/darkhorizons/pdf/Dark_Horizons_Report.pdf
Utah cities rank low for air quality
Logan, Salt Lake City and Provo are among the nation's worst cities for short-term particle air pollution (locally known as "the inversion") according to the American Lung Association State of the Air 2008 report, which warns that "air pollution is more dangerous than many people realize -partly because you can't even see the most dangerous, microscopic particles that do the most damage to your lungs." The nation's old, dirty coal-fired power plants are among the biggest sources of air pollution.
State of the Air 2008: www.stateoftheair.org/
U.S. Senate hears oil shale testimony
On May 15, the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held an oversight hearing on development of oil shale resources in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. Colorado Governor Bill Ritter expressed deep concerns about federal efforts to fast-track commercial oil-shale leasing, saying "Establishing a leasing program prior to understanding what technologies are viable and the implications of these technologies would be a dangerous course, with enormous risk of unintended consequences." His concerns included the amounts of water and energy needed to process oil-shale, the impacts to the environment and wildlife, the infrastructure needed to cope with a government-subsidized oil-shale boom, and the cumulative impacts of other energy development in the same areas. Steve Smith, representing the Wilderness Society, testified that it is not worth sacrificing communities, water, clean air, wildlife and scenic beauty to a theoretically but not actually usable energy source. Smith testified that past attempts to develop oil shale have failed to produce a usable energy source: "Between 1920 and 1980 the federal government issued patents on over 345,000 acres of oil shale claims in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. None of these claims are in commercial production."
Utah Senator Orrin Hatch and Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. on the other hand, are willing to volunteer Utah as an oil-shale sacrifice zone. Huntsman sent the committee a letter requesting to lift the current oil-shale lease moratorium, while Hatch derided environmental concerns as "smokescreens for a hidden agenda," and said that "there is no room in our energy policy for an anti-oil or oil-shale attitude."
U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources:http://energy.senate.gov/public/
Wildlands Dialogue Project bridges differences
The debate over how to manage Utah's public lands has been raging for over 25 years without getting any closer to a community consensus. The Wildlands Dialogue Project aims to bridge such disagreements by asking the question, "If so many of us love the land, why then do we have such difficulty agreeing on how to care for it?" During the next year, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance will sponsor a series of facilitated community dialogues in communities throughout Utah. The sessions are open to anyone intrigued by the question: "What should the future of Utah's wildlands be?" and who is willing to talk with others about this question with respect for a variety of viewpoints.
Wildlands Dialogue Project: www.suwa.org
Environmentalists oppose Washington County land use bill
Despite improvements from a previous version, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, the Sierra Club, and Wasatch Mountain Club have come out in opposition to the Washington County Growth & Conservation Act of 2008 due to concerns over wilderness boundaries, public land sales and off-road vehicle management. Sierra Club's Lawson LeGate says, "Local governments should not develop a dependence on selling off public lands to fund local projects. That's why we need to remove the provision that grants millions in land sale revenue to Washington County." Environmentalists are still hopeful that further dialogue will help produce a bill that offers real and lasting protection for southwestern Utah's public lands.
Jordan River: sewer or urban jewel?
In a KCPW interview, Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon lamented the condition of the Jordan River which runs through Utah, Salt Lake and Davis counties saying, "Unfortunately our Jordan River has become a toilet for Salt Lake County, and it's not what we want it to be." Mayor Corroon has made Jordan River restoration one of his top priorities with possibilities for trails, riverside restaurants and shopping, wildlife habitat and boating. In May, Salt Lake County and Envision Utah held a series of public meetings to envision the future of the Jordan River, but if you missed the meetings you can fill out a survey on the Blueprint Jordan River website.
Blueprint Jordan River: www.blueprint.slco.org.
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