Senator questions purpose of state, federal air regulations

There was a quick complaint by Sen. Margaret Dayton before a committee of lawmakers voted Wednesday to keep Utah's current state-run air quality program around for at least another five years.

Dayton, R-Orem, said she is "agitated" by too many regulators and regulations costing too much taxpayer money to monitor and control emissions in Utah.

"It's frustrating to me," she said. Dayton criticized state and federal regulators for placing too little confidence in letting people solve air quality "issues" on their own.

The full Legislature will have the final say next session, but the Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Interim Committee's vote Wednesday was a recommendation to reauthorize the Utah Air Conservation Act. The state actually adopted an air quality program in 1969 that predated the federal Clean Air Act, with state and federal air standards mirroring each other today.

Utah Division of Air Quality director Cheryl Heying said the bottom line was that the committee essentially voted in favor of keeping air quality controls in state hands and not giving up that authority to the federal Environmental Protection Agency if the committee had voted not to reauthorize the state act. "We are responsible and we can take care of our air problems," she said. Heying said the air in Utah is cleaner today than 25 years ago, thanks to cleaner running vehicles and tougher emissions standards.

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