Measure urges EPA to rezone rural Utah

The yellow haze that is a Utah inversion doesn't cling to Deseret Peak Wilderness Area in Tooele County or sock it to Box Elder County.

With that premise in mind, a resolution urging federal regulators of air pollution to rethink Utah's proposed non-attainment areas for PM2.5 unanimously received support Monday from a Senate committee.

Sponsored by Rep. Ronda Redd Menlove, R-Garland, HCR05 calls the designation of the pollution zones "flawed" and says it unfairly besmirches Utah's reputation by creating the fictitious non-attainment areas in rural areas where pollution is not a problem.

The resolution has the support of the Utah Division of Air Quality, whose executive director Cheryl Heying said she is hopeful the resolution will nudge the Environmental Protection Agency to rethink its designations.

"Including areas that are not having problems with air quality doesn't get us to our goals any faster," she told members of the Senate Natural Resources committee.

Tom Bingham of the Utah Manufacturers Association said the proposed zones inaccurately portray rural areas of the state as having a pollution problem and the attendant regulations will be bad for business.

"It was as if EPA was under the gun and decided to take a big crayon and start drawing on a map, thinking gee, this looks good. "

Bingham said there has already been concern expressed by businesses seeking to start up operations, such as Proctor & Gamble which has plans for a plant in Box Elder County.

Tooele County representatives, Menlove said, met with EPA officials in Denver this last weekend to explain that "Tooele County is a lot different than the Wasatch Front."

Utah is in a years-long exhaustive process to come into compliance with new federal standards regarding PM2.5 or fine particulate pollution that is emitted from a variety of sources, including automobiles, industry and chimneys.

Gov. Jon Hunstman Jr. and the state air quality officials have been at odds over the list of areas that have been deemed "nonattainment zones" and are trying to negotiate reconsideration by the EPA.

What particularly burns Utah officials is that because of Cache County's persistent pollution problems, one of the zones roped in Franklin County, Idaho, just over the border.

The resolution says it is unfair to hold Utah "hostage" to another state beyond its control. The inclusion of the one county in Idaho also is problematic, state officials say, because Idaho is in a different EPA region than Utah, unnecessarily complicating compliance.

Bingham said Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, is working on the federal level to push for EPA's reconsideration of the zones.