It’s hard to deny that Utah has nasty air quality issues. The thick pollution impacts residents’ mental and physical health, and quality of life. A 2023 statewide poll conducted by Utah State University found nearly 88% of respondents cited poor air quality as a “serious concern,” with roughly 65% stating it has negatively affected their health.
However, state lawmakers did not pass any substantial air quality legislation during the 2024 legislative session.
While some of the inversion and skyline-shrouding pollution is caused by geographical location, other sources are man-made. To battle high levels of emissions from vehicles, buildings and industries, and to prevent reversing the improvements that have already been made, scientists and clean air advocates argue what lawmakers do matters.
“Policy is everything,” said Kevin Perry, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Utah. “You can make individualized decisions … But the air quality from the big picture is really driven by policies at the federal and the state level.”
Perry said Utah’s air has gotten better compared to 20 years ago. But he attributes that to federal air quality standards and not necessarily the actions taken by state lawmakers.
Meisei Gonzalez, communications director for Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah, described the session as “really tough” on the air quality front. Even though there was “a lot of really good legislation proposed,” Gonzalez said there were many “challenges” to getting them across the finish line. The top policies his organization advocated for never made it to the desk of Gov. Spencer Cox.
“Air pollution has been a major concern for so many citizens here in Utah, and it's really unfortunate to see that lack of legislation from our lawmakers,” he said.
Instead of pushing policy to clean up the air, Perry said the Legislature made waves on “resistance to federal regulation of air quality.”
SB57, which Gov. Cox signed into law, gives the state a mechanism to ignore federal regulations. The bill was in response to public lands and air quality regulations handed down from Washington. Instead of Utah suing the federal government for actions they deem “unconstitutional,” it intends to shift the burden to the federal government to litigate against Utah for not complying with its mandates.
Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency enhanced the regulations around PM2.5, a common pollutant Utahns breathe during the winter. The change would likely put more of Utah out of attainment with federal air quality standards. During a Feb. 15 news conference with reporters, Cox said the bill was necessary.
“The regulations that have been placed on states … we believe that they're impossible. They're just impossible for us. They're so stringent that it's going to be impossible for us to do,” Cox said.
Perry said the bill could potentially backfire on the state, too.
Utah struggles with summertime ozone, which is usually due to wildfire smoke from surrounding states. Even if Utah falls out of federal compliance because of fires in California, for example, Perry said it “requires cooperation among states” to deal with “what's essentially a regional air quality problem.”
Utah also contributes to Denver’s air quality problems. Perry said the bill basically tells Denver that Utah doesn’t need to fix the “precursor gasses that are impacting the air quality” in Colorado’s capital city.
“I think the Legislature might regret that when it comes to us trying to meet our own ozone standards and having to work with states that are upwind of us.”
HB279 would have paved the way for the state to set the first-ever air quality standards. It would have also sought to reduce certain emissions by 50% within the next decade. But it didn’t provide an enforcement or accountability mechanism. Rather, it outlined goals to get the ball rolling, said Republican sponsor Rep. Tyler Clancy.
“The main thing is creating our own framework so that we can clean up the air, continue to promote a strong environment, but do it our way,” he said.
Clancy’s bill never made it in front of lawmakers. But Republican Sen. Kirk Cullimore told reporters on March 1, the last day of the session, that HB279 “just never really got a lot of traction.” Cullimore has championed air quality legislation in the past and said it is a “critically important issue.”
“It's something we'll continue to look at and we’ll work on some bills and solutions in the interim.”
Additionally, as the population grows and the Great Salt Lake continues to dry, Perry said it “threatens” air quality advancements. Specifically with Great Salt Lake, the parched playa is “increasing dust concentrations in the spring and fall” when air quality is known for being better, turning Utah’s “seasonal air quality challenges into year-round air quality challenges.”
While Perry has conducted research on the dust and discovered traces of arsenic are present, he doesn’t know “how often people are being exposed” to the carcinogen. So the impact the dust has on residents remains to be seen, but experts agree, no levels of pollution are healthy.
Gonzalez did note that there were some small air quality wins during the session, like public transportation and bicycle safety funding. But overall, he said his organization is going to continue to work on policy at the local, state and federal levels.
In the meantime, Perry said Utahns will have to wait another year before lawmakers take up the air quality issue again.
“It’s like you’re in your car and you're going down the highway and you take your foot off the gas and you coast. You kind of hope that we're not going to have any significant new sources of air pollution.”
