Advancing Progressive Solutions in the Rocky Mountain States
Utah News
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In Utah, the U.S. Forest Service is reviewing over 200 miles of 24 river and stream segments for listing in the national Wild and Scenic Rivers system. However, some conservation groups consider the amount a disappointment because it represents only one quarter of the 840 miles of eligible waterways. Others see any designation as a step in the right direction as Utah currently is one of nine states with no rivers or streams under Wild and Scenic protection.
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The Navajo Nation's battle to beat back new uranium mining continued Thursday as tribal leaders pressed the U.S. government to halt any new extraction projects on or near the reservation. Navajo President Joe Shirley and other tribal officials joined Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., at an informal U.S. House hearing to examine the uranium mining legacy in New Mexico, Arizona and Utah and lingering cleanup problems.
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Today a think tank comprised of 130 business leaders with help from the United Way will release a draft of their health insurance reform package that promises to make health insurance costs affordable for everyone and deny no one basic care. Current trends indicate health insurance premiums will cost half the median income by 2010. The new plan, supported by the governor's economic and health advisors, will offer coverage from the private market.
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A hotly-contested debate is raging over how best to manage a 973,000 acre chunk of BLM land in central Utah. As part of a 2.5 million acre management plan, the land in question could see hundreds of new gas wells under the latest BLM management alternative. Among locals and conservation groups, the issue is whether to pursue an energy-based economy that may offer little in securing the nation's energy future, or to invest in a recreation-based economy.
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Utah County, Utah, has not experienced a violation of air quality standards since 1993 but is likely to change according to two environmental groups, Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, and Utah Moms for Clean Air. With its rapid growth Utah County is expecting a doubling of traffic in two years and it is already downwind of five coal-fired power plants and may see another nine built in the future. As well, EPA's newest air quality standards are set to measure fine particulate matter which the county will struggle to meet.
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A conference of regulators and contractors in the business of locating sites for nuclear waste disposal made it clear that the nation's nuclear waste will soon have nowhere to go. EnergySolutions, the largest nuclear waste company, operates a Class A waste facility in Tooele, about 80 miles west of its headquarters in Salt Lake City and is considering taking the low level waste. The Utah legislature several years ago prohibited EnergySolutions from taking the more dangerous Class B and C waste. Four plans for the waste are currently on the table.
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Farmers and ranchers in southern Utah are working to keep prairies dogs off the endangered species list because to prevent government regulation from being imposed on their land. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife is also offering benefits such as help with fencing and weed eradication to farmers who allocate a certain portion of their land to restoration.
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The head of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, Robert Strickler, declined Wednesday to stand behind the mining plan - previously approved by his agency - at the Utah mine where nine workers were killed in cave-ins. Strickler also avoided yes or no answers before a Senate subcommittee investigating the mine collapse. Many believe the MSHA mining plan was flawed and led to the collapse of the Crandall Canyon Mine.
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A new unit built on to the Bonanza electric plant was approved by the EPA with no restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions--the main contributor to global warming. EPA handled the permit application rather than the state agency because the plant sits on tribal land; however, EPA officials state they would not regulate a global pollutant in what is basically a local pollution permit. The permit comes on the heels of Utah and five other western states committing to cut greenhouse gases by 15% by 2020.
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The Solar Salt Lake Project was launched Thursday and is expected to equal power produced by coal by the year 2015. Salt Lake was one of 13 cities across the nation to receive funding as part of the Solar American Cities program. Local officials and the Salt Lake mayor are hopeful that this endeavor will lead to more business and residential incorporation of solar energy.
