(Tribune file photo by Brian Maffly) The Blue Hills natural gas processing plant north of Moab is served by a pipeline that Utah Public Service Commission shut down last year, calling it a "hazardous facility" because of its operators' poor compliance with safety standards. Now the plant's operator is forced to flare the gas it produces from a nearby oil field, prompting another Utah agency, the Board of Oil, Gas and Mining, to seek ways to get the pipeline back in service to avoid the waste.
Brian Maffly has worked for The Tribune off and on since 1994. Maffly roams Utah, covering public land and environment.