The EPA said Utah’s ozone pollution was harming public health. Industry groups pushed the state to blame China instead.
After the state’s analyses of ozone pollution on the Wasatch Front raised concerns about local pollution sources, the industry hired consultants who pointed the finger at China instead.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) High ozone levels create smog along the Wasatch Front in 2017, but mining and fossil fuel groups argue there is little state can do to reduce emissions do to complex sources for the pollution.
Zak is the southeast Utah reporter for The Tribune. He has been writing from Bluff, Utah, since 2015 and is the author of Confluence: Navigating the Personal & Political On Rivers of the New West. His second book, which will cover the decline of Lake Powell, is forthcoming from Torrey House Press in 2024.