UT Drafting Emissions Regulations; AZ, TX Are Not

The Utah Division of Air Quality is almost finished drafting a set of regulations that will limit statewide greenhouse gas emissions, according to an article in the Salt Lake Tribune. The new rules to control emissions will help the state comply with EPA regulations on greenhouse gases that will go into effect this January. Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA now considers greenhouse gases to be pollutants, thus the agency claims the authority to regulate their emissions. In Utah, only a dozen facilities and several landfills will need to comply with state government regulations, since the recent EPA tailoring rule has increased the threshold for emissions to 100,000 tons of greenhouse gases per year. Businesses and industries that emit less than that amount will not be subject to regulation. According to the Tribune, the Utah emissions rules should be completed by December.

A recent survey from the National Association of Clean Air Agencies shows that over 80% of states are working to reduce emissions and comply with the imminent EPA regulations. Here in the Southwest, Arizona, California, Nevada, and Texas won’t have emissions regulation plans in place before January; Arizona and Texas are staunchly against such regulations, according to the New York Times, on the grounds that they believe neither EPA nor states have the authority to regulate greenhouse gases.