Governor's Clean Air Commission
Governor's Clean Air Commission
Governor Norman H. Bangerter created the Clean Air Commission (GCAC) in February 1989 prompted by the failure of Wasatch Front counties to meet EPA air quality standards, the prospect of facing hefty fines, the loss of federal programs, and imposed limits on new construction and development. The 50-member blue-ribbon Commission was chaired by D.N. "Nick" Rose, president and chief executive officer of Mountain Fuel Supply Co. The commission consisted of state officials, industry leaders and environmentalists from along the Wasatch Front. The GCAC met monthly until October 1990 at which time they requested a draft report containing more detailed information on the recommendations they approved in July 1990.
Other Commision members included:
Other Commision members included:
- * G.R. "Jerry" Moffitt (replaced by Lance Gyorfi) manager of Chevron U.S.A. Inc.'s North Salt Lake refinery
- * Milton W. Russon, manager of federal and state regulatory and government affairs for Utah Power & Light Co.,chairman of the Industry Work Group
- * Rep. Ronald Ockey
- * Larry Williams, real estate agent, Chairman of the Technology Assessment Work Group
- * Nina E. Dougherty, Health sciences librarian and environmentalist, University of Utah
At its first meeting in June 1989, the Commission divided itself into five work groups for Transportation, Energy Utilization, Industry, Woodburning, and Technology Assessment. Each work group prepared a final report for the Commission that was due October 25, 1989.
Recommendations received included a requirement that automobile emission inspections be required for all Wasatch Front area counties, including Weber, Tooele and Summit. Another from the Energy Utilization Work Group also called for a "gas-guzzler'' tax on new cars that do not meet certain mileage-per-gallon fuel-consumption requirements.
In March and April of 1990 the Transportation Work Group recommended construction of a 16-mile light rail system for Salt Lake County, from Sandy to Salt Lake City. The group also supported funding a feasibility study of a system to tie Ogden with Provo, special signal lights to feed traffic smoothly onto the freeways around Salt Lake City, and year-round daylight-saving time.
During this time Governor Bangerter proposed to the Legislature, in the form of a legislative resolution (H.J.R. 28, 1990), creating a new Department of Environmental Quality to replace the Division of Environmental Health within the Department of Health.
The GCAC approved and submitted their report in July 1990 and sent it to Governor Bangerter on October 2, 1990. The final report dated March 1991 considered 142 ideas before recommending 107, rejecting 13, and deleting 22 (newspapers reported 123 as accepted). The report identified four priority legislative issues and five priority budget issues. The Governor said, "I will make every effort in my budget recommendations to provide some resources" for the programs and said some could be implemented by state agencies without legislative funding. They were described in the media at the time as "sweeping" and included:
Rather than inundate lawmakers with all of the commission's recommendations at one time, it was decided that three of the easiest and least controversial air pollution control measures would be submitted this year. The first legislation from the Commission's recommendations appeared in the 1991 General Session.
S.B. 36 (Sub) (1991) sponsored by Sen. Stephen J. Rees -- sales-tax credits for for corporations and individuals using cleaner-burning fuels including conservation-certified stoves or fire places, and motor vehicles and conversion equipment fueled by natural gas, propane or electricity. The bill was viewed as a means to encourage discontinuance of old-fashioned wood-burning fireplaces and stoves, which the Governor's Clean Air Commission has pointed to as a significant air polluting source. This bill got tied up in committee because of uncertainty over how much it would cost the state in lost tax revenue.
S.B. ? (1991) sponsored by Sen. Stephen J. Rees - closes vehicle emission inspection loopholes to require that all motor vehicles are operated with federally-required pollution control devices functioning properly. The bill specifically extends the prohibition to the sale of any such malfunctioning vehicles, and provides for forms that auto dealers and other sellers must use to certify the pollution controls are operable. The bill required the seller of an automobile to disclose whether anyone has tampered with the pollution-control equipment on that vehicle. This bill died in the Senate.
S.B. ? (1991) sponsored by Sen. Stephen J. Rees - broadens the net of annual vehicle emission inspections to cover those operated by public agencies - school districts and local and federal governments in the counties having such inspections. The bill specifically require students at Wasatch Front universities to prove their cars have had emissions inspections before receiving parking passes. The bill passed the Senate, but died in the House because some lawmakers felt it would be too expensive for universities to administer.
All three of the air-quality bills recommended by the Governor's Clean Air Commission died in the Legislature. Alan Miller, executive director of the Utah Environment Center, said the three bills were supposed to be the first and easiest of the suggestions from the Clean Air Commission. "I don't know what will happen when they come in with really solid air-quality initiatives.The big success of the 1991 Legislature was the creation of a Utah Department of Environmental Quality when the Utah Division of Environmental Health under the Department of Health was established as an independent department in a bill also sponsored by Senator Rees (S.B. 112).
On March 13, 1991, commission members who worked on the project for nearly two years received copies of their final report on the fight against air pollution at a luncheon in Gov. Norm Bangerter's mansion. The Governor declared, "We believe we've got some of the finest air in the world, particularly if the wind blows enough."
In the 1992 General Session lawmakers introduced a package of eight bills, much of it sponsored by Rep. R. Lee Ellertson, to tighten laws on vehicle exhaust and provide incentives for cleaner-burning fuels and wood stoves. The media characterized the bills as "relatively meek" and clean-air advocates criticized the package as not tough enough. "To me, it's a joke," said Rep. Joanne Milner, D-Salt Lake City, a clean-air activist. "They haven't taken the major strides that are needed." Rep. Lee Ellertson, sponsor of much of the legislation, said the bills' success culminated two years of work by the Commission. The bills broadened tax exemptions given to service stations and car owners for using cleaner-burning fuels like propane and ethanol. They would also provided tax incentives for buying or converting to less-polluting vehicles and wood stoves. The package strengthened vehicle emission standards by forcing students and employees who commuted to Wasatch Front schools from outside the area to comply with the region's stricter vehicle emission standards. Police also were empowered to ticket excessively smoky vehicles, and the laws eliminated an emissions exemption for light farm trucks not used by farmers. Sen. Rex Black also introduced a bill requiring oil refineries to tighten controls on their emissions.
The Commission disbanded following the end of the legislative session in 1992.
Recommendations received included a requirement that automobile emission inspections be required for all Wasatch Front area counties, including Weber, Tooele and Summit. Another from the Energy Utilization Work Group also called for a "gas-guzzler'' tax on new cars that do not meet certain mileage-per-gallon fuel-consumption requirements.
In March and April of 1990 the Transportation Work Group recommended construction of a 16-mile light rail system for Salt Lake County, from Sandy to Salt Lake City. The group also supported funding a feasibility study of a system to tie Ogden with Provo, special signal lights to feed traffic smoothly onto the freeways around Salt Lake City, and year-round daylight-saving time.
During this time Governor Bangerter proposed to the Legislature, in the form of a legislative resolution (H.J.R. 28, 1990), creating a new Department of Environmental Quality to replace the Division of Environmental Health within the Department of Health.
The GCAC approved and submitted their report in July 1990 and sent it to Governor Bangerter on October 2, 1990. The final report dated March 1991 considered 142 ideas before recommending 107, rejecting 13, and deleting 22 (newspapers reported 123 as accepted). The report identified four priority legislative issues and five priority budget issues. The Governor said, "I will make every effort in my budget recommendations to provide some resources" for the programs and said some could be implemented by state agencies without legislative funding. They were described in the media at the time as "sweeping" and included:
- * Create High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes
- * Build bicycle lanes where possible
- * Replace downtown parking with improved mass transit
- * Promote buses, route expansion, car pooling
- * Build a light-rail system
- * Funding increases for state regulators
- * More one-way downtown streets in Salt Lake City
- * Restrictions on use of wood-burning stoves during the winter for Salt Lake, Davis and Utah counties.
- * Prohibitions on home coal-burning in areas that don't meet federal standards.
- * Adoption of the stringent California standards for auto emissions.
- * Free free bus passes to University of Utah students and employees traveling in congested parts of the city
- * Altering work schedules for Salt Lake County's 2,850 employees
- * More widespread use of mass transit, expanded bus routes and express highway lanes for high-occupancy vehicles.
- * Ride-share and car-pool programs sponsored by employers and developers.
- * Increased highway construction to improve traffic circulation and reduce drive times.
- * Exploration of a light-rail system in Salt Lake County.
Rather than inundate lawmakers with all of the commission's recommendations at one time, it was decided that three of the easiest and least controversial air pollution control measures would be submitted this year. The first legislation from the Commission's recommendations appeared in the 1991 General Session.
S.B. 36 (Sub) (1991) sponsored by Sen. Stephen J. Rees -- sales-tax credits for for corporations and individuals using cleaner-burning fuels including conservation-certified stoves or fire places, and motor vehicles and conversion equipment fueled by natural gas, propane or electricity. The bill was viewed as a means to encourage discontinuance of old-fashioned wood-burning fireplaces and stoves, which the Governor's Clean Air Commission has pointed to as a significant air polluting source. This bill got tied up in committee because of uncertainty over how much it would cost the state in lost tax revenue.
S.B. ? (1991) sponsored by Sen. Stephen J. Rees - closes vehicle emission inspection loopholes to require that all motor vehicles are operated with federally-required pollution control devices functioning properly. The bill specifically extends the prohibition to the sale of any such malfunctioning vehicles, and provides for forms that auto dealers and other sellers must use to certify the pollution controls are operable. The bill required the seller of an automobile to disclose whether anyone has tampered with the pollution-control equipment on that vehicle. This bill died in the Senate.
S.B. ? (1991) sponsored by Sen. Stephen J. Rees - broadens the net of annual vehicle emission inspections to cover those operated by public agencies - school districts and local and federal governments in the counties having such inspections. The bill specifically require students at Wasatch Front universities to prove their cars have had emissions inspections before receiving parking passes. The bill passed the Senate, but died in the House because some lawmakers felt it would be too expensive for universities to administer.
All three of the air-quality bills recommended by the Governor's Clean Air Commission died in the Legislature. Alan Miller, executive director of the Utah Environment Center, said the three bills were supposed to be the first and easiest of the suggestions from the Clean Air Commission. "I don't know what will happen when they come in with really solid air-quality initiatives.The big success of the 1991 Legislature was the creation of a Utah Department of Environmental Quality when the Utah Division of Environmental Health under the Department of Health was established as an independent department in a bill also sponsored by Senator Rees (S.B. 112).
On March 13, 1991, commission members who worked on the project for nearly two years received copies of their final report on the fight against air pollution at a luncheon in Gov. Norm Bangerter's mansion. The Governor declared, "We believe we've got some of the finest air in the world, particularly if the wind blows enough."
In the 1992 General Session lawmakers introduced a package of eight bills, much of it sponsored by Rep. R. Lee Ellertson, to tighten laws on vehicle exhaust and provide incentives for cleaner-burning fuels and wood stoves. The media characterized the bills as "relatively meek" and clean-air advocates criticized the package as not tough enough. "To me, it's a joke," said Rep. Joanne Milner, D-Salt Lake City, a clean-air activist. "They haven't taken the major strides that are needed." Rep. Lee Ellertson, sponsor of much of the legislation, said the bills' success culminated two years of work by the Commission. The bills broadened tax exemptions given to service stations and car owners for using cleaner-burning fuels like propane and ethanol. They would also provided tax incentives for buying or converting to less-polluting vehicles and wood stoves. The package strengthened vehicle emission standards by forcing students and employees who commuted to Wasatch Front schools from outside the area to comply with the region's stricter vehicle emission standards. Police also were empowered to ticket excessively smoky vehicles, and the laws eliminated an emissions exemption for light farm trucks not used by farmers. Sen. Rex Black also introduced a bill requiring oil refineries to tighten controls on their emissions.
The Commission disbanded following the end of the legislative session in 1992.
Governor's Clean Air Commission : Final Report (1991)
Sierra Club, Utah Chapter archives, 1972-1986
Merrill-Cazier Library, Utah State University
Box 2, Folder 12: Governor's Clean Air Commission, 1989-1991
Sierra Club, Utah Chapter archives, 1972-1986
Merrill-Cazier Library, Utah State University
Box 2, Folder 12: Governor's Clean Air Commission, 1989-1991
Alternative terms
Broader Terms
Related terms
- EQ Utah. Governor's Clean Air Commission (Library of Congress Name Authority File (LCNAF))
