(KCPW News) At the beginning of the legislative session, air quality emerged as a major concern for Utahns and a top priority for lawmakers.
But 18 days into this session, despite agreement that air pollution problems need to be addressed, there’s not a clear consensus on the remedies. Governor Gary Herbert is in favor of banning wood burning during inversion season, but many legislators at the Capitol are saying such a ban would be overreaching and difficult to enforce. One bill, which just passed out of a Senate committee, would even make it more expensive to register fuel-efficient vehicles.
Many air quality bills and ideas are circulating about the Utah legislature right now, but increasingly, lawmakers are pointing to one potential solution to our inversion woes: Tier 3 gasoline technology.
Tier 3 standards would make automobile emissions significantly cleaner—a welcome improvement for Utah, where over 50% of air pollution comes from cars. But will that be enough to clean our air and alleviate the health problems associated with air pollution?
KCPW’s Ryan Cunningham takes a look at tier 3 technology, asking policymakers and scientists how hopeful Utahns should be about this next generation of gasoline.
