Salt Lake City — Today, the Utah Division of Air Quality (UDAQ) held a public hearing on a revision to its regional haze plan that continues to fail to reduce pollution from Utah’s worst coal offenders. In the hearing, advocates called on the agency to retain the requirement in its haze plan that coal units at the Intermountain Power Plant (IPP) close by the end of 2027, as the plant’s owner originally planned to.

In August 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to partially disapprove UDAQ’s plan for failing to reign in and reduce pollution from the state’s worst offenders, and falling short of its obligation to improve air quality for national parks and communities. The plan included an enforceable shutdown date for IPP’s coal-fired units. Now, in its latest revision that is currently proposed for public comment, UDAQ altogether removes the previously established shutdown date, and rejects the most effective pollution controls available for the plant’s coal units.

The plant’s continued life support is enabled by Utah Legislators like Representative Carl Albrecht, and Governor Cox, who signed a bill that evaluates how to keep the IPP coal units open under the pretense of securing Utah’s energy supply, despite the fact that nearly all of the power generated at the plant was previously sold to entities in California, with those contracts having already met their end. Now, according to a public records request, data centers have shown interest in keeping the plant operational.

Coal-fired power plants like Hunter, Huntington, and IPP overwhelmingly contribute to haze pollution in Utah and across the region, and are among the nation’s worst national park polluters .

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