SALT LAKE CITY — Untangling the ins and outs of this year's pollution legislation may seem overwhelming, given the various approaches lawmakers have proposed to solve the conundrum. Here are some of the highlights from the main bills being discussed.

Senate Bill 87: Environmental Protection Amendments or the “no more stringent" bill

How it will affect you: Under this proposed bill federal EPA standards can be surpassed, and Utah can set unique overall environmental regulations.

Sen. Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake City, and Becky Edwards, R-North Salt Lake, proposed the “no more stringent bill” last year, which didn’t pass but is being reconsidered. The proposed SB87 bill allows Utah to set state rules about air pollution. Under current state law, Utah cannot set its own standard, apart from the federal government.

“[We] need to get away from this notion that somehow we have to have the base — that we can live with the base from the federal government standards," Sen. Davis said in a recent interview. "As long as you have a basement standard you cannot get above it. This law has been in place for 25 years and we haven’t moved our clean air standard ahead a bit in Utah."

Erin Mendenhall, the policy director for Breathe Utah, noted that Utah’s unique geography plays a major role in furthering the state’s pollution problem, an issue that most other states do not have. The proximity of industrial refineries to the most densely populated regions in the state also contributes to pollution.This bill would allow Utah to address its severe pollution concerns.

“The 'no more stringent’ law encompases everything of what needs to happen with clean air legislation, and it gives the flexibility that our state loves — which is to make our own rules," Mendenhall said. "When does Utah love to have the federal government tell us what we can and cannot do?"

This bill received a favorable report from the committee and is on its second reading in the Senate.

House Bill 49: Clean Fuel School Buses and Infrastructure, and House Bill 15: Clean Fuel Amendments and Rebates

How it will affect you: If this bill is passed, all old buses (2002 models and under) in the state will have to be destroyed and replaced with natural gas vehicles. Children will no longer inhale diesel fumes from buses.

Rep. Steve Handy, R-Layton is the sponsor of HB49, which would replace diesel buses with clean fuel buses. Murrell Martin, transportation specialist at the Utah State Office of Education, noted that Utah school buses are replaced at a slower rate compared to other states.

Rep. Handy’s second bill, HB15, follows from the first in that it would create a fiscal incentive for individuals and organizations to run energy efficient vehicles by extending tax credits to them. The bill would also establish a Conversion to Alternative Fuel Grant Program.

“We [are] well beyond the typical rotation of buses," Martin said. "A lot of states are looking at 12 to 15 year maximums. In the state of Utah, we have buses that are more closely in the range of 20 to 30 years in age of the fleet.”

Mendenhall noted that part of the hard sell for some in moving forward with this legislation is that, at first glance, the airshed and overall pollutant contribution of school bus emissions isn’t as substantial as other pollutant sources.

“But the significant part we should be paying attention to is the effect to the kids riding in the bus," she said. "There is an astonishing percentage of the exhaust from school buses that re-enters the cabin.”

In fact, a study by the Texas School Health Advisory Committee found that a child riding a school bus an average of 30 minutes in each direction is exposed to diesel engine exhaust for a minimum of 180 hours each year.

“Diesel pollution is the worst kind from any tailpipe, since more carcinogens and neurotoxins are found there than in traditional fuel,” Mendenhall said. “Who this really matters to is those in these rural areas where kids are riding on the bus for sometimes more than an hour and half a day to get to and from school. They have a real significant exposure to this pollution.” {#photo } The bill would allocate $20 million to replace school buses older than 2002 models. Of that funding, $13 million would pay to replace buses and would be matched from local school districts.

Old buses would also have to be destroyed and replaced with natural gas burning vehicles.

How it will affect you: Police officers and the DMV officials will have greater power to either cite a motorist for excessive emissions or delay car registration until problem fixed.

The House of Representatives is moving to its third reading of the bill.

House Bill 110: Motor Vehicle Emissions Amendments

House Bill 110, sponsored by Rep. Patrice M. Arent, D-Salt Lake City, gives the Division of Motor Vehicles the authority to suspend a vehicle's registration if the vehicle does not meet air emission standards.

“That bill came about from the Department of Global Health request that the DMV currently has no teeth if someone intentionally tampers with their vehicle," Mendenhall said. "You can go to a legitimate place and pass, and then intentionally remove the chip in your truck that is your emissions control system."

Police officers do not have the ability to pull a car over if an officer notices an excessive amount of emissions. Under this proposed law, an officer can pull over a vehicle and cite the driver. The DMV can then revoke the driver's registration until the car is brought into compliance.

The House of Representatives is moving to its third reading of the bill.

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