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WEST VALLEY CITY — State officials say Utah's air quality likely will improve under new measures signed into law.
During a ceremony Tuesday, Gov. Gary Herbert signed two bills passed during the 2015 Legislature, both of which aim to increase use of alternative fuel vehicles on Utah roads.
“We’re working at cleaning up the air,” Herbert said. “We’re having successes, as we have a much cleaner environment today than we did just 10 years ago. So we’re going in the right direction.”
The governor signed HB406, which provides an income tax credit for those who purchase a heavy-duty natural gas vehicle, such as semitrailers and other large trucks.
Herbert also signed HB15, which created a grant program for converting vehicles for alternative fuel use. It also extends tax credits for energy-efficient vehicles.
Additionally, the measure authorizes the Utah Department of Environmental Quality to make grants from the Clean Fuels and Vehicle Technology Fund to a person who installs conversion equipment on an eligible vehicle.
Herbert said the measures are the next step in the statewide effort to improve the air quality throughout Utah.
Though some environmentalists say state leaders aren't going far enough to improve air quality in a more significant fashion, Herbert said the measured methodology is paying dividends.
“We are doing this in the right way with an appropriate balanced approach,” he said.
Implementing more stringent regulations too quickly could have a detrimental impact on the state’s economy and have a long-term negative effect, Herbert said.
The governor noted that the state has been well-served by improving the environment incrementally rather than in a way that would potentially risk jobs and economic stability.
“That’s why we’re doing it so well in Utah,” Herbert said. “Our economy is doing well, and we are also cleaning up the environment and being good stewards of the earth.”
The more we can move away from gasoline-based fuels or even use tier-3 fuels when we do use gasoline, it's going to improve our air quality along the Wasatch Front.
–Laura Nelson, Governor's Office of Energy Development.
Analysts said taking a balanced environmental approach and working to diversify the state’s alternative fuel options will have many future benefits.
“The more we can move away from gasoline-based fuels or even use tier-3 fuels when we do use gasoline, it’s going to improve our air quality along the Wasatch Front,” said Laura Nelson, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Energy Development.
Tier-3 fuel requirements target new vehicle emissions standards and lowering the sulfur content of gasoline beginning in 2017.
“Measures like these are critical to that ultimate goal of fuel diversification,” Nelson said.
The new laws primarily focus on helping companies and entities with large truck and bus fleets convert their vehicles to cleaner-burning fuels with less environmental impact, explained Jeff Barrett, deputy director of the Governor’s Office of Energy Development.
The tax credits will help trucking firms or school districts, for example, make the switch from diesel and gasoline engines to compressed natural gas, propane or even electric motors in a more cost-effective manner, Barrett said.
“For now, (these bills) reduce the barriers to entry into alternative fuel vehicles,” he said.
Nelson said converting fleets to clean-fuel vehicles gives the “biggest bang for the buck” in helping reach the goal of fuel diversification.
During the 2015 Legislature, lawmakers unveiled two-dozen air quality proposals, including a bill to spend $20 million replacing aging school buses with clean fuel buses.
Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Wood Cross, co-sponsor of the two bills signed by the governor Tuesday, said he supports funding to replace older fleet vehicles. The tax credit incentives, Weiler said, are a good start to help get more vehicles switched to alternative fuels.
“It’s the right thing to do,” he said.
