June 16, 2000
A roadblock could slow efforts to improve several major highways in Utah County.
The Environmental Protection Agency says unless Utah County air quality meets stringent standards, federal funding will be pulled.
Central Utah Correspondent Reed Cowan reports.
City and County leaders in Utah County are angry, and say their hands are tied. For the last five years they've worked to identify problem roads that need improvements. They've worked to get the federal dollars to see it happen.
But now, a head-on collision with the E.P.A. may put the brakes on all of their work.
That murky haze you sometimes see in the skies over Utah County could change things down here on the ground.
Most specifically, down on the crowded roads. Utah County road planners have been told if they don't meet stiff air-quality models set by the E.P.A. by August, some planned road projects are at risk.
They are:
- An $8.5-million I-15 interchange for Pleasant Grove
- Chances for an upgraded intersection in Provo Canyon
- A mass transit transportation center for South Provo
And many more.
Jerry Grover/Utah County Commissioner: "IT'S A PAPER PLAN, AND WHETHER IT HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE MONITOR'S DATA APPEARS TO BE INCONSEQUENTIAL."
County Commissioner Jerry Grover says the E.P.A.'s system of pulling funding based on projected air quality levels is unfair and flawed. He says Utah County has met E.P.A. standards the last 10 years, and being penalized for E.P.A. projections for the next 10 years is, "assisine."
City leaders agree.
Robert Stockwell/Provo C.A.O.: "IT APPEARS WE'RE STUCK. WE'VE GOT TO STAY ON THE SIDELINES WITH OUR HANDS SLAPPED UNTIL THE E.P.A. LETS US BACK IN THE GAME."
For now, road planners are pushing their plans ahead quickly. E.P.A. moratoriums cannot effect projects that have advanced past certain phases, creating a racing contest of wills between the E.P.A. and road projects that depend on federal monies.
The looming E.P.A. moratorium won't just affect the projects mentioned in the story.
It could likely effect other arterial roadways Utah County leaders know need improvements over a 10-year stretch. One person we spoke with says that would be a major setback.
