Dec. 29, 2000--
Rising energy prices are
creating a dicey dilemma for
the state of Utah regarding air quality. It has some
businesses anxious about the future and state agencies
scrambling to find a solution. News Specialist John
Daley has details.
Here's the problem. Natural gas prices are rising
sharply. Some businesses want to be allowed to use
cheaper fuel, like diesel.
But diesel fuel creates more
smog than natural gas, and look at the air. Dirtier air is
something we can ill afford.
Salt Lake Valley--Utah's smog central. An
ugly-looking, but fairly ordinary winter inversion
foreshadows a troubling dilemma.
It is often a
challenge for Utah's growing urban counties to meet
federal air quality standards.
Making matters worse, an energy crunch is imminent.
Natural gas prices are way up and electric prices are
going up too.
The pinch is already being felt by
industries that have high energy costs. Three Utah
companies--Inland Refining and Cowboy Oil in Wood
Cross, and Nucor Steel near Tremonton, say natural
gas prices have gone up so much that they're asking
the state to allow them to temporarily use diesel fuel to
power their plants.
But diesel spews dirtier emissions into the air than
natural gas, so it presents a tough decision for state
regulators.
Rick Sprott/Division of Air
Quality: "WE NEED TO FIND SOME WAY
TO MITIGATE THOSE FINANCIAL
IMPACTS, BUT YET BALANCE THAT WITH
THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AS WELL."
Clean burning natural gas has seen prices skyrocket
from $2.50 per decatherm last March to more than
four times that now. Diesel fuel is now about half the
price of natural gas.
The problem is if the state allows industry to burn
more diesel that will hurt air quality. It's a public health
threat, plus it could jeopardize federal high funds that
are contingent upon meeting federal air quality goals.
Rick Sprott/Division of Air
Quality: "IT WOULDN'T BE GOOD. IF
INDEED WE USED DIESEL FUELS AND
OTHER KINDS OF FUELS ALL THE TIME,
THAT WOULD BE A PROBLEM."
For now, the one sure way to help the situation is for
consumers and industry to cut back on energy use.
Jeff Burks/Office of Energy and
Resource Planning: "CONSERVATION IS
ONE STRATEGY THAT WE CAN ADOPT THAT
WILL HELP THE ENVIRONMENT AND HELP
IMPROVE AIR QUALITY."
The Air Quality Board meets next Wednesday to
address this issue.
Meantime, the word we will hear
over and over in the coming months is conservation.
The one thing all of us can do to help is conserve
energy, especially during peak hours of 2:00 to 8:00
p.m. It'll save you money and help ease the energy
crunch.
Energy Saving Tips
