Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Researchers from Utah State University reported decreased fine particulate matter along the Wasatch Front.
- The report attributes improvements to air quality monitoring, legislation and industry upgrades.
- Concerns remain about under-monitoring PM10 particles from the drying Great Salt Lake.
SALT LAKE CITY — Levels of fine particulate matter have decreased along the Wasatch Front in recent years even as the population has grown, according to a report from Utah State University.
The report, compiled by researchers at USU's Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water and Air, attributes those improvements over the last decade to better monitoring of air quality, clean air legislation and industry upgrades. Researchers presented their annual Land, Water and Air report to the governor, lieutenant governor and several lawmakers Tuesday morning in an effort to guide policy about the environment, land and water use in the state.
The 166-page report touched on a variety of topics from wetland restoration to the state's snowpack, but institute executive director Brian Steed led off by discussing air quality.
"Obviously, we have some work to do here," he said, noting the inversion that blanketed the valley during his commute.
The good news, he said, is that the amount of PM2.5 — fine particulate matter less than 2.5 microns across — in the air has been trending downward over the past decade.
"That's actually pretty amazing when you look at the numbers themselves," Steed said. "That's a remarkable thing to do, and I think we can take a lot of pride in that because that has taken intentional choices on behalf of policymakers, as well as those of us that live here."
Pollution from those particles has long been known to be harmful, and a recent study from Intermountain Health found such pollution from wildfires and winter inversions can increase inflammation in people with heart disease.
But Steed said he thinks the state is "under monitoring" another type of pollution: PM10 particles. Those are slightly larger dust particles that can be exposed when water levels in the Great Salt Lake fall.
"A drying Great Salt Lake has exposed a lot of lakebed," he said. "We're going to have to know where dust is coming from on that, and this is something that policymakers in the room have to know about. If we increase (PM10) monitoring stations ... we get a better picture of what those needs are and how we go about moving forward."
Republican lawmakers in the state have floated the idea of giving themselves more power over setting clean air standards in the state, though no specific policy proposals have been put forward.
Steed, who also serves as the state's Great Salt Lake commissioner, highlighted the institute's findings on the Great Salt Lake. Although lake levels have fallen to lows similar to those in 2021, Steed said, "We're in a much better place than we have been," thanks to a broader array of policy tools and conservation efforts.
The report included a study on USU Extension's Water Check Program, which found a 20% to 30% average reduction in water use for residents who opted into the monitoring program.
"Just getting that amount of water savings is a big deal," Steed said.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox gave brief remarks before the presentation of the report, telling attendees that the conservation of Utah's natural resources provides benefits that go beyond economic boosts.
"We cannot forget that it's so much more than that; (it is) something about the connection between our environment, between the outside world and mankind that makes us human," he said.
He said he is "wary of the false choices" often presented: that we can either grow the economy or protect the environment.
"We can do both of those things, and we can learn how to do both of those things because of the work that is done here," Cox said.
