The Division of Air Quality has requested the following appropriations:
I. Air Quality Monitoring Equipment. Sponsored by Rep. Arent
$1.3 million one time; $150k ongoing. FULLY FUNDED. This is to replace outdated equipment and expand equipment to meet federal requirements. 23% of existing monitoring equipment is past its useful life, and there is no backup equipment on the shelf. There have been many times when the monitors fail and cannot be fixed for many days. This results in a lack of recorded required data. The population growth in Iron County requires expansion of the network to meet federal regulatory requirements. Last year, the request was only half funded. This is the remainder of the needs for the agency to do its job effectively. Replacing the outdated monitors is of the utmost importance.
Benefits
- Ensures adequacy of air monitoring equopp and accuracy of data
- Meets fed requirements
- Responds to public requests
- Comply with SIP and federal requirements
II. Uinta basin leak detection. Sponsored by Rep. Redd.
$250k one time for infrared camera devices to detect leakage in oil and gas extraction in the basin. FUNDED AT $200k. This equipment is needed to identify leaks that are releasing VOCs, causing ozone problems. Undetected leaks contribute emissions to the basin’s airshed that can lead to the ozone problem. This is a necessary appropach for regulating emissions from oil and gas operations.
Benefits:
- Provides direct economic benefit to operators through recover of lost product.
- Reducing fugitive emissions will improve air quality.
- Allows industry to voluntarily address problems before they become compliance issues
- Provides the DAQ with important emissions inventory ddta that will help the division develop local solutions to wintertime ozone.
UTA has requested the following appropriation:
Depot Distric Clean Fuels Tech Center. Sponosored by Rep. Schultz.
$2.5 million one time. FULLY FUNDED. UTA is seeking an appropriation to fund the depot district. Added infrastructure for CNG bus maintenance. Currentlly UTA has roughly 40 CNG buses. This project will increase capacity by 200 busses for CNG. UTA keeps buses for 15 years, the sooner they can replace diesel with CNG, the better. Great benefit along WF. Maintenance on CNG is very different than diesel and they need the proper facility to get more CNGs busses and remove diesels from the fleet.
