SALT LAKE CITY — Utah regulators are promising to deliver a set
of plans to curb air pollution by July but said Wednesday that
the task won't be completed easily. Officials told a powerful
state board their plans will achieve as little as 80 percent of
the emissions reductions required by the federal government for
urban areas of northern Utah. Regulators don't know how to close
the gap. Tailpipe emissions account for more than half of Utah's
pollution problem, but regulators have shown no interest in
mandating cleaner gasoline or more efficient cars. Utah already
is moving to reduce industrial emissions, but regulators say
industries represent a small piece of the pollution puzzle. The
problem could be the nation's most difficult to solve,
regulators said. They blamed a combination of mountain geography
and weather systems that trap emissions in valleys for days or
weeks at a time, allowing no escape. One plan requires Utah to
reduce emissions in the Salt Lake region by 227 tons a day.
Regulators said Wednes