Monday, January 29, 2007

Bountiful City Contract with Coal Plant Will Produce Additional 7 Million Tons of Toxic Emissions

Truckee, CA, and Burley, Rupert and Haley, ID did Utah citizens a favor when they recently refused to sign a proposed contract to purchase power from UAMPS (Utah Association of Municipal Power Systems), through IPP (Intermountain Power Plant), a coal plant located near Delta, Utah. These cities came to understand the significant negative health effects that pollution can cause for their citizens and did not sign the contracts.

Bountiful City is currently considering signing a long-term contract with IPP similar to the contracts rejected by cities in California and Idaho. If Bountiful City signs the contract, a third coal-fired plant will be built in Delta, UT which would emit an additional 7 million tons of toxic emissions annually into the air. How will this affect the health of Utah’s citizens?

With the air quality along the Wasatch Front already too often at dangerous levels, Davis County for Better Health invites the public to attend a meeting to discuss these issues. Our two speakers will be Gerald H. Ross, M.D., an internationally known expert on environmental influences on human health, and Tim Wagner with the Utah Smart Energy Campaign, Utah Sierra Club.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a report in August 2006 entitled Environmental Pollution and Disease. This report states “Several outdoor air pollutants are associated with harmful health effects. These include the six “criteria” pollutants—particulate matter, ground-level ozone, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and lead. . . . The burning of fossil fuels is the principal source of these pollutants. Air pollutants can be transported long distances, so they can potentially have effects distant from their source.”

Across the country renewable energy technologies are rapidly gaining momentum in many cities. Utilizing these sources would decrease technology prices and, by and large, emit zero toxins, leaving our air cleaner and healthier for all of us!

The public is invited and encouraged to join other concerned citizens at the Centerville branch of the Davis County Library (behind Home Depot on 2nd West) Thursday, February 1, 2007 from 7 to 8 p.m. to discuss these issues.

Submitted by Davis County for Better Health

No comments: