A recent Salt Lake Tribune article documents efforts at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ease air quality rules for Salt Lake City – but in doing so, amplifies misleading attacks from a litigious environmental group while downplaying the real, science-backed challenges Utah faces.

In reality, Utah’s topography and elevation make it uniquely vulnerable to background ozone from sources that Utah cannot control – including wildfires and international emissions. Even Democratic Governors across the West have publicly acknowledged that these factors complicate compliance with federal air quality rules.

Here’s a closer look at what the science – and the data – really say.

Claim: “… the level of international pollution that the northern Wasatch Front is exposed to is the same level that the rest of the country is exposed to. It’s not like ozone from Asia and Mexico is magically collecting in the Salt Lake City area.” –Salt Lake Tribune, 5/13/25

Fact: A variety of peer reviewed scientific studies contradict this claim from Center for Biological Diversity, a well-known litigious “Keep It In the Ground” group tied to a variety of anti-energy billionaires.

A 2020 study showed background ozone in Utah’s mountain regions is 15 parts per billion (ppb) higher on peak days than in the Northeast, comprising up to 84 percent of measured ozone levels. A 2018 review of more than 100 papers, the Scientific Assessment of Background Ozone, found that western U.S. background levels are significantly higher than those in coastal areas. These findings were echoed in additional EPA regulatory support documents. A third study spanning eight cities found Salt Lake City is uniquely affected by background ozone levels.

Why Salt Lake Faces an Uphill Battle on Ozone – Even With Local Emission Reductions

Even if Utah were to eliminate every source of human-caused ozone precursors within its borders, Salt Lake City would still face serious challenges meeting the existing federal air quality standards. The region’s unique weather, topography, and elevation create a perfect storm for ozone accumulation – one that local emissions reductions alone cannot solve.

This creates a challenging dynamic. Even as Utah and the energy sector make significant cuts to local emissions, they still do not technically meet EPA’s strict thresholds, because a large portion of its ozone problem is simply not under their control. That’s what makes Salt Lake City different from many other nonattainment areas – and why western, high-altitude nonattainment areas like Salt Lake City require sensible regulations from federal policymakers to improve air quality in partnership with local stakeholders.

Even Democratic Governors across the west have publicly acknowledged this problem. In an April 2024 letter to President Biden, signed by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D), Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D), Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon (R), and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R), the governors wrote:

“Western states face significant regionally-specific challenges in meeting the 8-hour ozone NAAQS given elevated natural background ozone levels, significant biogenic contributions, the influence of internationally transported pollution, some of the fastest growing populations in the nation, and the increasing influence of wildfires.”

Far from the picture CBD tries to paint, there is a growing bipartisan recognition that high-altitude western states face distinct ozone challenges not fully considered in existing national regulatory standards.

How Utah Energy Producers Are Addressing Ozone

While CBD’s strategy boils down to suing to fundraise and fundraising to sue, Utah’s energy industry has taken voluntary and nation-leading steps to reduce ozone-forming emissions:

• All five Salt Lake City refineries now produce Tier 3 gasoline voluntarily, reducing emissions the equivalent of removing 4 out of 5 cars from the road.
• Refineries installed emissions reduction technology at a cost of $38,000 per ton removed, far exceeding national benchmarks.

As Utah Division of Air Quality Director Bryce Bird recently explained:

“The [serious] designation itself will not lead us to attainment any faster… We’re working as fast as we can with the tools that we have, and the designation of serious nonattainment with those additional requirements won’t help us move the needle any faster.”

Why CBD’s Litigation Circus Hurts More Than It Helps

CBD employs nearly 200 staff, almost half of whom are lawyers. Their playbook is simple: sue, then fundraise, then sue again. The group’s ozone claims are riddled with mischaracterizations, like attorney Ryan Maher’s assertion that “it’s not like ozone from Asia and Mexico is magically collecting in Salt Lake City.”

In fact, that’s exactly what’s happening. EPA data and decades of scientific research show it.

BOTTOM LINE: Groups like CBD talk a big game about “saving life on Earth.” But when it comes time to do the real, often difficult work of improving air quality – especially in geographies like Utah’s – they prefer to play politics.

Utah’s air quality is improving because the energy sector is working together with stakeholders to address the real sources of ozone, not because of pressure from lawsuit mills like CBD that are more interested in headlines than results.

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