When the environment comes up in the 1996 Legislature, the discussion will mainly be about the never-ending concerns of waste disposal and pollution cleanup.
Wilderness and federal-lands issues are conspicuously absent from this year's legislative agenda so far, although one rural legislator said he may introduce a resolution supporting a Utah congress-man's plan to turn federal lands over to the states."The closer you live to the land, the better you can manage it," said Rep. Brad Johnson, R-Aurora, who likes Republican Rep. Jim Hansen's idea of giving states control of U.S. Bureau of Land Management lands, which total 22 million acres in Utah.
Here's a summary of some of the other more significant pieces of environmental legislation:
- Closing a loophole that exempts some wastes from state regulations - Under a federal law known as the "Bevel amendment," certain wastes, such as mining overburden, are categorized as non-hazardous and, therefore, exempt from state and federal laws governing hazardous waste.
So when a company proposed building a dump near Green River, Emery County, that would take only "Bevel wastes," it would have avoided strict siting and fee requirements.
That prompted competing waste-disposal companies to cry foul, arguing that the company would have a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
A bill proposed by Rep. Bill Wright, R-Elberta, would close the loophole by specifically making Bevel wastes subject to all state laws and regulations.
- Helping the state recover costs of cleaning up pollution - When a business, such as a small refinery, spills pollutants, it sometimes cannot - or will not - pay for cleanup. The state usually cleans up the problem but may not always be able to recover its costs.
A bill being drafted by Rep. Marda Dillree, R-Farmington, and endorsed by the state Department of Environmental Quality, would give the state the power to place a lien on the polluter's property, which often increases in value after the state cleans it up.
A lien would prevent the property owner from selling the property without first satisfying the state's cleanup bill.
- Cleaning Lake Powell - Sen. Scott Howell, D-Granite, has proposed using state money to clean up Lake Powell, which is part of a national recreation area.
Howell will argue that because the lake is a Utah waterway, and Utah has jurisdiction for keeping its waters clean, the state should help bear the cost of ridding the lake and its beaches of pollution. Last year, several beaches were closed several times as a result of high bacteria count from human waste.