| OCR Text |
Show WASATCH MOUNTAIN TIMES Moab Gets Dirty Air MOAB — Where does Salt Lake’s dirty air go when a polluted inversion finally out? Moab and blows Canyonlands, that’s where. To residents of the Wasatch Front, storm winds clearing out smog are a welcome relief, particularly in the winter months. But all that pollution does go somewhere. The Grand Canyon Commission has ‘Visibility Transport found that poor visibility in the national parks of the Colorado Plateau are directly attributable to air pollution in northern Utah’s urban areas. Federal law requires clean air be protected at parks like national Canyonlands, Arches, Zion, Bryce and Environmental News “New” Water Will Keep Park City area Booming A plan to pump PARK CITY Capsules water from Rockport Reservoir to the 20,000 Snyderville Basin will allow more residents to move in by the time the Winter Olympics arrive The $16 million deal between Summit County and the Weber Basin Conservancy would Water District pump precious water from Rock Port through a pipeline to one of the fastest WHO’S ON FIRST? growing Capitol Reef. The commission is set to make recommendations that will yield cleaner air in Moab and therefore along the Wasatch Front. The recommendations could be sweeping, but it’s difficult to imagine cleaner air in northern Utah, where auto traffic is up 40-to-50 percent over a five-year period and continues to grow. But the Salt Lake area isn’t the only offender. Arizona contributed twice the pollution to Canyonlands as did the Wasatch Front. Feds Covered Up Theft of Trees WASHINGTON DC — The US Forest Service allowed Weyerhaeuser Co. to steal millions of dollars of timber from national forests and then obstructed an investigation into the allegations, the Los Angeles Times has reported. Forest Service officials quietly acquiesced to large-scale harvesting in the forests and then warned Weyerhaeuser that it was the target of an investigation. The allegations have been made in a report by the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and the Government Accountability Project. The report apparently comes as the result of a dismantled Forest Service task force that was created to investi- gate such timber thefts. G E T AYO Advertising Garfield County Commissioners, they have been emboldened by Utah Sen Bob Bennett In a recent Senate heardefended the country ing, Bennett against, what he called the “heavyhanded, arbitrary behavior on the part of the Park Service.” The task force was created in 1991 but dissolved by Forest Service Chief Jack Ward Thomas last year. Whistleblower complaints have been filed by seven members of the task force, asserting their jobs investigating timber thefts were eliminated because their finding were embarrassing the Forest Service. One of the allegations was that Weyerhaeuser illegally cut 32,000 healthy trees per month in a salvage sale limiting the company to clearing only dead and diseased timber. Tortoise Refuge Created ST. GEORGE — Washington County and federal officials have established a 38,000-acre preserve aimed at ensuring the survival of the Mojave Desert tortoise The plan, which sets aside a larger County Bulldozes in Capitol Reef Park 61,000-acre wildlife preserve, however, also allows for the development of some 12,000 acres and the disturbance or destruction of habitat for 1,169 known tortoises. Development had been restricted in 1990, when the desert tortoise was listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. Federal and local officials have been negotiating a plan that would BOULDER — Garfield County road crews illegally widened the Burr Trail inside Capitol Reef National Park, effectively thumbing their noses at the National Park Service. The US Department of Justice has opened a probe into the bulldozing. Park officials says the county bulldozers caused extensive damage to the park in violation of federal law. Garfield County officials, however, have a history of illegal improvements to the historic road, believing that road improvements will bring increased tourism. And officials although federal have continued allow for protection and park to warn part of the preserve. the ponds sit at a 30 percent grade one mile from Moab; and the directly on a major fault. Winn Makes Cents bscribe and Get April 10, 1996 ISSUES OF THE RT. PT l-.O°N FORM “TIMES” TO CALL 801-649-8046 SOON DEADLINE nation MOAB — Over 10 tons of radio active uranium mill tailings sit on the edge of the Colorado River near Moab. And residents there say they want the stuff moved. Officials from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission say groundwater is currently contaminated beyond acceptable levels. Seepage into the Colorado, however, is negligible, they say Atlas Minerals wants to cap the tailings in place, at an estimated cost of $17 million. Moving the tailings to a site 20 miles north of Moab could cost as much as $100 million. Mining company officials say they can’t afford the move. In a public hearing last month, Moab residents cited violations of federal criteria for cleaning up the tailings: the tailings lie in ponds with no liners; in the FNM ANY the ponds MAIL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION REQUEST TO P.O. BOX 1433 ¢ PARK CITY, UTAH 84060 OR FAX 801-649-8046 S.U. BS: € RESERVATION tortoise in Moab Residents Want Uranium Tailings Moved GeET 12 SPACE of the and development for St. George’s burgeoning population since the tortoise listing. Utah Sen. Bob Bennett has secured $2 million in funding to compensate land owners whose property became Communities In the shadows of the Olympic Sports Park the unincorporated Snyderville area is home to some 11,000 residents but seems to be expanding by the day. It remains unknown, however, how much water now exists in the area Until now, most planners agreed that water would be a growth-limiting factor in the Snyderville Basin. The water ultimately will be tapped from new the relatively Smith-Morehouse Reservoir, waters from which eventually empty into Rockport your issues delivered | - 12 issues _ $12.00 ADDRESS, APT./ CITY/STATE ZIP. THIS GIFT PHONE IS FROM SUITE NO. ADDRESS APT/SUITE CITY/STATE PHONE CHECKQ VISAQ PAGE No 19 Exp. SIGNATURE NO. NO NO. lie |
