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Show The Park Record A-12 Wed/Thurs/Fri, April 12-14, 2017 Coal pic on public lands site Your future n Mountaei Hom is calling Check out The Park Record’s Real Estate Monthly for listings in Park City and the surrounding areas By MICHAEL BIESECKER Associated Press WASHINGTON — In what is being seen as a clear message about its policy priorities, the Trump administration has updated the home page for the federal agency that oversees public lands to showcase a large photo of an open-pit coal mine in Wyoming. The photo was stripped across the Bureau of Land Management site within the last week. On Wednesday, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced approval of a $22 million lease of more than 6,000 acres in Utah to a coal-mining company. In an accompanying statement, Zinke described the bureau as being “in the energy business.” In the past, the web page has more typically featured photos of fields of wildflowers, green forests and snow-capped mountains. The coal mining photo replaced the image of a man and young boy with camping gear watching a scenic sunset. Bureau spokeswoman Kristen Lenhardt on Thursday denied the timing of the photo swap is connected to the administration’s push to promote coal mining. She said the home page photo will now be changed weekly. She said the coal mine photo was already set to be replaced Friday with a new image “reflecting recreation on public lands.” “As part of the BLM’s transition to a new website design, we will be regularly rotating the banner with photos that reflect the many uses our public lands have to offer,” Lenhardt said. The changes come after President Donald Trump last month lifted a freeze imposed in the waning days of the Obama administration on leases of public lands for coal mining. Trump, who has pledged to revive the struggling U.S. coal industry, also issued an executive order rolling back federal regulations on planet-warming carbon emissions. The bureau manages more than 245 million acres of public land in a dozen Western states. Much of that acreage has for decades been leased for mining and drilling, but the use of public lands for coal mining has come under increasing scrutiny due to climate change. Coal is the dirtiest of fossil fuels, accounting for more than three-quarters of carbon emissions from U.S. power plants despite generating less than 40 percent of the nation’s electricity. Several of the country’s largest coal companies have recently sought bankruptcy protection as utilities have switched to cheaper, cleaner-burning natural gas. The land bureau’s photo swap garnered significant attention on social media Thursday, especially among environmentalists. “What more evidence do you need that the Trump administration wants to pave paradise to put up a coal mine?” said Michael Brune, the executive director of the Sierra Club. “They are literally trading a photo of families enjoying our most cherished landscapes for a pile of coal. This is one of the most obvious signs yet that they are putting the profits of corporate polluters before the public.” Critics say Rocky Mountain Power violates EPA ruling Associated Press Looking to sell a home, condo, property, or townhome? Call 435-649-9014 to get your listing seen by over 10,000 people SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah power company has come under fire by critics who say its latest 20-year strategic plan contains elements that would violate federal law. Rocky Mountain Power’s 300-page Integrated Resource Plan was submitted to the Utah Public Service Commission on last week, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. The utility’s “preferred” scenario would not involve installing specific pollution-control systems at two coal-fired power plants even though a 2016 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency decision requires the systems to be installed by 2021. Rocky Mountain Power, which is the state’s largest electrical utility and Utah have sued to challenge the EPA ruling. Federal legislation introduced last month by Rep. Jason Chaffetz and Sen. Mike Lee, both Utah Republicans, also seeks to overturn the ruling. Critics argue the EPA decision should be part of the company’s long-term plans unless it is successfully overturned by the legislation or the legal challenge. “It’s baffling Rocky Mountain Power is acting in its future plans as if it can defy federal law, which requires it to reduce Utah’s coal power-plant emissions,” Matt Pacenza said in a statement. Pacenza is the ex- ecutive director of the environmental advocacy group HEAL Utah. Rocky Mountain Power spokesman David Eskelsen said the report does not lock in the company’s future actions, and the utility’s plan acknowledges the uncertain nature of the litigation. He said the utility typically selects the “preferred portfolio” that incurs the least cost and represents the least risk to consumers, adding environmental compliance decisions are usually made during a separate process. “I don’t think it’s reasonable to accuse the company of ignoring or thinking we cannot comply with the law,” Eskelsen said. “The company always complies with the law.” |