UTAH UTILITY SEEKS PERMIT USING DISPUTED MODEL CRITICS SAY HURTS PARKS

A Utah power company is using a disputed air quality modeling technique first developed in North Dakota to justify its request to expand a facility without adding pollution controls. Utah is now the second state to employ the modeling approach that has stirred national controversy and prompted EPA modelers in nearly all the regions to caution that the method could potentially underestimate pollution near wilderness areas. Officials in EPA Region VIII -- which includes both Utah and North Dakota --...