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Utah Department of
Environmental Quality
Proposed during the 2006 General Session is a bill that lays the foundation of Utah’s energy future, a result of efforts by a bipartisan Energy Policy Work Group formed last summer to develop energy policy for the state of Utah. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Roger Barrus (R-Centerville), would designate a state energy officer to encourage development and promotion of the state’s energy resources. Rep. Jim Gowans (R-Tooele) has filed separate legislation, which also is based on the Work Group recommendations, to modify the state’s Clean Fuels and Vehicle Technology Fund that provides loans and grants to businesses and government entities purchasing clean vehicles. Gowans’ bill would expand the fund to include other types of vehicles, retrofits and fuel systems determined to be effective in reducing air pollution. The fund also could help provide businesses and governments a state match for federal and non-federal grants to purchase clean fuel vehicles, under the proposal before the Legislature.
The Department of Environmental Quality is taking the lead on the oversight of the Clean Fuels fund. When Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr. took office in 2005, the state’s energy office was reorganized. The fund, established in the early 1990s, moved to the DEQ, and is being administered by DEQ’s Division of Air Quality (DAQ). Huntsman hired Dr. Laura Nelson as his energy policy adviser who has been working with the Legislature to develop energy policy that also promotes the use of advanced vehicle fuels and technology. Under the reorganization, the Department will establish administrative rules that govern the fund, but before it does, it wants to incorporate any statutory updates from this session. “We want to get the program up and running so it provides the benefit it is designed to give to Utahns – cleaner vehicles for improved air quality,” said Rick Sprott, director of the Division of Air Quality. “With the ongoing effort to re-evaluate the state’s energy policy, which is evolving, and before we write the administrative rules, we want to make sure it is in-sync with the direction from the governor and the Legislature.”
Energy Policy Work Group
At the direction of the chairs of the Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment and the Public Utilities and Technology interim committees, Reps. Barrus, David Ure (R-Kamas) and Ralph Becker (D-Salt Lake) created the Energy Policy Work Group, which began meeting last summer. The group sought input from various agencies, corporations and public interest groups to help formulate an energy policy aimed at providing adequate, reliable, affordable, sustainable, and clean energy resources, primarily through the private market, and also to offer incentives for short- and long-term needs. “Energy is fundamentally important to the welfare of Utah because of its impacts on jobs, industry, consumers, and the environment,” stated the group’s draft report approved by the joint committee November 29.
The bill reflects some of the working groups’ recommendations, including studying the creation of a centralized state repository for energy-related information. The state energy officer would promote, assist and study various energy-related tasks, including advanced vehicle fuels and technology.
Expanding Clean Fuels Program
The Clean Fuels and Vehicle Technology fund was developed in the early 1990s as one of several programs stemming from court settlement awards from oil company overcharges during the 1970s. “A pot of money was made available to states to provide restitution on consumer overcharges, but instead of giving the money out individually the Utah Energy Office became the steward of the overcharge monies, which were used to create several energy-related programs, including one that provided loans to entities for purchasing alternative fuel vehicles,” said Glade Sowards, energy program coordinator for DAQ. Conceived as a means of achieving federal Energy Policy Act of 1992 goals, the program focused mainly on natural gas, propane and electric vehicles. Beginning in 2001, the program also included grants to cover the incremental cost of converting fleets to cleaner technologies.
Since its inception, the program has provided a combined $925,000 in loans to help pay for around 81 clean fuel vehicles, said Sowards. Another $180,000 has been awarded in grants to 40 different entities to purchase 67 clean vehicles and two refueling stations, Sprott added. The fund has roughly $2.4 million in it today. But the program does not reflect current advances in technology. “We have participated in the Energy Policy Working Group effort and are working with stakeholders to propose a change in the fund to promote the use of advanced vehicle fuels and technology,” Sprott said.
In its recommendations to the full Legislature, the group took a “technology neutral” approach to allow for enough flexibility to adapt to changing market conditions. For instance, the fund could also provide loans to entities that want to retrofit a bus with a diesel particulate filter that would help reduce emissions. “The focus is on air quality and fuel economy,” Sprott said. “We also are focusing on fleets because existing tax credits are available to private citizens.”
In addition, the group has recommended that the state expand and improve its public transportation, rideshare, telecommuting and other trip reduction initiatives. “These measures will help improve air quality, enhance energy security and reduce operational costs,” stated the Energy Policy Work Group’s report.