A bill that seeks to expand the inland port — a massive distribution hub planned for Salt Lake City’s westernmost area — unanimously cleared a Senate committee on Monday, despite concerns from environmentalists over the proposal’s relationship to coal.
HB433, sponsored by inland port board member and House Majority Leader Francis Gibson, would shift the development from its focus on a single site in the state’s capital to a multisite approach that would include rural areas across the state.
In the so-called ‘hub-and-spoke’ model, Salt Lake City would serve as the hub, while other interested communities would make up the spokes — an effort Gibson says would make it easier for communities with exports to clear international customs and would bring good jobs to overlooked communities while dispersing the impact of emissions and traffic problems in Salt Lake County.