Over three years, the Salt Lake Valley reduced the amount of fine particulate matter in its air, the Environmental Protection Agency has determined, and it will allow Utah regulators to move to a new stage in controlling one of the state’s biggest health problems.
That next stage is what could be 20 years of continued monitoring of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area to ensure there’s no increase in PM 2.5 — the dangerous wintertime pollution that can be so thick residents feel it in their throats.
Utah Division of Air Quality Director Bryce Bird said Friday the state would keep in place all the steps it has taken to improve air quality and is free to take more steps.