Compressed natural gas is a cheap, safe, potentially plentiful and clean-burning motor fuel. It can help clear the air, reduce climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions and lessen our reliance on foreign oil. There's only one obstacle that keeps it from becoming the preferred fuel for the state and the nation -- availability.

It's a Catch-22. Motorists are reluctant to spend more to buy vehicles or hybrids capable of running on compressed natural gas, or convert existing engines to burn CNG, until there are a sufficient number of fueling stations. And fuel providers are reluctant to install compressed natural gas pumps until there are a sufficient number of natural gas-powered cars on the roads. Something has to give. And that something is Questar Corp. and the state of Utah.

Officials from the regional natural gas company told state lawmakers last week that they may soon expand their natural gas service station system into the Uinta Basin, Green River and Wendover areas. And the state is doing its part to make the fuel more widely available, increasing compression at six state-owned fueling stations along the Wasatch Front and reopening the fleet-fueling facilities to the public.

Utah is already the envy of many states, with 25 natural gas fueling stations along the I-15 corridor from Brigham City to St. George. Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., who drives a CNG vehicle, has declared I-15 from Idaho to Arizona a "natural gas corridor."

Now, Questar

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is working with state officials in Wyoming and Colorado to create new corridors by adding fueling stations along Interstates 70 and 80, extending the range for Utah drivers and attempting to turn our success story into a regional phenomenon.

An estimated 5,000 to 8,000 natural-gas powered vehicles already operate on Utah highways, while portions of state, municipal, public transit and school district fleets burn natural gas. And, with CNG currently selling for 97 cents per gallon, it is, and should continue to be, a bargain.

But only Honda, which builds the CNG-burning Civic GX NGV, offers a new dedicated natural gas vehicle, with a list price about $7,000 higher than a regular Civic before tax credits. And engine conversions are prohibitively expensive for many motorists.

The end result: another Catch-22. Until the demand for the vehicles can drive down the price and widen the selection, natural gas vehicles won't become commonplace. And that won't happen until there's a nationwide network of CNG fueling stations. The rest of the country needs to follow Utah's and Questar's lead.