This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The recreation economy claimed a big win over the extraction economy this week when the Environmental Protection Agency decided to require an additional half billion dollars worth of pollution controls on the two Emery County coal-fired power plants that supply most of Utah's electricity. 

The nearly 50-year-old Clean Air Act includes provisions for achieving pristine air over national parks and wilderness areas. After a long and contentious process, EPA chose the option that requires Rocky Mountain Power to significantly reduce its "NOx" pollution from the plants by installing "selective catalytic reduction" (SCR) equipment. NOx interacts with ammonia to produce particles of haze over parks and wilderness in Utah and nearby states. 

Utah's environmental regulators — advocating for Utah electricity consumers who would have to pay much of SCR's costs in their monthly bills — sided with Rocky Mountain, arguing that reducing NOx from the stacks wouldn't cut haze much because there is little population or agriculture downwind to produce ammonia. They had some limited data to back that up, but the National Park Service countered with its own data showing plenty of ammonia in Canyonlands. 

There is no denying the impact of the growing recreation economy in this decision. Business interests in both Arizona and Colorado joined counterparts in Utah's $8 billion tourist sector to lobby hard for the more stringent standard. They had their own data, showing more hazy days reduce return visits in their parks.

Rocky Mountain has five years to comply, but the company may sue the EPA. If a suit buys time, the legal costs would be far less than the price of SCR.

And buying time is important because other forces are at work. EPA by law was narrowly focused on haze, but the effects of this decision extend further. Rather than spend the money on SCR, Rocky Mountain could choose to close all or part of those plants or convert them to cleaner-burning natural gas. Either would seriously hit eastern Utah's coal country and erode one of Utah's economic selling points, cheap power.

But that's where the wind is blowing. For all of its expense, SCR would do nothing for what has become a much larger issue than regional haze: coal's huge carbon footprint. Given that and the rapid growth in alternatives, it seems likely at least part of the plants' coal burners will be shut down rather than upgraded.

So Utah's "Mighty Five" national parks have proven mighty indeed, potentially accelerating our transition to cleaner electricity. Utahns will have to manage the costs of that transition, but the benefits will be visible well beyond Delicate Arch.