So, Rep. Mike Noel wants to spend another 2 million taxpayer dollars to prop up the coal industry. Maybe Noel, or all of our coal industry-supporting legislators, should take a drive through Carbon and Emery counties, the heart of coal country. They will notice that every single trailer on those coal haulers is registered and licensed in Idaho. All three of the Utah-based coal haulers — Barney Trucking, Robinson Transportation and Savage Industries — are paying their registration and property taxes to Franklin County, Idaho, while they wear out Utah roads. Logic would dictate that Idaho’s fees are lower than Utah’s, so these haulers can save some money.
I guess that’s just the coal industry’s way of saying thanks to Utah for all of our taxpayer-funded support. By the way, Idaho doesn’t produce any coal. Very little of that state’s power comes from coal.
Jim Pedler, Salt Lake City