Tier 3

Lawmakers finalized an incentive Wednesday for Utah’s refineries to bring cleaner “Tier 3” gasoline to the state.

People buying new cars in the final days of 2016 might not realize it, but their decisions will affect air-quality.

Manny and Loralee Kurzius have just signed papers at the Tesla dealership for an electric car they’ve been longing for. Tax rebates are one factor for their year-end purchase. Pollution’s another.

“Clean air is huge for us,” says Loralee.

Senators cleared the way Thursday for Utah refineries to get millions of dollars worth of tax credits for installing equipment to remove pollution-forming sulfur from gasoline.

Utah’s petroleum refineries aren’t legally required to make the super-clean Tier 3 fuel. But the state’s largest refinery has decided to produce that fuel anyhow in what’s seen as an important move for Wasatch Front air quality.

  Utah Governor Gary Herbert is asking Utah’s oil refineries to produce cleaner gasoline.  But it may be years before they’re actually ready to do that. 

State air-quality officials are still trying to bring next-generation clean cars and clean fuel to Utah. They told lawmakers Wednesday they are making headway.

New clean fuel, clean car standards promise to be the single best way to clean up Utah’s air. State leaders say they want to accelerate these so-called Tier 3 rules in Utah. Yet, car buyers are already taking matters into their own hands, at the steering wheel.

Another air-scrubbing storm has just passed through Salt Lake City. But Tom Hemmersmeier is still thinking about clean cars.

A new report tries to cut through some of the confusion surrounding Utah’s air-pollution problems. Shawn Teigen says he stepped back to take an impartial look at one of Utah’s most important issues. He’s a research analyst for the non-partisan Utah Foundation. His report released Thursday notes pollution has not trended up -- or down -- over the past 15 years. He’s found that smoke from solid-fuels like wood and coal is an unexpectedly big problem. He’s also learned that federal clean-vehicle, clean-fuel standards called Tier 3 will go a long way to clean up the air.