Herbert signs 8 bills to improve Utah air quality

Utah's persistent smog may finally be getting to them. State lawmakers approved a record number of air-quality bills in the 2014 legislative session. Photo courtesy Utah Office of Energy Development.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Gov. Gary Herbert has signed eight bills designed to clear Utah’s murky wintertime skies.

Herbert took the action during a ceremony Friday attended by clean air advocates including some lawmakers who pushed for the legislation.

KTVX-TV reports among other things, the new laws will facilitate electrical vehicle charging stations, assist homeowners whose only source of heat is wood burning, provide tax credits for energy efficient vehicles and encourage use of biodiesel fuel.

Rep. Patrice Arent says more clean air bills were passed in the recent session of the Legislature than in her 13 previous sessions combined.

She says there’s no one bill that will improve air quality and the Legislature still has “a lot more work to do.”

Advocacy groups are disappointed that some bills failed to pass.

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