Kim Petty, kim.petty@sierraclub.org
SALT LAKE CITY — On Friday, Sierra Club and Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah (HEAL Utah) filed an administrative appeal before the Utah Department of Environmental Quality challenging the Utah Department of Air Quality’s (UDAQ) unlawful decision to issue an air permit for the Intermountain Power Plant (IPP). The permit authorizes ongoing coal plant operations alongside the plant’s new gas units without setting the emissions standards required by the Clean Air Act.
In 2022, UDAQ approved a permit for IPP under which the existing coal units were required to cease operations following the completion of its new gas units. UDAQ relied on the promise that the coal units would close in order to allow the new gas units to be constructed as a “minor” source and avoid having to meet more stringent emissions standards. However, in June of this year, UDAQ issued a draft permit to keep the coal units operational alongside the gas units with no additional controls required for either source of air pollution.
Sierra Club and HEAL Utah submitted extensive comments on the draft permit, pointing out several legal and factual errors. Notably, in order to justify the absence of new pollution controls on the coal units, UDAQ used outdated data to conclude that the project would result in a net decrease in emissions — despite the fact that the new permit would allow an increase in operations compared to the plant’s operations over the last five years.
Despite this, UDAQ rejected all of Sierra Club and HEAL Utah’s comments and issued a final permit without any changes in early October 2025.
“Even though the Utah Department of Air Quality knows that Intermountain Power Plant’s coal units are putting Utahns at risk for heart and respiratory illnesses, they are attempting to go back on their promises and keep these outdated units alive without any pollution controls,” said Luis Miranda, Senior Organizer for Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. “Utah only gets about 25% of the power generated from this plant, but local residents bear the brunt of its pollution. IPP is one of the leading sources of deadly air pollution in the state, and under this plan, that’s only going to get worse.”
Intermountain Power Plant is one of the largest coal plants in the country, and at nearly 50 years old, it lacks modern pollution controls like “selective catalytic reduction” (SCR) technology to reduce its nitrogen oxides emissions that contribute to public health problems such as asthma attacks, heart attacks, and even premature deaths. These emissions also pollute the air of some of our country’s most iconic national parks, including Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, and Zion.
“The extended operation of these outdated coal units, which lack basic pollution safeguards like SCR technology, will continue to negatively impact the economy and health of our state," said Lexi Tuddenham, Executive Director, HEAL Utah. "At a bare minimum, the standards of the Clean Air Act must be upheld so that we can continue to make progress toward the goal of clear skies across our extraordinary Utah landscapes, and clean air for every Utahn to breathe."
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.