H.B. 378 Fugitive Dust Mitigation Amendments: transcript

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I will just say for, uh, Senator Musselman's sake, there were no fatalities in the making of this particular bill. I almost murdered him via popcorn seed earlier today. Um, so this bill came to me, um, from the town of Genola, that's the southern part of my district, and they are surrounded by numerous gravel pits on all sides. And then the lake on the last side. And there's been a lot of conflicts between the fruit growers and the gravel pits. And I'll be the first to tell you, I am not anti Pitt. I love roads. I need more of them in the northern part of my district. And that's been my pet project since coming up here. Um, so when I approach the industry as well as DEQ and DAQ oh, and I have, um, Bryce Bird here with me also. Um, but when I approach the industry, I explain the problem. And the industry was amazing. They were very, very responsive. They were great to work with. D-A-D-E-Q and DAQ assembled a working group that had around 25 people at the first meeting. Um, I'm told that there were nearly a hundred if you count the people online at the second meeting. Um, the industry also was part of that as well as had separate working groups on the issue. And this is just kind of the, the culmination of what we thought were some of the better policies that came out of those working groups. So the first is it allows the division to raise their annual compliance fee, but it sets a cap on that because we don't wanna become overly burdensome. Um, and that will cover the cost of two new inspectors. Right now they have six inspectors for how many pits? It's about 1300 sources, about 1300 sources that they have to inspect every 12 months. And they have six inspectors to do that with. Um, so this will help get them a little bit more help. And then the second component, um, is, hold on. Sorry, I'm losing my, losing my spot. Um, the second component is signage. So this is actually a provision to help try to get regulators out of the way. Um, this was also something that the pits shared that they do in many of the surrounding states. But what those signs will include is contact information for both DAQ, but also most importantly for who at the pits themselves to talk to when you have a problem. And really what we're trying to do is make it so that the communities and the neighbors can work with each other, um, rather than getting the regulators involved and solve problems on their own. Um, and I've got Director Byrd here to answer questions as well as industry in the room.

It does. Thank you. Okay.

I think I see your point, but sometimes I wonder how the increasing the fees is gonna settle the dust. That's just all it worries me.

Is that, do you want me to respond to that answer? Well,

I, I, I think I see what you're doing, but it, it, it just imposes more fees on businesses than I'm concerned about that.

Yes. Thank you. Uh, Mr. Chair and committee members, can you, is this on? There we go. Yes, it's, uh, my name's Dave Callis. I represent the Critical Infrastructure Material Coalition. It's a group of, uh, operators in the aggregate industry that, uh, own and operate many of the gravel pits, um, across the state. And just here to first think, uh, representative gracious, she's been very cool to work with. And, um, we've enjoyed having a discussion throughout the summer and fall on this. And we, um, in terms of the fee, we, we are okay with that. It's actually, it, it is a fee increase, but it's also a fee cap. And so, so that was okay with us. And we do see the need for more inspectors, and we're not opposed to that. It's important to us to be good neighbors, and part of that is ensuring that everybody, all operators in the industry are following the rules and, and, uh, inspectors help do that. And so we're, uh, we're okay with that provision. We want to be a good neighbor. The signage, again, is an important way for us to interact with the community and make sure they have the ability to reach us directly. And, uh, as representative gracious mentioned that this is a common practice throughout, uh, the country and we've seen in other states where we operate. So we, uh, thank her for working on this and involving us in the process. Uh, thank you. Thank you.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair. Uh, my name is Bryce Bird. I'm with the Division of Air Quality. Uh, just wanted to, uh, uh, re really reinforce what, uh, has already been said here and, and what we will be, uh, said by others as well. Uh, appreciate the effort to support communities and growth. Uh, understanding that, uh, with, with more, uh, development, especially near the Sand gravel operations, it creates some, uh, potential conflicts that we try to, uh, address by bringing people together. Um, as we've looked at kind of how it's been happening in the past is when there is a concern or complaint, they'll call our office. We'll schedule an inspection, uh, which may take, uh, you know, a week to get an inspector out there and either verify and work with the source to, to get a compliance issue back into compliance. But it is much more effective if we can get the, the, the source or, or the, the neighbor talking to somebody at the company that can, uh, address the issue that minute, uh, potentially. And so, uh, in working with the industry and working with the cities and others that are impacted, uh, by this, uh, consequence of growth, growth, growth is a good thing. And, and certainly support the development of the materials, but make sure that, uh, it is done so that we can continue to have vibrant communities as well as, uh, growing industry that supports them.

Yeah, sorry. Um, my name's Terry Camp and I'm the Vice President of Public Policy for the Utah Farm Bureau Federation. Um, we support this bill and want to thank representative gracious for working with us and for others in the industry for being responsive. Um, over the past several years, orchard growers, um, primarily in southern Utah County, have experienced impacts from fugitive dust drifting onto their trees and crops. Um, this dust can damage foliage, interfere with fruit, uh, quality, and create long-term stress on trees that require decades of investment in stewardship. Uh, we at Farm Bureau have long advocated for a careful balance between protecting agriculture, respecting private property rights, and supporting economic activities that depend on aggregate. Um, we recognize that Utah needs reliable sources of gravel and other materials to build roads, homes, and infrastructure. And many of our members even derive their income from those operations on their land. Uh, we believe this balances the needs of agriculture and the needs of the industry. Uh, the bill strengthens existing fugitive dust requirements, um, and provides more resources for inspections and improves transparency by ensuring the public has someone to contact at the site. Um, that has been a frustration of some of our folks that they can only kind of go through in a, a complaint process through the division instead of being able to go to someone directly at the site that might be, you know, a neighbor. And so for these reasons, Utah Farm Bureau, um, would urge the committee to fair. Really recommend it, and thank you for your consideration. Thanks.

Yeah. My name is Nate McDonald with Clyde Companies. Thank you for the opportunity to, to just share a few comments here. Uh, mainly wanna just let you know that we, we appreciate the process that got us to this point. Uh, the working with the EQ and Department of Air Quality, we, we came together with a group to really talk through many ideas and hear the concerns from both community members, stakeholders, uh, and then also industry being able to weigh in. Uh, there were a lot of different things proposed, but what we really narrowed down on here is one of the most important things we want. We wanna be good as industry, we wanna be good partners, we wanna be good community members. Uh, we also recognize there's dust and, and dust happens. That's, that's what we're doing. We're, we're providing these, these materials that create dust. And, uh, but we need to be responsible in how we do it. And what this does is, is really by adding these fees, allowing for DAQ to hire more inspectors, one of the key things we talked about is being able to enforce where the problems are and, and have the bandwidth and resources to do more of that. And that's what to is needed, is to be able to have more resources to build, to do that. So we, we, we, we support this. We're grateful for, uh, representative gracious for bringing all the partners to the table. And, and, uh, we appreciate your time. Thank you.

Yes. My name is Lee Ware with, uh, quick Creek, formerly known as Kilgore Companies. And, uh, to be a part of and to collaborate with Representative Gricius and our coalition has been a real pleasure, as the gentleman mentioned about raising fees, that it's something we don't take lightly, but in lot of being able to create a fair playing field and as was previously mentioned, the importance of being a responsible participant, especially when it comes to the creation of dust in our industry. We know it's there, but we feel that, that these provisions provide safeguards that will help strengthen this process. It will be good for everybody, and most importantly, create a airplane field across the board. Thank you.

So just real quick so I can understand. Um, first, you've, you've put fees in code, which isn't, it always makes me a little nervous, so I see it in code. Don't be nervous. You could've done it in code, you could have done it in rule. Why, why do it in code versus just rule?

So it's actually sort of done in both. Um, so it does push back to that rule making, but we set the cap in statute. These are caps, yeah, correct. Not to exceed. Okay. So the rest, the actual fee will be implemented in rule.

Correct. Secondly, um, just so I'm clear, how when we do fees up here, up here, uh, we always want it to offset the specific cost that it's gonna cost the government. And I'm assuming that that's gonna be established rule. So what exactly is the fees? What if collected? What is it being spent on and for?

So the fees will go to pay for two new inspectors that'll cover their salary and everything associated with their hiring with the Department of Air quality. So the assumption is these caps, whatever the fee is established in rule, will be able to cover that. But there's a point in time where it'll be capped and can't grow beyond these caps. Correct. Okay.

The caps are set at the price for two inspectors.

Okay. The caps are correct. So they're just gonna make and rule these fees, correct?

Like friends. Thank you, Mr. Chair again. Bri Bird with the Division of Air Quality. Um, just on the, the fee setting authority, um, we, we go through the governor's process and that is, we, we propose fees, uh, kind of in the summer, and then it goes through our department fee, uh, hearing process, and then it gets included in the governor's budget. Ultimately, uh, the the fees are, are approved by the legislature each year when you see that long list of, of agency fees. And so because this, uh, process was kind of beyond that process, uh, in order to establish a fee starting in July of 2026, uh, we needed a specific code language. Uh, this bill actually, uh, says that we're gonna revert back to the other process, uh, next year. And so this is a, a onetime fee increase through legislation. This provision expires next year, and then it goes through our normal fee process that's approved by the legislature.

I get that. So it's expiring, then you could, you could ultimately adjust in rule that fee going forward.

Again, it's And approve It with the legislature.

I get it. Right. Okay. Alright. That makes sense. Okay.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I make a motion that House Bill 3 78, second substitute pass this committee with a favorable recommendation to the four full Senate. Okay.

Yeah, I'd really appreciate that motion. Thank you, Senator. Um, this has been a really neat process. My understanding is this is actually the first time in more than 10 years, that all of these different parties have been at the table talking about the issues that are facing our growing communities. Um, and DEQ has been amazing to work with. And they actually had requested in this legislation to include continuing that working group. And I, I asked them, do you need me to write that in a law to make you do it? And they said, no, we're just gonna keep doing it. Um, and so the parties that you see here today are gonna continue talking to each other, continue to work out their differences. Um, and I, I'm really, really happy with all of the conversations. The industry has been absolutely incredible. I don't have a single ne negative thing to say. Um, and I appreciate the support.

I, I'd just like to commend representative gracious for this wasn't an easy task. You put a lot of effort into this bill and it shows, and I commend all parties that come together. 'cause this is a very sticky issue. And I, you, you've done great work here and I, I appreciate it. Thank

Gi, given the, the, the good representative has, has been collaborative in the work and far as I can tell, both industry and, and no opposition. No opposition whatsoever, and in fact, full support. I'd like to move to put this on consent.

Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. Um, I'm joined here today by, um, what's your official title? Division Executive Director. Executive Director of the Department of Environmental Quality, Tim Davis. And we also have representatives from the mining industry available, um, if there are questions as we kind of go through this. Um, and I would like to present to the second substitute, if that's all right. Yep. So how this bill came about is I represent the little town of Genola, and they are surrounded by numerous pits. Um, and what we discovered was there's really no cumulative dust standard when you've got a community that is surrounded. Um, and so they brought this issue to me and I reached out to, um, several different parties and said, okay, here is the problem. How can we fix it? And how can we fix it in a way that's not going to shut down mining? I also really like roads as all of you know, I would like more of those in my district. And, um, so Director Davis, um, assembled a working group of How many people did you have? 25. 25 initially. But it got, it grew. And I think one of the meetings you ended up with more than 50 people in attendance, if I heard correctly. Most online, I think most online. So, um, they met multiple times. We also met with industry who had multiple working groups. And this is kind of what we came up with to see if we could make a dent and help Genola out a little bit. So there's several definitions in here 'cause you can't regulate things if you're not defining what they are. Um, and that was negotiated with multiple different areas of mining. So this only applies to standing gravel. It doesn't touch, um, any metal lius operations or frack sand. And really what it does is it takes the fee that's already established in our fee schedule, and it allows it to be increased, but it caps it. And these amounts will actually allow the division to hire two new inspectors. There are, how many mines do we have? Uh, I, I'd Have to several hundred? Yes. Yes. Um, a lot. And how many inspectors? Six. Six. And they're required to be inspected every 12 months. And so this will allow them to have two additional inspectors. Um, the other thing that it does is it actually has the pits put signage out in front that says, this is who you can contact within the facility if you're having issues with dust. And then this is how you contact DEQ, and that is what the bill does. Would you like to add anything to that, Mr. Chair? Uh,

Tim Davis, executive Director of the Department of Environmental Quality, I think Representative gracious did a great job. The, the, one of the important pieces of this legislation in the effort to bring people together was we had not had all the parties at the table for over 10 years. And a lot of growth had occurred. Um, and there was, uh, I think the, uh, town of Genola with the, uh, tar cherry farmers next door, uh, homeowners nearby, uh, near gravel pits, it just came to a head. But it's not the only place. And we've really developed around these areas that used to only have gravel pits. They didn't have, uh, a lot of homes. Uh, this bill is, and the attempt and bringing everybody together is really an attempt to start making progress where we're finding a balance that works for industry as well as the people that live near it. So, uh, this is the first step. We will continue to have the work group, uh, continue to meet. It's not in the statute, um, but we think this is a, uh, a good place to begin. And that, and I will just say that is something that I've really appreciated about Director Davis, is with this work group, they are including industry members. They've got, um, local government officials, they have industry members, they have environmental engineers, scientists, a whole plethora of people. And one of the things that was actually recommended to me to include in this bill was to keep that working group going, moving forward. And I asked the director, do I need to actually tell you to do that in law? Or can you just do that? And he said, well, one way or another, we're gonna do that because we think that bringing people together to discuss these issues is the right way to move forward. So that's not in the bill, but it's awesome.

And that concludes our presentation.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, representative, um, how many gravel pits did you say Total in the state? In that area? In that area, yeah. There are seven or eight that all surround the community. Seven or eight. Do they use water trucks to All of them do. They're supposed to. So here's my concern. I, you know, the bill's probably okay, but we live in a world where people don't like gravel pits. Mm-hmm. But gravel pits and sand make roads, and they make concrete for your patio, and they do all kinds of things. Um, and we're just pushing them further and further from civilization, which gonna raise the costs more and more because they're gonna have to haul that material a longer distance. You know, we had, we had the same thing out on point of the mountain When I was a little kid. I'd come up here with my parents before there was even a freeway. That gravel pit at the point of the mountain was there. And it's taken out a lot to build I or I 15 and all the growth that's taken place in Salt Lake and Utah Counties. Now we're putting more regulations on these companies. I guess the fiscal note pretty much takes care of itself, but I just wanted to express that and get it in the record. We're we're pushing sand and gravel people to where the, the product's gonna cost more for all of us. The roads are gonna be more expensive. Taxpayers are gonna have to come up with more money. The homes are gonna be more expensive. It's just a vicious cycle. And as we grow as a state, that problem's gonna continue. I don't know what the answer is, but I hate more regulation on these companies. They're doing the best they can. They're employing a lot of people, you know, and I don't like dust either, that sometimes we have to live with what we don't like. That's just a comment. And if you want to address that director, I know you, you pick, you've worked well with me on Bills and, and DEQ and I, it just bothers me that sometimes we put a lot of regulations on these people,

Mr. Mr. Chair may, if, if I may. And, and it's, as representative GR has pointed out, one of the key pieces of this, and it's one of the pieces of new regulation we worked with on, with industry on this too. It actually gets regulators out of the way. Uh, it, it includes signage so that, you know, and, and I've been out to a number of these gravel operations. And thi this will ensure that there's signage so that if somebody's concerned about the dust, if it's really windy day, if some of the, if in, uh, an point of the mountain, I, I'll bring up an example where, uh, there was operation going on and they just were, the company was surprised by how dusty this one area was, and they were trying to figure out how to solve it. And the fact that they had a number that people could call that rather than go to government and say, can you come inspect them? Can you get in a complaint? Uh, having to get that information out to the public so that co people can interact with the company directly to say, can you please help solve this? It's getting into my farm, it's getting into my house. That way we get outta the way on those things where we can get outta the way and they can, people can interact directly. I, I think that's an improvement that will help solve problems without more government. Um, even though people call us with complaints and we, we get out and try to find a balance and implement the law.

And, and I'll just add to that. So when this conversation started, when I first talked to Director Davis, as well as industry, both sides were having conversations about what are some things that we can do to fix? And we said no to things on both lists that were proposed. Um, but this signage requirement was actually on both lists. It was on the list the industry provided as well as what DEQ provided. Um, because I like my roads, as all of you probably know, my district really, really desperately needs them. And so my conversations with industry have said, what are some best practices in the industry, um, that aren't going to be a huge negative impact on that, because I don't wanna put you out of business. I want my roads. Um, I live right down the street from a gravel pit, and I would like them to turn that into more ropes. Um, but how are, how are some ways that we can kind of help with that community interface? And really that's what we're trying to go after with the signage requirement. Like the director said, is, here's a way to deal with this internally so we don't have to have a regulator coming out to your plant every time there's a windstorm.

Did you come up with the term fugitive?

I sure did. Not As, as opposed to non fugitive dust. I just wonder. I also did not come up with the term metals, but I learned it.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, I have a question. Um, I have a, I have a gravel pit that is on the east side of the community. Nobody is on the east side of him. And, uh, the pre prevailing wind blows from west to east. And, uh, he has a dust monitor scattered around his, uh, crushing yard. And on the west side of him, he has agriculture. And he, one incident he had an issue with the monitors, said that he had too much dust on the day that, uh, that he was not working. Everybody was, uh, it was, it was, it was a weekend. Nobody was working. But the farmer to the west of him was, uh, leveling his field. And leveling, if, you know, is one of the activities we do in agriculture that creates quite a bit of dust. Anyway, his monitor said that he was outta compliance, and I'm not sure if he got a fine or not, but I do know he was contacted because of the, of what the monitor's done. The dust, uh, would probably be, have to go all the way to Craig, Colorado before there would be any, any, uh, people to, uh, uh, you know, any community that it would be affect. I doubt the dust made it that far. But anyway, just to say what are we gonna do about situations that might be like that. I don't know. See how this bill addresses that. But just a curious thing.

Yeah, if I could answer that, Mr. Chair? Yeah. So the bill actually doesn't do anything along those lines, but from my conversations with DEQ, and I'll let Director Davis speak for himself on this too, if he has anything to add. Um, but they only measure dust in opacity, not a parts per million type situation. So I know there are some monitors that can do that, but DEQ doesn't actively monitor any live monitoring. So my assumption would be if there was a complaint, it likely came from someone in the neighborhood that would then lead for them to be contacted. But that wouldn't have happened organically. But the bill does not contemplate that scenario. So, uh, the fact that it's not, uh, something that, that I was personally familiar with, I'm just going by what he said and his frustration to think that he was, uh, uh, out of compliance on a day that he was not even working. Uh, I think, uh, it, it deserves some, uh, at least recognition that, that sometimes things don't work exactly like we want him to. And anyway, I'm just really concerned about this, this bill and these types of bills that don't take in consideration that something like that can happen. Yeah. And this doesn't change any of the requirements with how much dust is allowed or not allowed. All it is, is adding a signage requirement so that when there is a complaint, people know who to reach out to.

Okay. Thank you.

They're, they're in the room to comment if they're, my belief is they're planning to come up during public comment and tell you their feelings.

Um, as I've been listening to this, I can't help but share that. Um, I live on the east side of Salt Lake County, and, um, the people on the east side are very, very concerned about the Parleys Canyon, um, gravel pit or pit off, off Parleys Canyon and doing everything they can to prevent it from happening. And when you, I mean, I understand what everybody else is saying about regulations, but, but it puts thousands and thousands of people in danger if this dust isn't mitigated coming down through the whole valley. And so it, you know, with the population growth, it's really changed things, you know, where you talk about point of the mountain. Now that's not there so much because we have development, but, you know, I, I have to see it from the point of view of my, not only my constituents, but a huge number of Salt Lake County residents could be in that, you know, could be affected by those fugitive d the fugitive dust. So I just wanted to point that out, that it, as the population growth has made it more of a concern than when years ago there weren't big communities around it. So I appreciate your doing this and having, as you say, just some signage, just something to notify people who they can talk to. Thank you. Thank you.

May I respond to that, Mr. Chair? You

I, I do just wanna say representative that the industry has been amazing to work with on this. Um, they absolutely wanna be good neighbors. And so I think as that conversation continues and this bill won't impact that conversation, but I, I really just feel like communication with those players is the key, and that they'll do the best they can.

Great. Thank you. Uh, Mr. Chair Committee members, it's good to, it's different talking about, uh, mining and dust here in public utilities, but it's kind of a nice change. Um, my name is Dave Callis. I represent the Critical Infrastructure Material Coalition, which is a group of some of our, uh, aggregate producers here in this state. And, um, just first want to thank representative gracious for working with us. And, um, back in the fall, uh, called us up and asked us to meet. And we've been participating as well with the Department of Environmental Quality and, um, uh, director Davis and his team. And they've all been really good to work with. Um, and we, uh, we've spent a lot of time and discussions on, on the bill and on different issues, and we feel like we've gotten to a good place where we're okay and we're supportive of this. And moving forward and continuing the dialogue. I think it's important. Like, uh, uh, representative Ulbrich, you said the, you know, we all understand the value of the material we're mining and it's important to us, and we build our roads. We, many of our members helped build the building next door that's just, uh, wrapped up and now opened up and, uh, provided materials from local quarries throughout, uh, the valley here for that project. So those are all, uh, you know, we all use these products. Um, but at the same time, we as an in, as a coalition support, being good neighbors and working with the community and having, uh, contact with the community and interactions with them and doing our part to really have a better community and a better relationship. This isn't, uh, we don't feel, and from our coalition, this is a big, uh, a big difficulty. It's, they're, we, we do support because our members are spending a lot of time and energy, um, and, and resources on following the law. And we want to ensure that all of the players in the industry are doing that. And one of the challenges that we know exist is the air quality inspectors and that, so this will help fund a few more of those to come and interact and inspect and make sure everybody is playing by the rules. And we think that's good. And so we can support that. And the signage requirement, that was a recommendation we also brought forward. We support, we do that. Our operators do that in other states. It's not a difficulty and it's a good way to stay in touch with our community and our neighbors. So we can support this moving forward. And hope you will, too. Thank you. Thank you.

Uh, thank you, Mr. Chair. My name's Terry Camp. I'm the Vice President of Public Policy for the Utah Farm Bureau Federation. Uh, we also support this bill and want to thank representative gracious for working with us and others on this bill, and being so responsive to her constituents. Um, over the past several years, uh, orchard growers, primarily in southern Utah County have experienced impacts from fugitive dust drifting onto their trees. Um, this dust can d damage foliage interfere with fruit quality, uh, and create long-term stress on trees that require decades of investment and stewardship. Um, farm Bureau has long advocated for a careful balance between protecting agriculture, respecting private property rights, and supporting economic activities, um, that our state depends on. Um, we recognize that we need reliable sources of gravel and other materials to build roads, homes, and infrastructure. And many of our members also derive their income from operations on their own land. Um, we believe that this bill balances the needs of agriculture and the industry, um, strengthens existing fugitive dust, uh, requirements by increasing resources for inspections, um, making fugitive dust control plans a little bit more enforceable, and improving transparency by ensuring the public has someone to contact at the site. Um, there were a few other things that got left on the chopping block floor, um, as the bill was being crafted that we'll continue to have conversations about. But, um, for these reasons, we, we respectfully urge the committee to support the bill, um, and, and appreciate representative gracious work on it. Thanks.

Uh, my name is Connor Peterson with, uh, Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. And just to echo, uh, what, what Terry said, um, we believe that this can, can be a positive for the agricultural industry. Um, some of our fruit producers, um, experience damage to their, their crops, and we believe that, uh, that this can can help them. So we'd like to express our gratitude to the sponsor and, and encourage support for the bill. Thank you. Thank You.

My name is Nate McDonald with Clyde Companies. Uh, appreciate this opportunity, uh, to, to be here. We're, we, we're very grateful for representative gracious for, uh, really pulling this group together. Working closely with the Department of Environmental Quality, we're really was an opportunity to bring industry together with stakeholders, with local communities, uh, with those that are, that we are neighbors to, and have good discussions and good dialogue. And, and that's what has happened over the last several months. Uh, one of the priorities as industry that we talked about is, is how can we help, um, prioritize where the problems are? And, and when it comes down to, to where the situation, a lot of it is, is, is just the, the resources not having enough to be able to get to where the problems are. And so we think this does help, that it helps with having more inspectors. It also helps with that transparency part. And so, uh, we're grateful for the opportunity to work with not just the representative, but, uh, D-E-Q-D-A-Q and, and also the other stakeholders. Thank you.

Thank you. Uh, hello to the committee. My name is Ricky Renko Browning, and I am president of the Utah Petroleum Association. Uh, our industry relies really heavily on, uh, frack sand in order to be able to effectively produce the fuels that we, uh, use every day to drive our economy. Uh, we very much appreciate the representatives, uh, good work and working with all of the stakeholders involved. I won't belabor the point, but, uh, on behalf of UPA and the Utah Mining Association, were in support of this bill and the process that she went through. So thank you all very much.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, permission. I'm not one of the people that raised their hands. I didn't see your hand, Bryce. Okay. Just kidding. Um, my name's Bryce Bird. I'm the director of the Division of Air Quality, and I'm just here to provide some, uh, answers to a previous question, if, if that's all right. You bet. Uh, so for the Fugitive Dust Control Plans, uh, that's something that we collect online. Basically, it's a pick list of activities that a regulated source would choose to show how they're gonna control their dust. That's, uh, originating from activities that are not a smoke stack. That's where that definition of fugitive dust comes, comes from a smoke stack. Then it's an emission source that, that we typically regulate if it comes from area activities, that's our term of art that, uh, that we use nationwide. And that is, uh, that, that becomes fugitive dust. So sorry about that definition. Um, so we do, uh, on that online system, we collect about 1500 fugitive dust control plans a year. And of those, uh, over a thousand of those are from, uh, aggregate operations that are either intermittent for a, a particular project or, or a permanent facility. And so, uh, this, uh, requirement to have the fugitive dust control plan would apply to, to, uh, more than, than just aggregate facilities, but also land clearing operations. So like when a subdivision's being built, uh, when, uh, a, a new road's being put in a future address plan is required for those as well. And, uh, this, uh, we, we do get a lot of complaints from neighbor interactions with those. Uh, often we find them operating without, uh, water, other mitigation techniques. And so it does apply to, to those as well. I just wanted highlight, highlight that in the bill as well, and answer any questions that I forgot that may be here as well.

Hello, can you see and hear me all right? Yes. Thank you for being here. Yeah, thank you. Thanks to everybody that's worked. Put all the work into this. My name's Chris Riley. I am a fruit grower in Genola, uh, kind of the hotspot that's been mentioned. And just kind wanna echo a lot of things that have been said. Uh, appreciate all the different, um, sides and parties coming together on this. And here in Genola, we just have, uh, bit of a unique challenge with the high concentration of gravel pits here, uh, which is also, uh, where a high concentration of our fruit is grown in the state as well. So just, uh, absolutely agree with what's been said that gravel is a priority of our growing state. Um, we also feel very strongly that, uh, growing local food is also should be a high priority to our state as well. Um, and I think this is a good step in the right direction of coming together and finding, finding answers that'll work. Um, I really appreciated what the gentleman from Clyde Company said of focusing on the problem areas because there are, as mentioned, you know, here in our area there's eight or so gravel pits surrounding us. I could tell you exactly which ones do follow their program and mitigate their dust and which ones don't. Um, I don't think that does us any good to name names here, but I think it will help us concentrate on those problem areas and, uh, and work to, as, as it is mitigate the dust. We know it's not gonna eliminate the dust, but if we can mitigate the dust and the effect it has on those of us surrounding the gravel pits, then that's definitely a step in the right direction. Thank you.

Thank you Mr. Chair. Uh, second sub needs to be, uh, i I would move that we, uh, pass out or that we approve the second sub to HB 3 78. Mr. Chair.

Was the same people that proposed both subs, so we're happy with two. Thank you.

of the motion to sum to wait. To sum. I'll wa Thank you.

Thank you. I would make a motion that we pass out, uh, second sub HB 3 78 fugitive dust mitigation amendments with a favorable recommendation. Second sub. Uh, second sub. Yeah. Okay. So the motion bef, oh, would you like to speak to the motion? Uh, no. I'll waive.

Um, I appreciate the motion. I know when you see gravel pit and dust and regulation and all of the different things, it sets off all of the alarm bells because we do really care about our critical, um, infrastructure groups, and I do as well. And so we really tried to do this in a way that worked for everybody, that had everybody at the table and brought everybody together as you could kind of see from the public comments. And so I would appreciate that. I think it might be too much to hope for a consent recommendation, but if that becomes applicable, I wouldn't complain. Um, no, but I appreciate the committee for, for taking the time to hear the bill.

To sum I'll waive summation and then depending on the vote, we can make a follow up motion.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker Pro tem. Um, so this bill stems from an issue that was occurring in the town of Genola, which is surrounded by several gravel pits. Um, they were having a dust issue. There is no cumulative dust standard. And so when each pit has the right to put out a certain amount of dust, it all adds up. Um, so I reached out to the industry and I will tell you they have been amazing partners. They've provided input and been really engaged and supportive throughout this process. We sat down to figure out a list of things that we could do. We also brought DEQ into this conversation as well as DAQ. They assembled a working group comprised of many, many stakeholders, and we took the ideas from both lists and put the things that were, um, I guess the non-controversial items. And that's what you see in this bill. So what it does is it allows DEQ to increase the fee that they are currently charging. It's already a fee, um, but it caps it so they can raise it a little bit, but then it's capped and they can't go above that at all. The second component is well, and that the fee actually covers enforcement. The second component is it has the pits, put signage out in front, and those signs include who within the facility someone can contact if they're having an issue. And this is actually to help get regulators out of the way. Um, the industry wants to be good neighbors. They by and large do a great job. There's just a few rub points, and if the community knows who the point of contact is at those facilities and they have a way where they can engage with those facilities, instead of calling DAQ for every single complaint, I think that we can increase communication and get regulation a little bit more outta the way. And I'm happy to answer questions.

I'll waive. Thank you.

and, uh, construction and all across the state highways. And this is response to a conflict that, uh, was between the sand and gravel pits and the fruit growers in the town of Genola. This is the northern tip of my Senate district, Southern Utah County. The town surrounded by six or seven gravel pits. And while one pit might not emit a lot of dust, when you add all six together, it's really overwhelming and, uh, has caused issues with the fruit growers in the area because the, all the dust on their crops and and causing issues. So the mayor of Genola, he's actually here today, um, it might be appropriate to recognize him after this, but he, uh, came together with industry, with Department of Environmental Quality, got all stakeholders together, and now have put forward this bill that fugitive dust mitigation it. You can take it in as all of the pits put together and, and their combined dust. DEQ is on board. They will, um, put two more regulators in the field. Um, the industry partners have asked for this to, if it applies there that it should apply statewide and the sponsor's done a great job pulling all stakeholders together. With that, uh, concludes the what the bill does.

President, I would move that health bill 3 78 path. Thank

Thank you President. I appreciate the personal privilege and I was just gonna ask the Genola mayor if he could walk up, uh, to the side of the chambers here. He's the one that's had, uh, had to deal with this issue of multiple gravel pits in his area