This winter, UIPA’s Clean Ports staff had the opportunity to join the Utah Clean Air Partnership (UCAIR) at local schools to support the Idle-Free Program, an initiative to reduce air pollution in school zones. The program, now in its second year, educates students and families on the health and environmental impacts of vehicle idling – particularly in areas, like school

As the Clean Ports Program enters its second year, the Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA) and Utah Division of Air Quality (DAQ) will be working towards key milestones across all program areas. Read on for the team’s 2026 goals as they work to improve air quality, advance workforce development, and support sustainable supply chains in Utah. Utah Inland Port Authority

The Utah Inland Port Authority has released its 2025 Annual Report, outlining key projects, investments, and partnerships from the past year. The report provides an overview of statewide progress in rail, air cargo, sustainable infrastructure, and community engagement efforts. Major updates include: The full report is available online to review recent accomplishments and ongoing initiatives. Published: 11/18/25Author: Kaitlin Felsted

On a recent sunny morning, UIPA’s Clean Ports Program team traveled to the Perry Port of Entry to meet with researchers based out of Professor Darrell Sonntag’s lab at Brigham Young University (BYU). UIPA’s team was there to learn about BYU’s research on the emissions of medium-heavy to heavy-duty trucks. For the past few days, the BYU team had been

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As the Inland Port works in partnership with Ninigret to remediate the North Temple Landfill, treatment of the leachate, or water that has percolated through a solid and leached out some of the constituents, is a critical step in the remediation process as defined in the Remedial Action Plan that the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (UDEQ) has approved for

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 “Michelle’s technical knowledge and dedication to protecting our planet bring tremendous value to the Clean Ports initiative,” said Mona Smith, Environmental Sustainability Director with UIPA. “Her skills in emissions modeling and climate analysis will help ensure our plans are not only ambitious—but grounded in sound data and science.”

Since celebrating the historical Clean Ports Program (CPP) grant award for Climate and Air Quality Planning (CAQP) activities and Zero-Emission (ZE) Technology Deployment from the  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Utah Inland Port Authority has worked diligently to address potential hurdles due to administrative changes and continue to move this project forward. 

A wetlands characterization study was conducted by SWCA Environmental Consultants for the Tooele Valley Project Area that determined approximately 19 of the 243 acres within the project area contained wetlands. The landowner worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers through their wetland permitting process and received approval for a site design to build a crossing over 0.46 acres of the wetlands, leaving the remaining wetlands undisturbed.

“This funding enables us to build a sustainable logistics network that aligns with Utah’s air quality goals,” said Ben Hart, Executive Director of UIPA. “This wouldn’t be possible without the partnership between Union Pacific, UDAQ and the EPA. Together, we’re driving transformative changes that will positively impact our state for generations.”

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