News – Utah Physicians for Healthy Environment

Local Doctor speaks out on radioactive waste plans

December 16th, 2025

At UPHE, we are all about amplifying the voice of medical science, and ensuring that is considered in every aspect of planning Utah’s future. A local pediatrician is speaking out…

Court orders excess air pollution to stop from tampered motorcycles sold and serviced at Harley-Davidson dealerships

December 16th, 2025

Last week a consent decree between Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment (UPHE) and four Harley-Davidson dealerships was entered in Utah federal district court. The court order requires the dealerships…

Are we alarmists? We hope so, because the medical research is alarming and we are only its messengers.

December 9th, 2025

We’re getting used to being called “alarmists.” We’re also getting used to being vindicated by science and the facts. Almost since our inception, UPHE has been told our warnings are “alarmist.” But every time,…

Mosquitoes and pesticides will make Utah’s homeless campus hell on earth

December 9th, 2025

There is a proposal out there mimicking the mistakes made with the development of the prison on Great Salt Lake wetlands. Dr. Brian Moench wrote to Utah News Dispatch on the issue, “The state…

UPHE Board Members Honored by the University of Utah’s School of Medicine

December 8th, 2025

We’re proud to share that UPHE’s Board President, Dr. Brian Moench, was honored this year with the University of Utah School of Medicine’s Distinguished Humanitarian Award, recognizing his decades of…

Well, the EPA says it’s ok? PFAS in pesticides

December 2nd, 2025

This month, the EPA approved two new pesticides, isocycloseram and cyclobutrifluram, for use on golf courses, ornamental landscapes, and a wide variety of food crops. Both chemicals contain PFAS (“forever…

Clean air standards are being reduced, despite clear evidence of the health impacts

December 2nd, 2025

In line with an array of rollbacks on environmental and public health guidelines from the federal government, the EPA has decided not to defend their last recommendation for the PM2.5…

Toxic dust from the Great Salt Lake could cost Utah billions, and much more.

December 2nd, 2025

800 square miles of Great Salt Lake lakebed is exposed. The longer it stays exposed, the more it’s creating airborne dust, which blows into Utah residents’ neighborhoods and creates a…

Think globally and act locally

November 25th, 2025

As the calendar year winds down, it is perhaps a good time to reflect on our current climate and environmental challenges. It is necessary to remember that the climate crisis…

Permit by Rule – a gift to polluting industries, but at what cost?

November 24th, 2025

Utah has expanded its Permit By Rule program, a streamlined process that allows certain industries to bypass the state’s full environmental permitting review if they operate under a pre-approved set…

A nuclear plant in Brigham City?

November 24th, 2025

Governor Cox has apparently fallen in love with nuclear energy. Last week he announced rather vague plans to build a nuclear power plant and a training center for nuclear workers…

The Feds say our air quality is ok, but it can still impact your health

November 24th, 2025

Residents who live through northern Utah’s winter inversions may be surprised to hear that the federal government has found us in attainment with the Clean Air Act for winter particulate…

Protecting the Great Salt Lake is necessary to keep Utah a great state

November 21st, 2025

UPHE’s executive director, Jonny Vasic, had an op-ed in the Desert News, connecting his personal relationship with Great Salt Lake to UPHE’s advocacy to revive it. As the saying used…

Conservation and Public Health Experts to Present Public Health and Financial Costs of Great Salt Lake Dust Crisis

November 19th, 2025

A nonprofit coalition between Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment (UPHE) and Utah Rivers Council’s (URC) Great Salt Lake Waterkeeper consisting of public health experts and conservationists have partnered on…

Op-ed opposing Utah forest burning quotes UPHE

November 18th, 2025

Mike Garrity,executive director of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, had a commentary piece in the Utah News Dispatch recently. His particular commentary was on the proposed burning of the…

Utah still trying to dodge accountability on Great Salt Lake

November 10th, 2025

If you’ve hiked a trail overlooking the Salt Lake Valley, driven out to Antelope Island, or simply followed the news, you know the Great Salt Lake has been fluctuating at…

The Sick Times talks Utah’s air pollution problem

November 10th, 2025

The Sick Times talked to UPHE’s Dr. Brian Moench about all things Utah environmental. They covered a previous legislative effort to ban masks, which UPHE helped to have removed from…

The threat of resuming nuclear testing

November 4th, 2025

For the last year, UPHE fought for and encouraged the expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA). Expansion is needed, and deserved, because of the massive public health fallout…

Downwind: How Failed Great Salt Lake Water Policy and Toxic Dust Create Generational Debt and Jeopardize Utah’s Future

November 4th, 2025

UPHE has been working hard behind the scenes to compile an expansive report on the threats Great Salt Lake shrinking poses to the public. This report, the result of a…

Utah Senator Mike Lee wants to remove access to the legal system from residents

October 29th, 2025

Utah Senator Mike Lee is at it again. Earlier this year he attempted to sell off our public lands to private interests. Now, he’s sponsoring a bill which would prevent…

Parley’s Coalition Update on the Mine Proposal

October 28th, 2025

Our friends from the Protect Parley’s Coalition put together an update which excellently outlines the history, and current situation and concerns. Granite Construction Company appears to have nearly completed grading…

The connection between PFAS and Data Centers

October 21st, 2025

A recent Guardian article explains, “data centers increase PFAS pollution directly and indirectly. The chemicals are needed in the centers’ operations – such as its cooling equipment – which almost…

Why aren’t we banning the PFAS chemicals that have proved to be so toxic to our health and environment?

October 21st, 2025

A similar story to the data centers has played out with PFAS chemicals. Commonly referred to as “forever chemicals”, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are man made chemicals found in…

Communities are speaking about their experience with AI Data Centers. And the research is confirming their fears

October 21st, 2025

Rural Utah residents could be the next victim of the AI Data Center community invasion. Public officials should familiarize themselves with the stories of neighbors of these industrial developments before…

UPHE on RadioACTIVE – our event and an update on Parley’s Canyon

October 14th, 2025

UPHE’s Executive Director, Jonny Vasic, joined the RadioACTIVE show on KRCL last week. He promoted our free event on October 17th at Patagonia where our doctors will be addressing the…

Human emissions are impacting our drought conditions

October 14th, 2025

A new series of studies published in Nature and Nature Geoscience confirms what Utahns are already feeling: the Southwest’s megadrought isn’t just bad luck, it’s being driven and intensified by…

The Feds are boosting the coal industry

October 14th, 2025

The Trump Administration has been busy finding ways to sabotage any clean air, climate, or public health advancements responsible Americans have been working so hard towards. In line with their…

Great Salt Lake’s Canary in the Coal Mine – Wilson’s Phalaropes & GSL

October 7th, 2025

Last week, UPHE joined our friends in advocating for the protection of Wilson’s Phalarope, a small shorebird whose existence is inextricably linked to Great Salt Lake. Our local lake is…

What “Making America Healthy Again” means to UPHE

October 6th, 2025

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, has been leading a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement that has received a great deal of national attention. UPHE would…

The state needs to align their priorities and actions to save Great Salt Lake

September 30th, 2025

Just last week, Gov. Spencer Cox and Utah leaders stood with business executives and philanthropists to announce a $200 million initiative to save the Great Salt Lake. The governor called…

The Utah Division of Water Quality needs to hold US Magnesium accountable for groundwater contamination

September 28th, 2025

We encourage everyone to reach out to the Utah Department of Environmental Quality on this issue. Feel free to sample or borrow from our comments in your messages to them.…

Utah judge sides with the Inland Port Authority after “restructure”

September 22nd, 2025

In the fall of 2024, UPHE joined a lawsuit which challenged the legality of the Utah Inland Port Authority Board. Seemingly in response to our lawsuit, earlier this year the…

Utah’s biggest mine might get bigger

September 22nd, 2025

Kennecott is looking to expand and keep the massive Bingham Canyon Copper mine operating until 2040. The world’s largest open pit mine looms over the Wasath Front, and has been…

Great Salt Lake dust storms are worse than they thought

September 16th, 2025

Photo of Great Salt Lake dust storm courtesy of David Jackson Photography. If you’ve been following our work, we hope we’ve driven home two main points: there is no safe…

An easy action you can take to protect the air Utah’s children breathe

September 16th, 2025

Photo courtesy of E P Kosmicki. Utah families and health professionals have an opportunity to protect clean air for kids – an opinion piece in the Desert News outlines a…

Harley motorcycle dealerships must comply with federal Clean Air Act, pay $450,000 penalty

September 10th, 2025

Today Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment (UPHE) and four Harley-Davidson dealerships filed a proposed consent decree in Utah federal district court that requires the dealerships to stop removing catalytic…

US Mag doesn’t understand why the spotlight is on them. We do.

September 2nd, 2025

Photo courtesy of NOAA Research. US Magnesium said in a recent Salt Lake Tribune article that they don’t understand the spotlight on their Great Salt Lake water use. This is…

The State is Letting Granite Construction Tear up Parleys Canyon to Construct a “Road to Nowhere”

August 28th, 2025

Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment (UPHE), Save Our Canyons (SOC), Save Parley’s, and local residents are alarmed that on Monday, Aug. 25, motorists in Parley’s Canyon and residents of…

More of Utah’s public lands are opening for oil and gas, thanks to the Trump admin.

August 26th, 2025

There is no shortage of issues with the recently passed “Big Beautiful Bill” when it comes to climate and our health. Did you know it removes much of the ability…

Utah’s controversial action on Great Salt Lake

August 26th, 2025

While that state is applauding itself for a special session bill examining solutions to Great Salt Lake’s water crisis, many experts are seeing the bill as a band aid to…

Legislators to Vote on Bill to Permanently Dry Up 40% of the Great Salt Lake

August 25th, 2025

Joint Press Release with Utah Rivers Council. Bill demonstrates Americans cannot trust Utah to save the Great Salt Lake and dispels the myth that the state has any plan to…

Prioritizing Clean Energy but Investing Our Money in Coal?

August 19th, 2025

The Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA) has raised major concerns and protests, backed and researched by UPHE and our partners at the Stop the Polluting Port Coalition since its 2018…

Great Salt Lake’s Hazy Forecast

August 19th, 2025

Great Salt Lake dust storms aren’t something experts are warning could happen in the future, they are already here and impacting communities. Dust from the exposed lakebed contains arsenic, PFAS,…

RFK Jr. is increasing your risk of dying from cancer

August 19th, 2025

Dr. Brian Moench, UPHE co-founder, president and retired anesthesiologist, had an op-ed in Utah News Dispatch on how new policies from RFK Jr., head of Health and Human Services under…

Utah is “missing” on climate change’s super storms

August 11th, 2025

Katharine Biele’s “Hits and Misses” column in the Salt Lake City Weekly featured UPHE’s Climate Ambassador Dr. Mark Goldfarb. He wasn’t the miss, though! Her “miss” was super storms. “There’s…

Finally good news on RECA

August 11th, 2025

After years of advocacy by impacted communities, Congress has reinstated and actually expanded the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA). This historic update means that many more people, including those who…

The Big Picture – The Climate Crisis (The Trump Admin., Fossil Fuels, Great Salt Lake)

August 5th, 2025

Numerous Trump administration changes in policy are impacting Utah and Utahns. From cuts in funding for cancer research, to weakening wildfire response, these actions pose growing risks to public safety…

To save the Great Salt Lake, we cannot grow water-hungry crops

July 28th, 2025

Malin Moench, a UPHE member and strong ally in many battles due to his strong legal background, had an excellent piece in the Deseret News. Moench cites two other regions…

UPHE stories and expertise on GSL and our health

July 28th, 2025

Helena Huizenga, a free lance writer, had a compelling and eye opening piece in Sierra, the Sierra Club’s Magazine. She reached out to UPHE after hearing Dr. Courtney Henley, UPHE…

Ozone in the Uinta Basin

July 16th, 2025

UPHE’s president and cofounder was recently on Utah Public Radio (UPR), chiming in on the Uinta Basin’s ozone problem. The Uinta Basin, in eastern Utah, hasn’t met federal air quality…

Tailings Ponds, Pollution and Great Salt Lake

July 15th, 2025

According to the EPA’s latest Toxics Release Inventory, Utah now ranks second in the nation for total toxic chemical emissions. The reason? Over 90% of these releases came from a…

UPHE speaks out on EPA’s planned power plant rule rollback

July 15th, 2025

The EPA is bailing out on a promise made to power plant communities and neighbors to clean the air. Under the Biden Administration, the EPA mandated that power plants keep…

Protecting Americans from cancer shouldn’t be political

July 15th, 2025

UPHE board president and cofounder’s latest op-ed, published in the Deseret News, outlines why Dr. Brian Moench fights so hard to protect our communities and families from air pollution. The…

Dust from central Utah, too

July 8th, 2025

Sevier Lake Bed by Paul Vanderwerf The remains of Sevier Lake in Millard County are already one of Utah’s largest sources of dust pollution, but things may get worse. The…

Trump administration fast-tracks eastern Utah fossil fuels project

July 8th, 2025

Despite last year’s record production year for oil out of the Uinta Basin, the Trump administration is fast-tracking an oil transloading facility in Carbon County. What does the project look…

What’s in Great Salt Lake dust that monitors aren’t catching?

July 8th, 2025

Photo courtesy of David Jackson Photography UPHE’s Dr. Brian Moench was quoted in a recent The Salt Lake Tribune article on the dust monitoring developments. The Utah legislature significantly reduced…

Wildfire smoke & what it’s doing to our bodies

June 30th, 2025

An alarming new investigation by The Atlantic highlights what scientists are only beginning to understand about wildfire smoke, and it’s confirming what other research has shown about how dangerous wood…

What’s happening with the public lands sell-off bill?

June 30th, 2025

Senator Lee’s bill would have sold off Forest Service land up City Creek, Emigration, Parley’s, Big and Little Cottonwood Canyon, as well as millions of acres across central and southern…

The Utah Inland Port’s newest project area

June 30th, 2025

New development is slated for rural communities just outside of fast growing Eagle Mountain. The Utah Inland Port Authority is spreading throughout the state like metastatic cancer. It has launched…

Utah Inland Port Authority Poised to Approve Project Area in Utah County’s Water Strapped Cedar Valley

June 26th, 2025

Will Harm Water, Air Quality and Wetlands Using taxpayer resources, the Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA) is poised to incentivize industrial development in Utah County’s Cedar Valley, an area facing serious…

The public lands threat and why UPHE is opposing

June 24th, 2025

Utah Senator Mike Lee is pretending to listen to public backlash—but make no mistake, his plan to auction off our public lands was stopped not because he cared, but because…

The Supreme Court sides with polluters again

June 24th, 2025

The Supreme Court made a ruling that allows states who are challenging clean air regulations to take their cases to various district courts rather than the DC circuit which had…

The need for tighter oversight and less big industry in our communities

June 17th, 2025

The Salt Lake Tribune published a very alarming investigative article on US Magnesium, a major industrial polluter located on the edge of the Great Salt Lake. The subject? Dangerous emissions…

Uranium pursued in Utah while RECA is still on pause

June 17th, 2025

Last week, Utah leaders announced plans to partner with a California-based company to bring uranium-related infrastructure to the Wasatch Front. The proposed facility in Bluffdale would manufacture equipment used to…

$2.4 billion in tax-exempt bonds for Uinta Basin Railway

June 13th, 2025

On June 12, 2025, UPHE submitted the following comments in regards to a proposal for $2.4 billion in tax-exempt bonds from the Utah Department of Transportation for the Uinta Basin…

Utah should not be pursuing AI data centers

June 10th, 2025

UPHE’s leader also had an opinion piece published in Utah News Dispatch. This one was on another, newer industry that Utah is considering, which could also be extremely harmful to…

Why our group of Utah physicians sued to stop the Uinta Basin Railway

June 10th, 2025

Our board president and cofounder, Dr. Brian Moench, had an op-ed in the Salt Lake Tribune on the U.S Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn the ruling in our favor…

The state is ignoring the diversion problem

June 3rd, 2025

Salt Lake City Weekly called out the State of Utah’s handling of the Great Salt Lake as a clear “miss” in its Hits and Misses column—and we couldn’t agree more.…

Why is the Utah Inland Port taking on remediation of a Salt Lake City landfill?

June 3rd, 2025

Last week, the Utah Inland Port Authority broke ground on a $200+ million cleanup of the decades-old North Temple landfill near Salt Lake City’s west side. While we support proper…

“I didn’t have asthma until I moved to Utah”

June 1st, 2025

UPHE Manager of Programs and Development, Brandi O’Brien, had an op-ed published in the Salt Lake Tribune, talking about how her own health is impacted by poor air quality. President…

Supreme Court Limits Scope of Nation’s Bedrock Environmental Law

June 1st, 2025

The Supreme Court today severely limited the scope of the nation’s landmark environmental law in a case that could give new life to a Utah oil train project. For nearly 50 years…

New ideas to deal with Great Salt Lake dust and monitoring

May 22nd, 2025

The Salt Lake Tribune covered Utah Speaker of the House, Mike Schultz’, latest idea to help mitigate the hazardous dust that’s blowing from exposed lake bed of Great Salt Lake.…

Climate Change and Our Health

May 21st, 2025

Climate change is real, and it’s a crisis. It is no longer a distant threat on the horizon that might occur. It is here and now. It affects all of…

Wetlands of Great Salt Lake and the problem with the mosquito solution

May 19th, 2025

As temperatures warm earlier each year due to climate change, mosquito season in Utah now stretches from April to October. The Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District (SLCMAD) is scrambling…

The economic impact of Great Salt Lake

May 19th, 2025

A new study finds that allowing Great Salt Lake to collapse will likely cause a literal economic collapse in Utah. This is all the more reason why UPHE’s lawsuit against…

Trump administration wants to weaken our air standards

May 19th, 2025

Utah’s Governor and legislative leaders have been trying to get the EPA to not hold northern Utah accountable to comply with national ozone standards for the last three years. They…

Major source of air pollutants in southern Utah under fire

May 13th, 2025

A recent lawsuit filed by the State of Utah against Green Natural Gas Ventures LLC (GNG Ventures) underscores the urgent necessity for stringent pollution control measures and vigilant oversight. The…

Dust storms are getting worse—Let’s not add fuel to the fire

May 13th, 2025

Utahns experienced another alarming dust storm this past Sunday, with severe winds sending massive clouds of dust into the air across the state. A Fox13 article confirmed that much of…

Tribune Editorial on Great Salt Lake

May 13th, 2025

The Salt Lake Tribune Editorial Board wrote an excellent piece outlining the threat Utahns face from the shrinking of Great Salt Lake, and what the state can still do to…

Still time to act on Curtis’ resolution to weaken air quality

May 13th, 2025

UPHE’s Dr. Brian Moench had an Op-Ed in Utah News Dispatch giving more detail on why Senator Curtis’s S.J. Resolution 31 is a really bad idea. In short, this resolution…

Joint Comments on the “Fix our Forests” Act

May 6th, 2025

More on forest fire management science here.

Strides in reducing fossil fuels in Utah are at risk

May 6th, 2025

Progress towards clean energy in Utah has been slow and painful for those who see the benefits of a clean future. Closure dates for two of Utah’s dirtiest coal power…

Utah’s chance to save Great Salt Lake

May 6th, 2025

The New York Times points out that Utah has a rare opportunity to be the first place in the world to reverse a saline lake’s decline. We don’t have to…

Lawsuit to stop rampant industrialization from UIPA proceeds

April 29th, 2025

UPHE, our partners and our lawyers are working to update our case against the Utah Inland Port Authority. The lawsuit we filed against the Port in the fall of 2024…

The commute continues for state workers – even on smog days

April 15th, 2025

Utah lawmakers have quietly repealed the state’s “surge remote work” policy, which previously encouraged state employees to work from home on poor air quality days. The rollback, buried in the…

Dust, forever chemicals and reducing your risk

April 15th, 2025

Dust might seem like a minor household nuisance, but in reality, it’s a major—and growing—health concern, especially here in Utah. As Great Salt Lake continues to shrink, more of its…

Trump threatens Clean air at National Parks

April 15th, 2025

A 26-year-old federal rule responsible for clearing up skies in national parks may be on the chopping block under a major deregulatory push by the Trump administration. The regional haze…

Voltaire’s take on the ‘Utah Way’

April 5th, 2025

UPHE’s co founder and president, Dr. Brian Moench, had a commentary piece published in Utah News Dispatch where he analyzes the ‘Utah Way’ through Voltaire, the French Enlightenment writer and…

Utah’s air purifiers in schools program is in jeopardy

March 31st, 2025

A silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic brought funds for much needed school improvements. Improvements that UPHE has been advocating for even before the pandemic to protect children’s health in…

Judge Rejects Effort by Utah Officials to Derail Great Salt Lake Lawsuit Utah sought to dismiss lawsuit over its failure to protect the Great Salt Lake

March 31st, 2025

Salt Lake City, UT – A state district court judge today paved the way for a landmark public trust suit over Utah’s failure to protect the Great Salt Lake to…