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Utah House designates municipal solid waste a renewable energy source over health objections
Summary
After extended floor debate about emissions and public-health safeguards, the Utah House passed HB228 to add municipal solid waste to the state statutory definition of renewable energy, 68–4. Sponsors cited federal precedent and modern emissions controls; critics raised studies on older incinerators and urged strict permitting.
The Utah House passed House Bill 228 on Feb. 9, 2010, which adds "municipal solid waste" to Utah’s statutory definition of renewable energy in Titles 10 and 54. The vote was 68 in favor and 4 opposed.
Sponsor Representative Roger Barris argued the change would open the state to waste-to-energy technologies that capture energy from municipal solid waste rather than placing it in landfills. Barris cited federal and interstate precedent — including the 2005 Energy Policy Act, the Federal Power Act / PURPA, and U.S. Department of Energy classifications — and said 24 other states and the…
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