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Commission allows taller stacks and water tank for power plant to meet air-quality and noise standards
Summary
The commission unanimously approved conditional-use permit CU2025-03 allowing exhaust stacks up to 80 feet and a water tank up to 40 feet for the proposed power plant, subject to staff findings and fire-marshal review to ensure adequate fire flow and mitigation.
The Utah County Planning Commission voted May 20 to approve a conditional-use permit (CU2025-03) allowing portions of the proposed power-generation facility to exceed the county’s by-right height limits for exhaust stacks and a water tank.
Staff told the commission the application seeks to allow exhaust stacks above the 40-foot by-right limit to mitigate air-quality and noise impacts and recommended aligning the expiration of this conditional use with the related facility approvals. The stacks would be permitted up to 80 feet, and staff added that the water tank should be capped at 40 feet as part of the approval language.
Greg Probst, the applicant representative, said an 80-foot stack is the standard manufacturer design for the General Electric LM6000 unit the project plans to use. He described built-in continuous emissions monitoring and internal noise controls and provided visual simulations showing the stacks’ appearance at 2.5 miles and from further vantage points. “These are our standard design,” Probst said, noting that nearby transmission-lattice towers are taller than the proposed stacks.
Commissioners pressed staff and the applicant about what constitutes a detrimental impact, how much of the stacks the commission was actually considering (staff clarified the commission reviews only the portion above 40 feet), and whether the water-tank height and pump design would meet required fire flows. Staff and the applicant said final fire-flow and pump sizing will be addressed iteratively with the fire marshal; staff recommended and the commission adopted a maximum 40-foot height for the water tank to be included in the conditions.
A commissioner moved to approve CU2025-03 subject to staff findings and items 1–9 and to amend condition 3 so the water tank would not exceed 40 feet; another commissioner seconded. The motion passed on a unanimous voice vote.
What’s next: The applicant will work with the county fire marshal on engineered plans to demonstrate required fire flow and pressure; stack design must meet air-quality monitoring requirements and any applicable state or federal emissions standards.
