EPA declares Salt Lake City and Provo areas meet air quality standards after 15 years
SALT LAKE CITY – Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing that the Salt Lake City and Provo nonattainment areas have met the 2006 PM2.5 24-hour National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) targets and are now in attainment after 15 years. The collaboration between the state of Utah and EPA to achieve this redesignation demonstrates the shared commitment to providing clean air for all Utahns and fulfilling requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA). Providing clean air for all Americans and advancing cooperative federalism are both pillars of EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative.
“The people of Utah deserve clean air and practical solutions that recognize the realities of life in the Salt Lake City and Provo areas,” said EPA Regional Administrator Cyrus Western. “Meeting the PM2.5 standard underscores all of the hard work that Utah has done over the past decade to improve air quality. This demonstrates that Utah can meet federal air quality standards in a way that respects local priorities and fosters cooperative federalism.”
"The achievement of cleaner air in Utah resulted from extensive planning and collaboration among the public, industry, and various government levels, leading to significant investments and the implementation of 23 new rules targeting emissions from multiple sources," said Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Air Quality Director Bryce Bird. "The state legislature also supported efforts by providing incentives for retrofitting and replacing high-emission wood stoves and diesel vehicles, alongside transit upgrades and public education campaigns. The work to support growing communities in the area by reducing air pollutant emissions continues and the state works to attain the 2015 standard for ground-level ozone in Utah’s urban counties and the Uinta Basin. "
Since 2009, the Salt Lake City and Provo areas have been designated as nonattainment for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). EPA’s action redesignates the Salt Lake City and Provo areas from nonattainment to attainment and details how Utah will continue to meet the air quality standard through at least 2035.
This action includes control measures and technologies that are recognized as the Best Available Control Measures/Best Available Control Technologies to control PM2.5 and to ensure clean air in accordance with the CAA.
Background
On November 6, 2020, EPA proposed approval of Utah’s redesignation requests and maintenance plans for the Serious PM2.5 Salt Lake City and Provo nonattainment areas along with other Serious PM2.5 State Implementation Plan (SIP) requirements. Utah Department of Environmental Quality (UDEQ) and EPA worked collaboratively to address comments received on the 2020 proposal, and on July 16, 2025, EPA proposed approval of UDEQ's additional SIP revisions. The final redesignation rule includes EPA responses to comments, the proposed major stationary source SIP revision, and the remaining parts of the 2020 proposed approval that were never finalized. This final action clears seven backlogged Utah SIP submissions by a consent decree deadline of December 15, 2025.
For additional information and background, visit EPA’s Particulate Matter (PM) Pollution website.