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Cedar City – Two local officials joined the Conservative Climate Forum last Tuesday at Southern Utah University to discuss climate change in business, water and policy.
Cedar City Councilman Tyler Melling and Paul Monroe, general manager of the Central Iron County Water Conservation District, joined two other panelists to discuss climate change in the Sharwin Smith Student Center Church Auditorium.
One of Melling’s concerns at the forum is that the city should consider the impact of weather and climate on infrastructure.
“Recently, we’ve had to make some adjustments to our stormwater policies to accommodate stronger, shorter-duration storms rather than calmer, longer-lasting storms,” he said. That has different infrastructure needs and we’ll have to look at that as the climate changes.
“The power of taxation is also the power of regulation,” said Melling, the Utah Republican Party’s platform. The party believes that the best way to control the government is to strictly control the “taxation of the people”. The city also exempts residents from taxes by making “water polluters pay for their waste” through user fees.
In response to a student question about future plans, Melling noted that the city has made “significant policy changes” regarding stormwater and water use, which will have a big impact on other decisions, such as how roads are built or how to encourage rain gardens. Reduce urban heat with green plants while using less water.
Looking forward, Melling said the factors that make Utah a desirable place to live could become less so due to changes in policies or weather, which could affect tax rates and housing and economic policies.
“For the past 50 years, living in this part of the country has been more attractive than any other,” he said. “If this trend reverses, with those weather conditions, frequent floods, mudslides coming out of your basement and becoming a fact of life in this part of the country, that’s going to have a serious impact everywhere.”
A participant asked how climate change solutions can be a “win-win” for both businesses and the environment. Melling said that working with the Cedar City Area Chamber of Commerce, he found that climate change is “far down the list” and that many businesses struggle with government “red tape.”
Forecasting business values and climate change can be a big issue, he said, adding that weather forecasts are even more inaccurate.
Panelist Dr. Jacqueline Grant, associate professor in SU’s Department of Geosciences, added that while climate change discussions often focus on how solutions can affect business, people can also look at how climate impacts can be used to create jobs.
“(It’s) a different way to think about a question, one that makes a little positive difference and makes us think about how we can grow the economy and incorporate climate change solutions at the same time,” she said.
Monroe said Iron and Beaver counties have a “significant amount” of renewable energy sources, and wind, solar and geothermal power have made Utah a “big exporter” of renewables.
Water
The Central Iron County Water Conservation District is an organization charged with looking 50 years into the future to ensure adequate water availability, Monroe said.
He was asked by an audience member to compare water scarcity with the current situation and current policies.
“Access to sustainable water resources is essential, which includes innovation and diversification of the region’s water portfolio,” Monroe said.
The Cedar Valley receives primarily from melted snow, but the amount of snow has decreased over the past 20 years. Instead, much of the moisture in southern Utah is available later in the year in a “monsoon-like” form.
“This has created some problems with some of the infrastructure mentioned, but it has a big impact on our water source and supply,” he said.
The runoff from Cedar Breaks is often filled with dirt and contaminated with salt, so it must go through a settling tank before it can be used, Monroe said.
Monroe said new infrastructure is being built to capture clean tailwater. Additionally, the district is focused on completing the Pine Valley Water Project, which will bring water from Northwest.
“The science behind that valley is that most of the recharge, or the return of water to the ocean, is from the summer monsoon storms,” he said. “And that’s again a big focus for us, to be resilient and look to the future.”
For more from the Conservative Climate Forum panel, read Part 1 here. Click here to learn more about the Central Iron County Water Conservation District.
Copyright Saint George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.
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