TOOELE, Utah — Two sites that the Utah Inland Port Authority is eyeing for development took center stage in Tooele on Tuesday as community members expressed their concerns over the choices.
People rallied along Tooele’s Main Street yelling "Stop the Tooele ports" in opposition to two project sites looking to expand industrial manufacturing and distribution centers.
“Tooele County is discovering and understanding the truth, the truth that trucks and trains of the inland port, the air pollution they bring will cost a lot of health care dollars and make life a lot worse,” said Courtney Henley with the Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment.
Air pollution, traffic and impacts on the Great Salt Lake’s nearby wetlands were among the concerns brought inside the Inland Port Authority’s meeting.
“By being able to have jobs here, we can keep our people local, which is a great thing,” responded Grantsville City Manager Jesse Wilson
Local officials, along with Inland Port Authority Exec. Dir. Ben Hart countered concerns with economic benefits and promises to put money from the projects into protecting the wetlands.
“A better transportation system, a better economy for our future students and making sure they don't have to go to California or even to Salt Lake for a job, but they can get a good job here in Toole all while helping the environment," said Hart. "A lot of our money, we will be generating a lot of money that will actually go to save the wetlands here along the Great Salt Lake.”
Hart added that the project is an exciting opportunity.
“...and so we want to make sure again, we're working with local officials, we're bringing jobs and companies to this community that are going to be good stewards, but also create an economic multiplier across the community,” he said.
But community members have doubts.
“There's a lot of scrutiny on how they're actually going to do that," said Tooele County resident Terri Durfee, "and the impacts and harms that it could have that could possibly outweigh the benefits of having them even exist."
