SALT LAKE CITY – Environmental advocates are calling on Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes to reject a plan to spend millions of dollars in public funds to help build a coal-shipping terminal in California.

The organizations sent Reyes a letter on Monday, asking him to block the Community Impact Board from giving $53 million to four Utah counties – so those counties can loan the money to a private developer who wants to build the terminal in Oakland, California.

In exchange, companies operating in those counties would get shipping rights to sell Utah coal abroad, thereby bringing in more tax revenue. Aaron Paul, staff attorney with the Grand Canyon Trust, says the plan goes against Utah law.

"The mineral-leasing money is supposed to be spent in Utah for the purpose of alleviating the burdens of mineral development in this state," he says. "This terminal would be used essentially for the exact opposite purpose, exacerbating the very problem the board is charged with alleviating."

The state receives royalties from oil and gas development on public lands, and by law 50 percent of those funds are supposed to go to public services in Utah.

Paul says this deal belongs in the private sector.

"You would expect private developers to pay for a project like this, which is going to really benefit private companies," he says. "If this is an attractive investment, you have to ask why the private sector is not stepping up to make that investment?"

The Community Impact Board approved the loan deal in April, but made it contingent on a legal ruling by Reyes, who has yet to issue an opinion. Calls to the attorney general's office for comment for this story were not returned.


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SEATTLE -- The infrastructure bill recently passed by Congress is a boon not just for people. It also could help wildlife such as endangered salmon in the Northwest.

Members of the Washington state delegation ensured the legislation contained $1 billion dollars to remove, fix and replace culverts, a critical piece of infrastructure carrying streams beneath roads and bridges.

Ashlee Abrantes, Ph.D. candidate in environmental science and policy at the University of Washington, said by state estimates, there are more than 20,000 culverts in need of repair.

"And the number that has been repaired or replaced in the last decade is not even registering as a percent of the number; like a single 1% of the number that need to be repaired," Abrantes reported. "So the overall status is not fantastic."

Salmon in the Northwest travel out to the Pacific Ocean and then back to the stream where they were born to spawn. Abrantes explained the fish have to pass through thousands of culverts along the way but cannot, if those passageways are in disrepair. Many populations of salmon in the Northwest are considered threatened or endangered.

Abrantes emphasized the federal government is likely to start by repairing the culverts it's responsible for. She noted as the law currently reads, local governments will then get to vie for funding.

"So hopefully cities, counties and tribal officials will be able to pursue some of that funding to look at some of the culvert issues on a smaller scale than just statewide," Abrantes stressed.

The state of Washington has an obligation to ensure safe passage for salmon and other fish through culverts on treaty lands in the western part of the state. A 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision let a district court ruling stand giving the state a 2030 deadline to fix nearly 500 of the most precarious culverts.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Numerous government positions remain unfilled, and experts say overdue nominations and a Senate backlog highlight the need for an overhaul of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.

The 1998 law allows a new administration to use acting officials for up to 300 days, to give the new president time to nominate individuals for government positions.

Tory Cribb, director of policy for the Partnership for Public Service, said the law has complicated matters since the Senate confirmation process for nominees has become increasingly arduous, lengthy and partisan.

"The reality, though, is that no president since passage of the 1998 law has come even close to meeting this mark," Cribb observed. "Because the over 1,200 positions requiring confirmation is really just simply too much for the Senate's process to handle."

President Joe Biden recently announced Memphis litigator Andre B. Mathis as his nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. If confirmed, Mathis would become the first Black man to sit on the Sixth Circuit from Tennessee.

Cribb pointed out the number of Senate-confirmed positions has ballooned by 59% in the last six decades. She pointed to the Executive Branch as an example of the current backlog.

"So as of this week, the Senate has only confirmed 179 of 419 nominees submitted by President Biden for these executive branch positions," Cribb noted.

According to a report by the Partnership for Public Service, the average Senate confirmation process now takes about twice as long as it did in the 1980s. During the Obama and Trump administrations, it took an average of 112 and 117 days to confirm presidential nominations, compared with 56 for the Reagan administration. Experts say Biden is on track to top those numbers.

CONCORD, N.H. -- As cold weather moves in, Granite Staters are being urged to apply for fuel assistance, if they think they might need some help heating their homes through the winter.

The federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program is designed to help renters and homeowners, and in New Hampshire, households making at or below 60% of the state median income are eligible. For a family of four, it equates to just over $72,000 a year.

Eileen Smiglowski, water/fuel assistance program administrator for the New Hampshire Department of Energy, said the income threshold is higher than many people may think, because it is important to ensure people stay warm.

"With New Hampshire being obviously in one of the colder parts of the country, it's just really important that that money is there and available to help people with large energy bills that just don't have the capacity to pay them," Smiglowski explained.

Yesterday, the Department of Energy announced a 60% increase in benefits, which equates to a range of $250 to $2,500. The range last year was $160 to $1,575. The jump is intended to accommodate increased energy costs, as the price of natural gas has nearly doubled in the last year.

New Hampshire is the ninth-coldest state in the nation. In January, temperatures often range from -4 degrees to +15 degrees Fahrenheit.

Smiglowski urged eligible residents to contact their local Community Action Agency to apply. If you are unsure which is your local agency, you can search online at CAPNH.org/cap-lookup, or call 2-1-1.

"Hopefully, we can get a lot of people who might be struggling -- especially this year, as fuel prices are going to be going up, potentially quite a bit -- that we can at least help them get some of that burden off their back," Smiglowski emphasized.

Utility companies said it is also important to make sure your heating system is upgraded and working as efficiently as possible to keep bills down. They suggested checking filters and vents are clean; working to caulk, weatherstrip and seal drafty doors and windows; and to open blinds and curtains during the day to take advantage of the natural heat from sunlight.