This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
I hope many Utahns will heed Sunday's message by Ingrid Griffee of Utah Moms for Clean Air, and take public transportation to the state Capitol on Jan. 25 to rally for action ("No more bad-air excuses from Utah leaders," Opinion, Jan. 11).
It's regrettable, though, that Ms. Griffee felt the need to include the ubiquitous dig at "the feds" to help deliver an otherwise worthwhile message. "Some agency in Washington" does not arbitrarily make up "mediocre" guidelines that brave Utahns need to thwart.
Rather, hard-working civil servants (who breathe the same air and drink the same water as everybody else) develop regulations through a free and open public process, in order to implement laws passed by senators and Congress members who've been chosen by the voters.
If you don't like the laws, then elect people who will change them. If you want a voice in federal regulation, go online and check the notices published in the Federal Register, and then participate in the public rulemaking process. In the end, all of us, not just some mythical, liberty-hating, back-East bureaucrats, bear responsibility for the conditions in which we live.
Hi, I'm Lee. I'm a mom, a blood donor, a bike commuter and a carpooler. And I'm a federal employee.
Lee Kreutzer
Salt Lake City