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Environment
Accomplishments and Strengths of the Leavitt Administration
August 11, 2003

I. Nation’s longest-serving governor.

a. Gov. Leavitt is currently the longest-serving state chief executive in the country, an honor known as the “Dean of Governors.”

b. He is the former chair of the:

i. National Governors Association (Aug. 1999 — July 2000).
ii. Western Governors Association (June 1993 — June 1994).
iii. Republican Governors Association (Nov. 1994 — Nov. 1995).
iv. Council of State Governments (Dec. 1994 — Dec. 1995).

c. Utah ranked this year as the best financially-managed state in the nation by USA Today (June 23, 2003).

d. Financial World and Governing magazines ranked Utah among the best-managed states in the nation five times during Gov. Leavitt’s service (1993, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2001).

II. Among the most influential and effective governors in the west over the past decade in improving air and water quality and conserving critical lands.

a. Air Quality – The air is demonstrably cleaner because of Gov. Leavitt’s service.

i. Utah currently meets all federal air quality standards. This was not the case at the beginning of the Leavitt administration.

1. The air is cleaner because of a combination of enhanced vehicle emissions testing, reduced road congestion, aggressive expansion of public transportation and enhanced civic engagement through Envision Utah, the largest voluntary quality growth partnership in the nation.

ii. Visibility in the west has improved because of the pioneering work of the Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission, and Western Regional Air Partnership. These collaborations have changed the way we solve environmental problems in the west, providing a model for environmental progress that has been adopted in federal regulations.

1. Gov. Leavitt served as vice-chair of the Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission and serves as co-chair of the Western Regional Air Partnership.

2. The Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission made over 70 recommendations improving visibility in 16 national parks and wilderness areas on the Colorado Plateau.

3. The Western Regional Air Partnership includes three federal agencies, 13 states and 13 tribal nations.

a. Established a regulatory commitment to reduce sulfur dioxide levels by 50-70% by 2040, and a strategy to accomplish that goal.

b. Water quality – Utah has among the nation’s cleanest watersheds and it has improved dramatically during the Leavitt administration.

1. Seventy-three (73%) percent of Utah’s streams currently meet federal water quality standards, compared to 59% ten years ago, a 24% improvement since Gov. Leavitt took office. Currently, 60% of the nation’s streams meet this standard.

2. As part of the commitment to improve Utah’s water quality, nearly 5,000 underground gas storage tanks have been upgraded and cleaned-up, 353 million gallons of contaminated ground water at Superfund, brownfield and voluntary clean-up sites are being restored, and discharges have been reduced from farming and ranging operations.

3. Utah’s Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations – which reduce the impact of farming and ranching on water quality – have been adopted by EPA as a national model.

c. Land conservation – Utah’s most environmentally-sensitive land is better protected because of Gov. Leavitt’s service.

i. Land Exchanges – Gov. Leavitt helped protect 500,000 acres of land in national parks, monuments, recreation areas and wilderness study areas through value-for-value land exchanges with the federal government:

1. The Grand Staircase-National Parks Land Exchange (400,000 acres) was the largest land exchange in the continental United States since the Louisiana Purchase.

2. The West Desert Land Exchange (100,000 acres) protected wilderness in Utah’s west desert.

Both exchanges were negotiated with the Clinton Administration and removed thousands of parcels of state school trust lands from within the boundaries of sensitive natural areas.

ii. Open Space Preservation – Utah’s Quality Growth Commission, which Gov. Leavitt helped establish, has conserved approximately 35,000 acres of critical land in perpetuity, protecting critical wildlife, watershed, historical and agricultural assets in the state.

III. Pioneer of collaborative environmental management in Utah and the West.

a. The 2002 Olympic Winter Games were the most environmentally-sensitive games ever.

i. State agencies collaborated with the organizing committee to achieve net zero air emissions, 85% recovery rate for waste because of recycling and composting, compliance with all safety and environmental regulations and the planting of 100,000 trees in Utah.

b. Envision Utah. Gov. Leavitt helped found Envision Utah, the nation’s largest voluntary smart growth partnership formed to create a vision and implement strategies to protect Utah’s environment, economic strength and quality of life for future generations.

i. The partnership includes 130 diverse and bipartisan leaders from a region encompassing 100 square miles and 116 counties and cities. Tens of thousands of Utah residents participated in the development of a Quality Growth Strategy to preserve critical lands, enhance air quality, conserve water, increase mobility and transportation choices and other smart growth goals.

c. Western Regional Air Partnership, which Gov. Leavitt co-chairs, is a collaborative effort of three federal agencies, 13 states and 13 tribal nations. It was formed in 1997 as the successor to the Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission, which made over 70 recommendations for improving visibility in 16 national parks and wilderness areas on the Colorado Plateau. The partnership is a real-life example of the Enlibra principles in action.

IV. Thought leader on environmental management.

a. Enlibra Doctrine. Gov. Leavitt co-authored the principles of Enlibra with former Gov. John Kitzhaber, (D) Oregon. Enlibra is an environmental philosophy designed to accelerate environmental progress. The word is derived from Latin and means “to move toward balance.” It includes eight principles that promote balanced environmental stewardship. The philosophy has been adopted by the National Governors Association and Western Governors Association, and is currently being used in federal, state, local, and private entities.