Trucks move shipping containers at the Union Pacific Intermodal Terminal on Nov. 22, 2021 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)
Two environmental advocacy groups are suing the Utah Inland Port Authority, the governor and legislative leaders for what they describe as “a violation of the separation of powers,” arguing the board that governs the authority is “unconstitutionally formed” and under control of the Utah Legislature.
Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment and the Center for Biological Diversity, fierce opponents of the inland port project, argue that the change in code the Legislature approved in 2022 to empower the Senate president and the speaker of the House to appoint and remove the majority of the board’s voting members “effectively handed over control of executive functions to the legislature, in violation of the separation of powers enshrined in the Utah Constitution.”
At the time in 2022, Salt Lake City leaders supported the bill after heavy negotiations to change the Utah Inland Port Authority’s governance structure after its initial creation in 2018 upset Salt Lake City leaders, who claimed it usurped local land use authority. That bill dissolved Salt Lake City’s voting membership in exchange for a 25-year contract and a larger share of future tax increment within the port’s jurisdiction.