Brian Moench: Merging Utahâs environmental quality and natural resources offices is a really awful idea Salt Lake City already suffers for having a state government that doesnât do enough to reduce the use of dirty energy. (Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune) View diminishes as one looks from the east foothills above I-215 into the mid part of the Salt Lake Valley Friday. By Brian Moench | Special to The Tribune   | Jan. 22, 2021, 8:15 p.m. Within the last few months, Utah lawmakers have climbed aboard the popular train wreck of devaluing scientific expertise. A recent expose by The Salt Lake Tribune revealed that they allowed the nonhealth experts at the Governorâs Office of Management and Budget (GOMB) to steam roll our health experts in crafting the stateâs nonsensical, nonscientific and largely failed pandemic response.