BONANZA, Utah (September 16, 2004) -- In 1904, mining of a unique mineral called Gilsonite began in earnest with the arrival of a railroad to haul the ore to market. In 2004, American Gilsonite Company continues the mining, processing, marketing tradition begun a century ago in Utah's Uintah Basin.
"Actually, there was a little mining before 1904," said Earl White, Vice President of Operations for American Gilsonite Company. "Sam Gilson, who gave Gilsonite its name, was experimenting with it in 1885 and a few companies dabbled in it for awhile. But it was the coming of the railroad that started the real mining boom."
White noted that American Gilsonite would celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Gilsonite mining with an open house at Bonanza, Utah (approximately 35 miles south of Vernal) on Sunday, September 26, from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. "We would like to see everyone who's ever had anything to do with the company," he said. "We have such a rich history, it will be good to see some of the people who helped make it."
Gilsonite History
Reportedly, Gilsonite veins were discovered near Gusher, Utah in 1869, though the Native Americans in the area, when they learned Gilsonite could be melted, had possibly brushed the mineral on the insides of woven baskets as a waterproofing.
In 1888, Gilson and a partner formed the Gilsonite Manufacturing Company to acquire claims and market a Gilsonite varnish he had invented. Adolphus Busch of the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company of St. Louis saw the varnish and thought it might be a good liner for beer barrels. Anheuser-Busch bought out Gilson's interests in 1889 and formed the Gilson Asphaltum Company of Missouri. Busch sold the company to a New Jersey firm in 1900 and the name changed to the Gilsonite Asphaltum Company of New Jersey.
The sale was a turning point for Gilsonite mining because the parent firm, General Asphalt Company, which also owned Barber Asphalt Paving Company, constructed the 53-mile Uintah Railway in 1903 to haul Gilsonite to market. And the mining boom was on. The railway was abandoned in favor of truck transport in 1937.
The company name was changed in 1938 to the Barber Asphalt Company, the predecessor of Barber Oil Corporation. In 1946, Barber Oil teamed up with Standard Oil Company of California to form a Gilsonite partnership, and the name was changed to American Gilsonite Company.
In 1981, American Gilsonite became a wholly owned subsidiary of Chevron. Ten years later, Chevron decided that Gilsonite mining no longer fit into its core business and sold the company to a group of mining investors who kept the American Gilsonite Company name.
Gilsonite and Its Uses
Gilsonite is unique to Utah's Uintah Basin. It is not known precisely how the mineral was created, but it is generally believed that this natural hydrocarbon began in much the same way as the hydrocarbon in oil shale. It solidified in Gilsonite veins occurring in depths varying from the surface to 2,200 feet deep, in widths from a few inches to 22 feet, and as long as 22 miles.
It is brittle and breaks easily into a chocolate-colored powder. It liquefies when heated and is lightweight and completely non-toxic.
Gilsonite was first used commercially in varnishes and paints for horse-drawn wagons and buggies. It was later used on Henry Ford's "horseless carriages," giving the automobiles a deep, rich black, satin finish.
Over the years, Gilsonite has been used in many products ranging from battery boxes, floor tile and molding compounds to linoleum and rubber items. It has even been used in the production of high-octane gasoline.
Today, Gilsonite is widely used as the basic ingredient in printing inks, as well as paints and varnishes. It is used in oil drilling mud fluids and oil well cementing; as a performance enhancing agent for asphalt mixes in road paving; as an additive in foundry sands to insure the quality of the molded parts; and, when combined with other chemicals, is used in binder and coater applications in metallurgical, refractory and other industries.
American Gilsonite Company is searching constantly for new uses for Gilsonite through research and development.
"I think Sam Gilson would be very proud of what has happened with his mineral over the past 100 years, once he got over the initial shock," White said. "Gilsonite is an amazing mineral with many uses and applications. The celebration we'll be having on the 26th is in honor of the many people who have worked here through the years and helped make sure that Gilsonite mining and processing remains a viable industry today."
This year's 89th UMA convention - "Mining Matters" was a huge success. We thank all convention attendees and sponsors for their support.
On August 26 at the convention, Dee Jense, President and CEO of Interwest Mining Company, was elected 2005 UMA Chairman.
Meeting at the Canyons resort near Park City, the gathering of Utah mining company representatives and industry suppliers heard addresses from Richard Benson, President, Caterpillar Global Mining, and Jim Hughes, BLM Deputy Director, Policy and Programs.
Mr. Benson, in discussing "Who's Driving the Minerals Commodity Boom?" stated that China, with increasing demands for minerals, has emerged as the driving force in the current boom, and that short-term projections indicate continuing favorable markets for mineral imports to China. He said China ranks number one in world population and copper consumption and mining equipment. He also stressed, "The U.S. is the engine that drives the world economy."
Mr. Hughes told the audience that the mission of the BLM was multiple use of the public lands. He said the Bush Administration supports a strong and vital mining industry in the United States. "The public lands must be used to supply the raw materials that support the quality of life in our country," he said. He noted that the Administration has taken several initiatives to promote mining on public lands.
Utah Gubernatorial candidates Scott Matheson, Jr. (D) and Gary Herbert, Lt. Governor candidate with Jon Huntsman, Jr. (R) presented their individual support for Utah mining.
Allan Mashburn, Chairman, Utah Board of Oil, Gas and Mining, presented DOGM Earth Day Awards to Brush Resources, Inc. -- Lava Bench Mine; Dan Meadors and Canyon Fuel Company; Energy West Mining Company -- Deer Creek Mine; Kennecott's Barneys Canyon Mine; Questar Pipeline Company -- PL-104 Pipeline; Sunnyside Cogeneration Associates "SCA" Star Point Mine; Utah Power -- Peter Springs Road; and Plateau Mining Company -- Crandall Canyon Shafts.
Other awards and honors were presented to Governor Olene Walker for her "long-standing support of Utah's mining industry"; to Bruce Whitehead, President of W.S. Adamson and Associates public relations firm for "long and distinguished service to Utah's mining industry"; to out-going UMA Chairman Rob Campbell, President of Wheeler Machinery Company and to Greg Fredde, former UMA President.
Introduced at the convention was David A. Litvin, who was named President of the Utah Mining Association last May.
Rod Decker, KUTV News, gave an impressive luncheon speech on the mining industry's public image, and the new University of Utah Basketball Coach, Ray Giacoletti, gave an inspiring dinner talk.
|
Flight A - 1st place Greg Fredde Jim Christensen Des Barker Flight A - 2nd Place Tom Bingham Todd Bingham Steve Blackwell Dave Taylor Flight A - 3rd Place Richard Pick Bruce Lindsay Kim Robinson Longest Drive - Mens Jim Christensen Longest Drive - Womens Carmen Litvin |
Flight B - 1st Place Lon Rice Doug Johnson Gary Hanson Don Baker Flight B - 2nd Place Brent Smith Ed Grandy Lee Peacock Flight B - 3rd Place Herb Herman Marc Messenger Terry McIntrye Gina Rau Closest to the Pin Bob Evans Closest to the Pin Dave Taylor |
Return to Top of Page
September 14, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved an amendment offered by ranking member Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) that would extend the Office of Surface Mining's authority to collect the coal AML fee for 9 months beyond the current September 30, 2004 expiration date. The amendment passed on a voice vote. No such provision was included in the Interior Appropriations bill which passed the House on June 17.
The Office of Surface Mining (OSM) has published a rule setting forth criteria and procedures that may be used to establish abandoned mine land (AML) fees under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) for coal produced and sold after September 30, 2004. This regulation will take effect if Congress fails to take action on the AML fee, which is set to expire on September 30, 2004.
SMCRA § 402 currently imposes a tax of 35 cents a ton for surface mined coal, 15 cents per ton for underground coal, and 10 cents per ton for lignite. The fees are further capped at 10% of the value of the coal (or 2% of the value of lignite). These taxes will expire on September 30, 2004. However, the law provides that after this time the fee shall be established at a rate to continue to provide for the deposit referred to in SMCRA § 402(h) [Subsection (h) refers to the transfer of money to the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund]. In other words, when the tax expires, the Secretary is required to set a new tax rate that is sufficient to address the transfer of funds that is required to the Combined Benefit Fund. The amount of the transfer is set by statute, and is based on the needs of the Combined Benefit Fund, as well as the amount of interest the Secretary estimates will be earned and paid to the Fund during the current fiscal year. This amount may never exceed $70 million.
The final rule issued by OSM interprets the language in SMCRA to require the establishment of a fee that will generate revenue up to, but not more than, the amount of net interest that the AML Fund is anticipated to earn in the coming fiscal year, subject to certain limitations (such as the $70 million cap). Since OSM estimates that the amount of interest that the AML Fund will earn in FY 2005 is $69,040,000, they have calculated new AML fees that are predicted to raise that amount of money. Using the same ratios established by Congress in SMCRA, the agency came up with the following new AML fees that may apply after Sept. 30, 2004:
Surface Mined Coal: 8.8 cents/ton
Underground Coal: 3.8 cents/ton
Lignite 2.5 cents/ton
OSM further explains that: "Stockpiled coal that was mined before October 1, 2004, is subject to the fees established in this rule at the time it is used, sold, or transferred. For example, coal that was sold before October 1, 2004, but that has not physically left the minesite is subject to the fees established in section 402(a) of [SMCRA], which will now be codified in paragraph (a) of section 870.13."
Until Congress acts on AML, OSM plans to annually set a new fee using the formula and procedure in the final rule. Once OSM establishes rates for the fiscal year, OSM will not change them again until the following year (although Congress may change them at any time). Discrepancies, if any, will be adjusted by OSM in next year's AML rates.
This rule was promulgated under the "good cause" exception of the Administrative Procedure Act, which allows an agency to issue rules without notice and comment when an agency for good cause finds that notice is impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. However, OSM also issued a nearly identical proposed rule to allow the public a chance to comment on the rule (albeit after-the-fact). OSM will consider such comments, and may change the rule at a future time.
If you have any questions on the OSM rule, please contact Bradford Frisby at (202) 463-2643 or via email at bfrisby@nma.org. If you have questions regarding the status of Congressional legislation on AML, please contact my government affairs colleague, Dave Finkenbinder at (202) 463-2636 or dfinkenbinder@nma.org.
On September 13, 2004, the State of Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration held a competitive coal lease sale of the SITLA Muddy Coal Tract. The tract is one of six federal coal tracts conveyed to the State of Utah in the 1998 Utah Schools and Federal Land Exchange. It is located adjacent to the SUFCO Coal Mine in Sevier County and contains an estimated minimum of 13.5 million tons of recoverable coal.
A bid was received, submitted jointly by Ark Land Company and Arch Coal Company (parent company of Canyon Fuel Company, LLC). Trust Lands negotiated the bid to the amount of $4,320,00.00, or 32 cents per recoverable ton. The federal government is the recipient of the bonus payment but one half of the bonus will be revenue-shared back to the State of Utah under provisions of the federal Mineral Leasing Act. The School Trust Lands Administration will receive royalty revenues from a pre-determined coal tonnage to be mined from the tract by Canyon Fuel Company, LLC, as part of the SUFCO coal mine in the near future.
The School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration is an independent state agency which manages 3.5 million acres of Utah trust lands exclusively for the benefit of Utah's schools and other public institutions.
WASHINGTON - In 1997, as a top executive of a Utah mining company, David Lauriski proposed a measure that could allow some operators to let coal-dust levels rise substantially in mines. The plan went nowhere in the government.
Last year, it found enthusiastic backing from one government official: Lauriski himself. Now head of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, he revived the proposal despite objections by union officials and health experts that it could put miners at greater risk of black-lung disease.
The reintroduction of the coal dust measure came after the federal agency had abandoned a series of Clinton-era safety proposals favored by coal miners while embracing others favored by mine owners and operators.
The agency's effort to rewrite coal regulations is part of a broader push by the Bush administration to help an industry that has been out of favor in Washington.
As a candidate four years ago, George W. Bush promised to expand energy supplies, in part by reviving coal's fortunes, particularly in Appalachia, where coal regions will also help decide how swing states like West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio vote this year.
The president has also made good on a 2000 campaign pledge to ease environmental restrictions that he said were threatening jobs in coal country. That promise led many West Virginia miners, who traditionally voted Democratic, to join coal operators in supporting Bush. It helped him win the state's five electoral votes, ultimately the margin of victory.
Safety and environmental regulations often shift with control of the White House, but the Bush administration's approach to coal mining has been a particularly potent example of the blend of politics and policy.
In addition to Lauriski, who spent 30 years in the coal industry at several companies, Bush tapped a handful of other industry executives and lobbyists to help oversee safety and environmental regulations.
In all, the mine safety agency has rescinded more than a half-dozen proposals intended to make coal miners' jobs safer.
In an interview, Lauriski said the proposals that were canceled were unnecessary. He said the agency had instead concentrated on other measures "we believed were important to pursue."
Lauriski said the coal dust measure would improve miners' health by encouraging the use of equipment to limit how much dust miners breathe.
The Bush administration's efforts to change the rules have led to battles with labor unions and environ-mentalists. Congress and the courts have stepped in to temporarily block some of the initiatives, including the coal dust measure.
"They generally want to do whatever the industry wants," said Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., a member of the House Resources Committee who has been a leading critic.
How any of these changes may affect the number of coal mining injuries and deaths is unclear. The rate of injuries has declined over the last 15 years. The death tally, though, does not include black-lung disease, which still kills hundreds of miners every year.
The administration has tried to make surface mining more economical by changing the rules to make it easier for coal companies to blast off the tops of mountains and dispose of tons of rubble in valleys and streams.
Environmentalists say such "mountaintop removal" has destroyed some of Appalachia's beauty and polluted water supplies.
But White House and industry officials say there is a larger case to be made for coal, which fuels generators that produce half the nation's electricity. As natural gas prices have soared, it has become much cheaper to use coal. And coal is plentiful and secure, with domestic reserves that could last for 230 years.
James L. Connaughton, the chairman of the White House's Council on Environmental Quality, said the changes in the mountaintop mining rules were "all part of the broader effort to sustain coal as a critical part of the nation's energy mix, because it's affordable, it's reliable and it's domestically secure."
Return to Top of Page
WASHINGTON - Oil prices could rise as high as $50 per barrel before the year is up, analysts say, as the world's growing thirst for crude stretches supplies thin and uncertainty abounds in petroleum-producing nations.
''The fundamental fact is that oil is tight,'' says Leo Drollas, chief economist for the London-based Center for Global Energy Studies. Drollas believes $40 is a more likely price in the next month or two, although if demand is strong and the weather is cold this winter, prices could reach $50.
Prices might leap even higher if there were a major supply disruption, analysts said.
Even at $50 per barrel, prices would be about 12 percent less expensive than they were leading up to the first Gulf War, and more than 40 percent below the levels reached during the oil crisis of the early 1980s, when inflation is taken into account.
Of course, current high prices could begin to sap demand for gasoline and weaken the broader economy - both of which would cool today's red-hot oil markets.
And while a terrorist attack in the United States would cause a brief run-up in the cost of oil, analysts said that would likely be followed by a longer-term decline in prices because of the negative impact such an event would have on the economy.
On Wednesday, oil futures retreated from record-highs set the day before as concerns about Russian supplies abated and government data showed U.S. gasoline supplies rising. That still left oil for September delivery at $42.83 per barrel, or about 35 percent higher than a year ago.
The main reason for soaring prices nowadays is that global demand has risen faster than producers had expected, leaving the market with very little cushion in the event of an unexpected supply problem, terror-related or otherwise.
PFC Energy, a Washington-based consulting firm, estimates that total global production will average 82.1 million barrels a day in 2004, or just 100,000 barrels a day above consumption.
''OPEC is putting out a lot of oil, but the market is absorbing it,'' said Jamal Qureshi, an oil market analyst at PFC Energy.
On Tuesday, U.S. light crude for September delivery soared to a closing price of $44.15 - an all-time high on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
An economic slowdown is spreading around the world as record oil prices, falling stocks and weak technology spending ripple from South Korea and Japan to the U.S. and Germany, casting doubt on a global recovery taken for granted just a few months ago.
Global weaknesses are an added worry for the U.S. because a three-year spending spree by American consumers is winding down, and economists had been counting on higher exports to help keep the U.S. expansion on track in the coming year.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported Friday that the U.S. trade deficit widened to a record $55.82 billion in June from $46.88 billion in May. That was a result of a 4.3% plunge in exports and a 3.3% jump in imports, driven heavily by a higher bill for oil from overseas. Some economists said the trade data may mean second-quarter growth could be revised down to an annual rate of about 2.5% from the government's 3% initial estimate.
Also Friday, the Japanese government said growth plunged to an annual rate of 1.7% in the second quarter, mostly because of a slump in business investment, after topping 6% in each of the previous two quarters. That was a jarring development in what has been shaping up as Japan's most promising expansion in more than a decade. At the same time, stock prices around the world were weighed down by cautious comments from major technology companies such as Cisco Systems Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co.
"The risks that the global economy will enter an extended soft patch are rising," economists at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. wrote in a report to clients Friday. They estimate that world growth probably slowed sharply to a 2.7% annual rate in the second quarter after several quarters above 5%.
Asian economies are particularly exposed, because many are more oil-dependent than the U.S., while China, their fastest-growing market, is slowing as monetary authorities work to cool inflationary pressures. Oil jumped $1.08 a barrel to a record $46.58 at the close of trading Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. A refinery fire in Indiana, the potential threat from hurricane Charley to oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and jitters over yesterday's referendum in Venezuela on Hugo Chavez's presidency all added to fears of interrupted supply.
To be sure, the latest data could prove to be anomalies, and indeed, some more-recent figures, such as August unemployment-insurance claims in the U.S. and July business and consumer-confidence surveys in Japan, portray a more upbeat picture. Strong commodity prices suggest that there has been no dramatic falloff in global demand, even from China. Furthermore, higher oil prices are a net positive for countries that export oil, such as Canada, Mexico and the U.K. "It's very easy to tell either side of the story," said Bruce Kasman, head of economic research at J.P. Morgan. And oil prices could retreat in coming weeks if fears of supply disruptions prove unfounded.
Nonetheless, some policy makers around the world are worried. "Growth in the rest of the world appears to be slowing," U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said in Boca Raton, Fla., Friday, where he addressed a business group. "The price of oil is causing an economic headwind."
U.S. copper usage dropped for the third year in a row. The 2003 level of 6,984 million pounds is a 4.6% decrease from the revised 2002 level of 7,324 million pounds. Exports of mill products in 2003 fell also, down 1.5% to 742 million pounds. Imports, at 960 million pounds, were up 1.2% from the previous year.
U.S. copper mine production dropped slightly by 2.0% to 2,460 million pounds from last year's 2,512 million pounds, according to "Annual Data 2004 – Copper Supply and Consumption, 1983-2003," published this month by the Copper Development Association Inc. The report covers the industry's vital statistics from mine to end-use market over the past two decades and may be viewed in the Market Data section .
Electrowon copper production was down 1.5% at 1,304 million pounds, while smelter production at 1,188 million pounds represented a decline of 21.1%. Total production of refined copper at 2,880 million pounds dipped 13.6% from 2002 levels, and consumption of refined copper at 5,062 million pounds was down 3.1%. The direct consumption of scrap was down by 5.2% at 2,042 million pounds.
Building construction (3,382 million pounds) continued to be the largest end-use market for copper products, accounting for nearly half, 48.4%, of total U.S. usage. Electrical and electronic products (1,450 million pounds) accounted for 20.7% of total usage; consumer and general products (759 million pounds), 10.9%; transportation equipment (724 million pounds), 10.4%; and industrial machinery and equipment (675 million pounds), 9.6%.
Return to Top of Page
WASHINGTON - Interior Secretary Gale Norton will sign an order today prohibiting new hard-rock mining along 200 miles of the Colorado, Green and Dolores rivers outside Canyonlands National Park.
While there has been little hard-rock mining development along the rivers in recent years, Norton's order will prevent any new mining claims for the next 20 years from rim to rim in the canyons carved by the rivers, covering, in all, 111,895 acres.
We are very pleased that this will ensure the protection of these areas, Norton said in an interview Friday. The rim-to-rim protection will allow boaters and people driving along these waterways in the canyon to continue to see beautiful vistas.
The picturesque river corridors, which run past Arches National Park, Dead Horse Point and Fisher Towers, are immensely popular with river rafters and tours, which draw more than 150,000 river runners each year and bring more than $4 million in retail sales to the area economy.
Norton said she has been struck by what a gorgeous stretch of canyon the Colorado River Canyon is.
The action also would protect 161 prehistoric sites and habitat for six threatened and endangered species along the river corridors.
Plans for the mining withdrawal were launched in December 1999. The Utah director of the federal Bureau of Land Management signed the document in April 2003, but it took time to be approved by Interior Department officials in Washington.
The announcement comes as part of a Western swing in which Norton is seeking to bring to the forefront President Bush's accomplishments on the environment, which polls have shown is a weakness for Bush.
On Monday, she will be cutting the ribbon at the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado and on Tuesday will be announcing a species conservation plan in Phoenix. Norton said the timing of the withdrawal was not motivated by the Nov. 2 presidential election.
We certainly wanted to be sure that this was done correctly and had support of local governments, Indian tribes and state and local governments, and it does, she said. It has been on my schedule of things to do for a number of months and I personally wanted to do this withdrawal myself.
Liz Thomas, an attorney with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, said the withdrawal is widely supported. But she expressed frustration at the Interior Department's decision to allow oil and gas development on some of the same lands.
At its most recent oil and gas lease sale on Sept. 8, the Bureau of Land Management auctioned off several parcels at the confluence of the Dolores and Colorado rivers just north of Fisher Towers, further north along the Colorado, and in Desolation Canyon along the Green River.
This is a nice withdrawal. I'm not putting that down at all, Thomas said. It's very frustrating to have her saying that 'We want to protect the scenery. . . . It seems a little ironic that we're withdrawing it for hard rock mining but we're opening it for oil and gas drilling.
Interior Department spokesman Dan DuBray said land in the canyons was leased for oil and gas development, but there were restrictions prohibiting surface occupancy to preserve the river view shed. The leases also are under protest by environmental groups, so no drilling will be allowed until the opposition is resolved.
Existing mining claims along the rivers will continue to be honored, although there are only a handful of those and they are not believed to be economically viable.
In recent years, the Bureau of Land Management office has had isolated cases where claim holders have bulldozed areas along the river, forcing the BLM to pay for a costly restoration of the so-called nuisance mining.
It is the first such withdrawal during Norton's term. There is an existing withdrawal for about 25 miles along the Dolores river from the Utah-Colorado border.
FORM PARTNERSHIP FOR CLEANUP OF ABANDONED MINES
SALT LAKE CITY, Aug.18, 2004 --The USDA Forest Service and Trout Unlimited announced today they have signed a memorandum of understanding to bring national awareness and support to their joint cleanup work of abandoned mine sites.
"There should be no doubt federal land stewards need to remain diligent in finding ways to deal with abandoned mine sites," said Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth at a news conference at the Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort overlooking the American Fork Canyon. "Nothing short of the quality of some of the west's best rivers and streams -- and the public's drinking water -- are at stake."
"The EPA estimates that 40 percent of the west's headwater streams are affected by abandoned mines," said Chris Wood, Trout Unlimited Vice President for Conservation Programs. "Abandoned mines are the environmental equivalent of the crazy aunt in the attic – they're a huge problem no one wants to talk about." Trout Unlimited also released a report on the environmental threats of abandoned hard rock mines.
Restoration of healthy watersheds is a primary mission of the USDA Forest Service. The agency's program to clean up abandoned mine sites has helped restore water quality for public health and safety, as well as fish and other wildlife, on national forests throughout the United States. A notable example includes the American Fork Canyon on the Uinta National Forest. In spite of the progress made to date, there are still tens of thousands of sites needing restoration. The Forest Service has set an ambitious goal of cleaning up these sites by 2045.
"To reach our goal and clean up entire watersheds that often cross several ownerships, we need the public's support and strong partnerships with state and local agencies, the mining industry, and groups like Trout Unlimited," Bosworth said.
Trout Unlimited and the USDA Forest Service have worked together on many projects in the past, including cleanup of abandoned mines in Colorado's upper Arkansas River watershed. Through the combined efforts of Federal, State and Private parties, along with many volunteers, including members of Trout Unlimited, the Arkansas River has seen significant increases in trout populations in the area immediately below Leadville.
"A formal partnership agreement between Trout Unlimited and the Forest Service would serve the goals of both organizations; and most importantly, the needs of the American people and many wildlife species," Wood said. "If we work together, we can cleanup entire watersheds." Trout Unlimited would focus on working with private land owners, while the Forest Service would focus on national forest system land. Contact:Joe Walsh, Forest Service, (202) 205-1294 or Tim Zink, Trout Unlimited, (703) 284-9427
Environmental Protection Agency administrator and former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt on Saturday recognized the massive South Jordan housing development Daybreak for meeting EPA energy efficiency standards.
All seven builders involved in the master-planned development by Kennecott Land are building homes with the EPA's highest energy rating -- five stars. Homes built with this rating have features such as energy-efficient windows and ample insulation to reduce heating and cooling costs, saving homeowners an average of $200 to $400 each year in utility costs.
The builders honored Saturday are Destination Homes, Bangerter Homes, Richmond American Homes, Holmes Homes, Gold Medallion Homes, Rainey Homes and Liberty Homes. Ence Homes, which builds in southern Utah, also was honored Saturday for meeting the EPA standards for energy efficiency.
At Daybreak, Kennecott Land plans to build 13,667 single-family and multifamily units on 4,126 acres over the next 10 to 15 years. When completed, the development is expected to be Utah's largest residential community -- and one of the largest in the nation.
Return to Top of Page
Due to increased demand, the Utah Safety Council has added additional MSHA Part 48 refresher courses to their existing schedule.
Following is the new schedule:
MSHA 8-hour annual Refresher for Surface Miners - Part 48 - the course is $75 per person.
September 27, October 21, November 15, and December 9, 2004
MSHA 24-hour Training for New Surface Miners - Part 48 - the course is $175 per person
September 28-29 and November 16-17, 2004
To register contact the Utah Safety Council (801)262-5400 or (800)933-5943 if outside the Salt Lake Metro. Website: www.utahsafetycouncil.org
Return to Top of Page
Utah Power, which raised its customer rates an average of 7.7 percent April 1, on Wednesday filed a new request with the Public Service Commission asking for permission to increase the rates the state's electricity users pay by another $111 million.
If granted in full, the rate increase will be the largest for the utility in at least 15 years. It will hike rates nearly 10 percent and add approximately $4.75 per month to the typical residential customer's bill.
"Good grief! A $111 million increase?" said Claire Geddes, a consumer advocate and principal of Utah Legislative Watch. "Given the way the economy is right now and the big rate hikes we've seen in the recent past, a lot of consumers probably can't afford such an increase, even if it is justified."
Utah Power, part of ScottishPower-owned PacifiCorp, said it needs the rate increase to help meet growing demand for electricity in the state and to recapture millions already invested in power-generating and distribution assets - investments made to ensure its customers have a source of electricity they can count on.
"We never approach a rate increase request lightly," Rich Walje, a PacifiCorp executive vice president, said in a statement. "However, the growth in customer demand for electricity takes investment to expand the system to ensure safe, reliable service."
The utility maintains even with its proposed increase, the rate Utahns will pay for their power will remain among the lowest in the nation - lower even than the rate they were paying in 1985.
"With this rate increase, and depending on how it is allocated among the various customer classes, Utahns will be paying somewhere around 7 cents per kilowatt-hour for their electricity," Utah Power spokesman Dave Eskelsen said. "In 1985 they were paying approximately 8.5 cents [per kilowatt-hour]."
Such numbers, though, provide little solace for low-income Utahns.
"There are going to be a lot of people whose budgets are going to be squeezed," said Sherm Roquiero, director of HEAT - the Utah Home Energy Assistance Target program.
The HEAT program last winter provided nearly 34,000 low-income Utahns with grants of $250 to $300 to help them with their heating costs. And while Utah Power's rates may rise, the HEAT program's budget is expected to remain flat in coming years.
"Obviously, it [the rate increase] is going to make it more difficult for us to help the disabled, the working poor and the elderly," Roquiero said.
Utah Power likely will see plenty of opposition emerge to its requested hike.
The Committee of Consumer Services, which represents the interest of individual utility customers and small businesses in rate cases, expects to begin its analysis of the company's request immediately.
"We were anticipating the company asking for an increase in the $80 million to $90 million range, so it was quite a bit more than anticipated," said Roger Ball, the committee's director. "We'll be doing a thorough analysis of every aspect of their request."
Under state law, the PSC must issue a decision on Utah Power's request within 240 days, PSC spokeswoman Julie Orchard said. "So that means we are probably looking at a hearings sometime in early January or perhaps February."
During those hearings, the public will get a chance to offer commissioners their opinions on Utah Power's rate hike request.
Return to Top of Page
John Kerry has been a fierce advocate of our nation's treasures. He has led the fight against opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling and has vigorously fought to preserve and extend our nation's wilderness areas and special places. John Kerry recognizes that our public lands have provided us with important timber, mineral and energy resources through the years, but he will not allow development interests to trump the responsibilities that we have to be good stewards to our resources for future generations, and he strongly objects to the Bush Administration's strong tilt toward short-term exploitation of our public lands. John Kerry will enter into a "Conservation Covenant" with the American people to tread lightly on the public lands and preserve America's treasures for our children, and their children. To implement the Conservation Covenant, John Kerry will:
- Reinvest royalties obtained from extracting resources from the public lands back into protecting our lands and special places.
- Require that before remote public lands are opened up to new resource development, the federal government evaluate the long-term economic and environmental costs associated with such actions.
- Put new teeth into requirements that private companies and individuals who lease public lands return the land to its original state after completing energy development, grazing, or timber operations.
- Reinstate the protection of roadless areas in our National Forests, and ban logging in our rare, old growth forests.
- Honor the solitude and beauty of wilderness areas and our National Parks by keeping snowmobiles and jet skis out of Yellowstone and other sensitive areas, and by honestly addressing visitor and wildlife needs in our National Parks.
- Celebrate the biodiversity of our nation, and implement the Endangered Species Act in a cooperative manner that extends the benefits of wildlife and habitat protection to public and private lands.
- Modernize our mining laws and provide a fair return to the American people for mining operations on public lands.
It is a national disgrace that hard rock mining on the public lands is conducted under the authority of the Mining Law of 1872 – a law that includes no meaningful environmental requirements, and which allows claimants to take billions of dollars in gold and other public assets off of federal lands without paying a nickel in royalties to the US Treasury.
Not surprisingly, the Bush Administration has not lifted a finger to right this wrong. Acting under his "Conservation Covenant," John Kerry will work with the Congress to bring the mining industry from the 19th to the 21st century.
Return to Top of Page
SEPTEMBER
27-30 MINExpo 2004, Las Vegas convention center, Las Vegas, NV. For info visit http://www.minexpo.com
OCTOBER
12-14 Western Fuels Symposium, Billings, Montana. For info visit http://www.undeerc.org/wfc
DECEMBER
6-10 Northwest Mining Association Annual Meeting, Red Lion Hotel, Spokane, Washington. For info visit http://nwma.org
Return to Top of Page Return to Home Page