NEWS RELEASE
August 31, 2004
Contact: Dianne Nielson, Natural Resource Damage Trustee, (801) 536-4402
(Salt Lake City, Utah) – Natural Resource Damage Trustee Dianne Nielson today approved a plan to clean up sulfate-contaminated groundwater in the Southwest Jordan Valley area of Salt Lake County.
Nielson, Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation and Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District signed the agreements, which implement the plan and approve trust funds for the cleanup operations.
“After thoughtful consideration, I’m pleased to announce that an approved plan is now in place that will remove contamination from the aquifer and prevent the spread of contamination,” Nielson said. “I appreciate the involvement of stakeholders and comments from the public. Their participation and recommendations resulted in changes to the original proposal and led to a better process to clean up contamination.”
The Irrevocable Letter of Credit will be replaced by two Irrevocable Letters of Credit, which will provide funds to construct and maintain two reverse osmosis treatment plants that will remove contamination from the aquifer and provide municipal-quality drinking water to residents in the Affected Area. The original Irrevocable Letter of Credit was provided by Kennecott as part of a Trust Fund established in 1995.
As part of Kennecott's remedial efforts, much of the infrastructure required to implement the project is already in place. However, several tasks remain to be completed. Kennecott will:
Likewise, Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District has a series of next steps to implement their part of the plan. They will:
The Southwest Jordan Valley Stakeholder Forum will continue to facilitate review and discussion of issues concerning the project, including coordinating with stakeholders, the South End Technical Review Committee and the Great Salt Lake Water Quality Steering Committee. Activities related to the Forum are posted online at http://www.deq.utah.gov/issues/nrd/index.htm#stakeholderforum.
Furthermore, the stakeholder-based Great Salt Lake Water Quality Steering Committee has been established to conduct scientific studies on selenium in the Great Salt Lake and recommend a numeric standard for the Lake.
As Trustee, Nielson does not have the authority to address third-party claims or private well owner water rights. However, as the project moves forward, there is a commitment from both Kennecott and Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District to address quality (contaminant-related) and quantity (drawdown) impacts to individual well owners. This will be done on a case-by-case basis, using specific review procedures.
Final documents relating to this project, as well as the Trustee’s response to comments made during the public comment periods, are available online at http://www.deq.utah.gov/issues/nrd/index.htm.
Hard copies are available for review during regular business hours at the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, 168 N. 1950 West, Salt Lake City, and at the West Jordan City Hall, 8000 S. Redwood Rd., West Jordan.