Huh. God-Fearin' Trump-Votin' Utahns Don't Want Sand Mining Operation In Their Backyard

Well, good luck.

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The Kanab City Council is expected to vote next week on a proposed water-service agreement to supply the mining operation, and the Kane County Planning Commission will decide on a proposed conditional use permit that will establish numerous operational guidelines. The operation would directly support 40 jobs, depending on its size, which has yet to be determined, according to Chad Staheli, CEO for Southern Red Sands.

"They say they are responding to the market, but it's not the market. It's crony capitalism," said Battista, an engineer by training who intends to run for Kanab City Council. "Crony capitalism is when you get a sweetheart deal for 600 acre-feet of water." Southern Red Sands' operations manager is Kane County Commissioner Andy Gant, who happens to be an in-law to Mike Noel, the retired state lawmaker who oversees the Kane water district.

Gant said he does not expect the mine proposal to come before the County Commission, so he is not concerned his interests might get conflicted. Unless the mine requires a variance, approval for the mine’s conditional use permit rests entirely with the county’s Planning Commission, which will render a decision Wednesday, he said. The water district board discussed the mine’s proposed water-service agreement in executive session seven times over the past year before approving it in a public session April 11.

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The leases initially called for a royalty of $3 a ton, but the company renegotiated it down to $1 on each of the first 2 million tons, graduating to $1.50 after 4 million tons. Southern Red Sands, meanwhile, holds 520 claims, filed last year by another company, on about 12,000 acres of surrounding federal land, according to an online database known as The Diggings. The annual cost to maintain these claims is nearly $89,000. This suggests the firm intends to expand operations if the initial mine pays off.

EDIT

https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2019/07/07/worried-about-truck/