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SALT LAKE CITY — Kennecott promises the biggest single investment anyone has ever made in the history of Utah — billions of dollars to expand the Bingham Canyon Mine. But to critics, the price in human health is not worth it.
Wednesday afternoon, Kennecott won the day on a split vote of 5 to 4. The expansion plan for the mine requires about two dozen different government approvals, but this most recent one is the biggie — a thumbs-up from the Utah Division of Air Quality Board.
With the proposed expansion, Kennecott wants to push back the south wall of the Bingham Canyon Mine by 1,000 feet and deepen the entire pit by 300 feet. If they do, the mine will stay open until 2028.
"We contribute nearly a billion dollars every year to the economy through jobs and services and taxes and so forth," said Kennecott spokeswoman Jana Kettering. "And we also directly or indirectly employ around 17,000 people."
But the Air Quality board saw an array of opponents — like Utah Moms for Clean Air and Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment — who say it's not worth it.
"I've taken care of children critically ill and in the ICU from asthma," said Shelley Marshall, a nurse who's part of the Utah Moms for Clean Air group. "My children are 2 and 6, and I just feel we cannot support one ounce, one particulate matter, of pollution."
If you look at it as a whole, there will be a 9 percent decrease in emission in the valley (after the expansion is complete).
–Jana Kettering, Kennecott spokeswoman
#kettering_quote
But Kennecott claims other modernizations will cut pollution. "If you look at it as a whole, there will be a 9 percent decrease in emission in the valley (after the expansion is complete)," Kettering said.
"We don't believe it for a minute," said Dr. Brian Moench, with Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment.
The state air quality division recommended approval of a large expansion of mining, even though all elements of the plan haven't been fully evaluated — including the claim that overall pollution will drop.
"We have not made that evaluation at this point," said Bryce Bird, with the Utah Division of Air Quality.
"For the biggest pollution source in this valley to be granted an increase, to us really is a defiance of public health needs," Moench said.
Opponents claim Kennecott is already illegally mining more rock volumes than allowed by the existing permit. They're threatening to go to court.
Email: jhollenhorst@ksl.com
