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Show Utah tar sands projects need funding Some $300 million in Department of Energy funds should be released in August for development of alternative fuels, and Gov. Scott M. Matheson wants a large share of that to go to tar sands projects in Utah. The Department of Energy recently approved $200 million for synthetic fuel development. About $11 million was earmarked for Utah projects. Matheson said most of that money went to oil shale nroierts and it nonpars tar sands is "falling through the cracks again." Five applicants with tar sands proposals have been asked by the governor to resubmit them for funding from the additional appropriations. While in Washington recently, Matheson met with the secretary of the Interior about the state obtaining indemnity in-demnity lands for lands confiscated over the years by the federal government. govern-ment. He said the state is entitled to 225,000 acres in exchange for state school sections it has given up to the federal nmwiwiBu government. A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision said the land must be transferred value for value, rather than one piece of land exchanged for another, regardless of mineral or other rights. The state would like to obtain valuable mineral lands from which it could receive revenues to operate the school system in Utah. Matheson said the Washington meeting resulted in the federal gpvernment officials aggreeing to develop a process by which the state could obtain the land it wants administratively. ad-ministratively. Within ten days, Matheson said, the Interior Department Depart-ment will release approaches it feels can be followed for the land transfer. "I'm only mildly optimistic it will succeed," Mathedon said. He said he has not ruled out going to Congress for an amendment to the Taylor Grazing Act for the stale to obtain what he and other state officials believe states deserve. |