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Show Hearings On Geneva Start Today, Local Residents Urged To Attend Public hearings on the proposed r plan at U.S. Steel's Geneva Works begin today, Dec. 6, in Salt Lake City, and continue Friday, Dec. 7, in Orem. The hearings in Salt Lake will be at the Salt Lake City Library Auditorium, 209 East 500 South, and in Orem at the Orem High School, 175 South 400 East. They will begin at 1 and 6:30 p.m. on both days. All interested persons are urged to attend these meetings, and express their views. At a meeting held Thursday of last week at the Orem City Center, Henry A. Huish, plant superintendent, said he is pleased Geneva is not on the current "hit" list of plants to be closed by VS. Steel as announced last week, but he warned, if agreement can't be reached with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on air pollution demands, the plant will still be shut down. He commended workers at the plant, calling them the "best in the world," and said this fact, plus the fact raw material is available to operate the facility, is in Geneva's favor. However, if agreement with the EPA isn't settled so operation of the plant is profitable, it will be closed. "Our future can be secure if we all do our jobs and if the federal government is responsible and responsive to our needs," Huish said. In regards to a memo presented to U.S. Steel by the EPA November 13, Huish noted it appears more stringent and restrictive than in the past. However, EPA officials have said the memo is not meant to be policy but is subject to major change. "I hope that is the case," Huish said, "if hot, as it now stands it would help put us out of business." Some of the changes indicated in the memo are on items already agreed upon, Huish said, and it is hoped this does not mean additional negotiations will be necessary along these lines. Two major areas are devices on the of difference still roof of the open hearth, and additional equipment in the blast furnace cast house, the plant superintendent noted. Huish said new requirements for additional reports have also been set up in the memo. These would require "reams of additional paper work," and a "corps of additional people- "- not only at Geneva but also at the EPA offices in Denver and in Washington D.C. making "these regulation costs jUst one' 'TOore- - barrierveefiin'-M- profitable." pffcnt" ! . 1179 Lehi Free Press Page IS Energy Pamphlet Solar energy systems are not as complicated as many Lehi residents Huish spoke at a meeting, called by the Citizens Coalition to Save Geneva. Dick Stone, chairman, said members wanted to find out "just what is going on at this point and where the plant clean-ai- Thursday, December 6, Free Solar stands." In an interview with Stanley H. Walker, Utah County Treasurer, it was noted that Utah Valley residents will have to dig deeper in their pocketbooks in order to pay property taxes if the steel plant should close down. Walker said the plant paid about $3 million in property taxes alone to the county this year. When you add the property, sales, and income taxes paid by satellite industries, and those paid by the 5,700 employees of the plant you come up with a few million dollars more. Residents of the valley would have to pick up this lost revenue if the same level of services now enjoyed were to be maintained. And while he could only make a rough prediction, Walker said it could mean an additional $100 or more for the average homeowner whose taxes are about $400 now. "I have no way of knowing for sure, of course," Walker said, "but there would be an increase." "It would have domino effect on the economy," he continued, with "all types of taxes affected. Sales tax to the cities would go down. Revenue sharing funds would decrease. And can you imagine what would happen to unemployment taxes with that many persons applying for unemployment at the same time?" The schools would be one of the hardest hit, as approximately 67 percent of the property tax dollar goes to them. In the Alpine School District, for example (Geneva Steel is located within their boundaries), 65.44 percent of the tax dollar goes to the schools. Residents of the state would feel the affect in this instance, also, as the state provides the districts with funding through the weighted pupil unit. "The tax base is the heart of our economy," Walker said, "and if the largest taxpayer is gone, everyone is going to feel it. "I can't see the reasoning of these people who say, 'Let the plant close. I want to have cleaner air, and if they (the steel company) won't provide it, then close it. It won't affect me; I don't work there,' " Mayor Malcolm H. Beck of American Fork commented, adding, "It would affect everyone." Officials noted that for every person jempjoyed. in,priy,ate todtry, there art five satejlite joljs.4 jobs jfotonly lJctia ,tin the UtahiValley buf elsewheare ln - believe. In fact, solar is "surprisingly simple," and is already cutting energy costs for thousands of U.S. homeowners according to a free publication from the technology National Wildlife Federation entitled, P New BMX Western Flyer IS "Solar Energy and the Homeowner." The new 91 .3 - 91 ' 21 is an introduction to commonly pamphlet solar used energy systems. "Hot water and pool heating are the most common applications for solar systems, with space heating becoming less expensive as the market rapidly expands," explains the publication. Solar electricity via power lines, however, will probably not arrive until 1990, barring some major technological v . 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