OCR Text |
Show State wants to close disposal pits by Vicki Barker The Utah Division of Oil, Gas and mining will seek permanent closure of the KeystoneAVallace disposal pits in San Juan County, according to Director Dianne Nielson. The state closed the dis- posal facility south of La Sal by emergency order following reports of leakage from ponds holding salt water and wastes from oil and gas drilling. Also, the Bureau of Land Unaware of her celebrity status, Rainey Dawn Billsie yawns while being miss was born photographed as Baby New Year, 1992. The January at 5:17 a.m. at the Blanding Birthing Center. The family portrait includes her brother Uriah, and mom and dad: Derick and Elvina Billsie of Blanding. The family will receive a pile of gifts donated by local merchants. nd 12-oun- ce 1 The San Juan Record HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER FOR SAN JUAN COUNTY, UTAH Vol 73 No 49 30 cents January 8, 1992 Commission against consolidating UDOT office Monday, January 6, the San Juan County commission resolved to oppose a proposal by the Utah De- torney Craig Halls public hearings are required be- partment of Transportation (UDOT) to close its Price district office and combine it with the southwestern office currently located in necessary. Cedar City. The proposed consolidated office would be in Richfield. The commission expressed concern that this change would greatly weaken county. roads, treme areas would service to the They cited several especially in the exsouthern and eastern of the county, that suffer particular ne- glect. Citizens of Bluff repetitioned the commission to Bluff residents want the question of what kind of system should be installed postponed until the district has been formed. This is not the first time a committee from Bluff has petitioned for a sewer district. When the issue was last discussed, it did not pass. Speaking for signers of the petition, Steve and Craig Simpson gave several reasons. Last time a form a sewer district. mosquito district and a recreation district were tied to the sewer district. Controversy over what kind of system to install overshadowed the need for the district. The Simpsons also felt that the hearings were not well enough publicized. According to District At fore a district can be formed, but no election is In response to an attempt by Congressmen Bill Orton and Wayne Owens to give state governors the decision for all radioactive waste coming into a state, the commission signed a resolution to support this The resolution change. also cited a need in the county for radioactive feed materials to be processed at the White Mesa uranium processing mill. Commissioner Bill Redd reported that most construction is finished at the Cal Black Airport Crossing. at Halls Fuel tanks and the terminal building have yet to be completed. The airport should be ready for use in the spring. The county, the College of Eastern Utah, and San Juan School District are working toward use of state PILT (Payment In Lieu of Taxes) money to solve several problems in the county: recreation, housing for school teachers, and an endowment fund for students attending college in the county. The plan involves loaning the county recreation trust fund to a service district, the San Juan School District Foundation, to provide teacher housing and to finance the endowment fund. The service district would accept the PILT funds from the state and pay back the recreation trust fund. The commission will continue to work with the college and the school district the on plan. The amount in question includes $900,000 in the recreation trust fund and $105,000 in already-receive- Management conducted an emergency mapping survey of the site and confirmed that part of the facility is constructed on public land without authorization, which constitutes trespass, Nielson said. Status of the closure, a report on findings indicating violation of state code regulating disposal sites, and conditions of the state permit for Grand County to operate the facility will be discussed at the January 22 meeting of the Divisions board of directors. I anticipate the Division will ask the board for final closure of the pits, Nielson The leakage is the said. first documented at the Keystone Pits. Nielson said analysis of fluid samples taken this fall from the evaporation pond and from two newly drilled monitoring wells on the perimeter of the pond indicate the pits no longer meet requirements and standards for construction and operation under a state permit. prevent leakage, the county or operator would To have to reconstruct the pond system with clay-line- modern synthetic mate- Nielson said. rial, The emergency closure order included a state order for Grand County to provide security at the site to prevent additional disposal of produced water or other oil and Spot gas field wastes. checks to ensure compliance with the order have been conducted since the closure on November 25, Nielson said. She said Grand County will have an opportunity to appeal the closure at a hearEarlier ing in January. Grand this month, County commissioners announced plans to consult an engineering firm for advice on how to keep the facility op- erational. Commissioners dumping fees at the said Key- the stone facility countys other disposal site at Cisco account for more than $100,000 in annual and county revenue. The Cisco facility is still open, but earlier this year dampness was detected beyond the pits, indicating possible leakage. A dye test once is planned the is full to evaporation pond see if the clay liner leaks. d PILT money. All parties continue to work on details of the agreement. The county also wants some assurance from the state that once committed, the PILT funds will continue until the loan from the recreation fund is paid off. Commissioners awarded bids for the following supplies and services: oil, grease, and antifreeze to Black Oil; corrugated pipe to Amcor; end sections to Contech; small and rock tires to Schafer Tire; other tires to Grand Tire. Also, Carbon-monoxid- exhaust e systems for both county road sheds to Merritt Distributing, and batteries to Intermountain Battery. In other business, commission the appointed Buddy Black to the Economic Tourist and Promotion Board; approved re- quests for beer licenses; granted changes in pay status for several county employees; approved an engineering agreement for Pack Creek Bridge replacement; and reelected Commissioner Ty Lewis as chairman. Tax packages in the mail With the new year come new tax packages. Beginning on January 2, post offices across the country delivered over 110 million 1991 federal income tax packages. The 1991 tax forms look much like last years forms, with a few tax law changes that you should be aware of: - The Earned Income Tax Credit has been expanded. It includes the basic credit, a health insurance credit, and an extra credit for a child born in 1991. Generally, you may be able to get an earned income tax credit for 1991 if your taxable and nontax-abl- e earned income was less than $21,250 and you have a qualifying child or children who lived with you in the U.S. - The exemption deduction for yourself and your dependents has increased to $2,150 and the standard deduction amounts have also increased. - The standard business d mileage rate for the use of a car has been increased to 27.5 cents per mile for most taxpayers. - Taxpayers who cashed in qualifying Series EE U.S. Savings Bonds in 1991 to pay education expenses may be able to exclude at least a part of the bond in- terest from their income. - The tax on capital gains for tax year 1991 will be limited to 28 percent. This is the case even for the taxpayer who is taxed at a higher rate on other in- come. - The personal interest itemized deduction, which has been gradually decreased the last several years, has been completely eliminated. Personal interest includes interest charged on credit cards, car loans and installment loans for personal use. - Taxpayers who claim a dependent who is one year or older must show that in- dividuals social security number on their tax return. (Please turn to page 3) |