| OCR Text |
Show TheEmeryCountyReview.com Fair Take me to the Magic of county fair returns Horse ‘n’ Buggy Days Residents celebrate history and heritage of Elmo REVIEW C1 B1 Emery County The Volume 2, Issue 31. Local News, Local Voice, Locally Owned Nuclear powered debate Questions arise as companies eye industrial park for possible site of nuclear power plant James L. Davis The prospects of a nuclear powered Emery County became a topic of discussion and disagreement during the July 15 meeting of the Emery County Commission. During the public comments portion of the meeting John Urgo of HEAL Utah, an organization opposed to nuclear power, urged the county to reconsider supporting plans by Transition Power Development for a proposed nuclear power plant near Green River. Transition Power has expressed interest in Emery County’s industrial park being developed outside Green River for the location of a nuclear power plant, and the county has signed an option contract with the company that allows Transition Power first option on purchasing acreage for the plant development. From a slide presentation he discussed with the commission, Urgo said using history as a guide, betting the farm on a nuclear revival only gave the county a 50/50 chance of ever seeing it pay off. He said there have been more nuclear reactor orders canceled than completed in the United States. Commissioner Gary Kofford told Urgo that he was “putting the cart before the horse” in regards to a nuclear power plant. “We aren’t jumping on board anything that hasn’t been thoroughly looked at and studied.” If Transition Power did decide on the Green River site for development of a nuclear plant, the road to development of a plant is long and winding, and an initial application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission wouldn’t be filed until 2010, with construction taking years after that. Before a plant development got to that point the process would be exhaustive and complicated. “Commissioner Kofford told me I was putting the cart before the horse in coming to the meeting, and while it’s true an application to the NRC might not be filed until 2010, and construction will take years, the county’s role could be done in a few weeks or months,” Urgo said after the meeting. “I say this because the commission agreed to an option contract with Transition Power in April that goes into effect once the land deal is finalized with SITLA (State Institutional Trust Lands Administration). Mike McCandless (Emery County Economic Development director) told me this deal is being final- Continued on Page A3. Fire continues to burn on Dry Mountain A lightning caused fire in the Ferron Creek drainage continues to burn, with smoke and flames visible from Ferron Canyon Road. The fire is approximately nine miles west of Ferron on Dry Mountain and started on July 22. The fire is expected to burn for the next few weeks, depending on weather conditions and fire behavior, according to the Ferron Ranger District. There are no closures due to the fire at this time. The fire is being managed to accomplish resource objectives as outlined in the Manti-La Sal’s Fire Management Plan. Under specific management guidelines, the plan allows naturally ignited fires to burn within designated Wildland Fire Use areas. Under these conditions, fire is allowed to play its natural role on the landscape. Wildland fire use accomplishes many resource benefits including improvement to wildlife habitat for mule deer and elk and reduction of the build-up of hazardous fuels. Wildland fire use can also reduce fire suppression costs and keep firefighters available for priority fire suppression efforts elsewhere. Monitoring is a high priority. Managers review the fire’s progress and weather forecasts to determine if the fire stays in predesignated boundaries and if resource objectives are being met. Wild fire use is often a long duration event. Fires may burn all summer until snow or rain puts them out or they may burn only one or two days. Smoke can be a temporary inconvenience to the general public along with limited travel and potential closure of public use within the effected areas. Closures are not expected in the Dry Mountain Fire Use area. 75 Cents Tuesday, July 29, 2008 Reports point finger at mine owners, MSHA Josie Luke After waiting for nearly a year, family of the nine men who were killed, and community members listened as separate reports, released last week, condemned both the operators of Crandall Canyon Mine and the Mine Safety and Health Administration for their roles in the Crandall Canyon Mine Accident. The lengthy reports, one completed by MSHA and the other by an independent review team, chronicled numerous missteps taken by both groups. The report completed by MSHA revealed the mining plan used at the Crandall Canyon Mine was “destined to fail,” and despite the claims of the mine’s owner, “The August 6 collapse was not a “natural” earthquake, but rather was caused by a flawed mine design.” The report concluded, “The extensive pillar failure and subsequent inundation of the section by oxygen-de- ficient air occurred because of inadequacies in the mine design, faulty pillar recovery methods, and failure to adequately revise mining plans following coal burst accidents.” Families of the men who died were the first to hear the final MSHA report the morning of July 24. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Colin King, an attorney for the heirs of six of the miners who died and two injured miners reported, “There is sadness, pain, dread and some relief that this is past them. They were intensely interested in what MSHA had to say. [The report] brings pain and progress to these families, a strange mixture of knowledge and additional questions.” MSHA’s report cited Genwal Resources Inc. for not “reporting the extent” of a coal burst which occurred on March 6, “failing to immediately inform MSHA” of bursts on March Continued on Page A3. Desertview Pro Rodeo Photos by Josie Luke For the 10th year in a row, the Desertview Pro Rodeo offered thrills for rodeo fans as professional cowboys gathered in Castle Dale for a chance at prize money. T One Wild Ride he 2008 Desertview Pro Rodeo was “by far, the best three nights of rodeo we’ve ever had,” according to organizers. With the help of countless volunteers, the rodeo broke all-time attendance records, both on Thursday night and overall. The 10th anniversary hide races proved to be a crowd favorite, with a judge and an electronic eye taken out by race participants, and a participant losing her britches. “I can’t pay for that kind of funny, “Shannon Hiatt, Emery County Recreation Director related. “Tough enough to wear pink” night, Saturday, brought in more that $1,500 to Perkie Travels from attendees who wore pink, and additional funds from the Continued on Page A6. Questar proposes settlement on tax appeal James L. Davis County leaders are weighing their options on how to approach an appeal of centrally assessed taxes by Questar for the years 2006 and 2007. Questar, doing business as Questar Gas, Questar Pipeline Company and Questar Transportation Company, has appealed its centrally assessed property taxes and in the July 15 meeting of the Emery County Commission, county Treasurer Steven J. Barton informed the commissioners that Questar is now suggesting a settlement agreement with counties in the state. According to Barton the settlement agreement mirrors a similar agreement the Utah Tax Commission imposed in assessing values for PacifiCorp in 2006. The Utah Association of Counties is waiting for all of the counties of Utah to decide if they want to settle on the tax appeal or go through the expense of legal fees to take the appeal to court. Counties have fought centrally assessed tax appeals by corporations in court in the past, but the success rate on winning those cases have been less than stellar. For Emery County’s part, the commission has not yet decided whether it would be in the county’s best interest to fight the tax appeal. If Questar is granted tax relief, the county would have to repay Questar $6,327 and the Emery County School District would be required to repay $8,087. According to Barton, the county has the right to impose a judgment levy on all taxpayers to reimburse the county the money lost by the repayment, should the amount be more than $5,000. The county would have to consider such an option because in its budgets for years 2006 and 2007 it based the budgets on the funds being available. In 2006 in Emery County Questar Gas property assessed value was $1,519,137 and in 2007 the company property was assessed at $1,524,349 In 2006 Questar Pipeline property was assessed value at $2,859,503 and in 2007 $2,950,358. In 2006 Questar Transportation Services property was valued at $6,688,115 and in 2007 $6,390,276. |
