Great Salt Lake Minerals Expansion Proposal Fact Sheet

Great Salt Lake Minerals, Inc., is a privately owned minerals company that has operated on the shores of Great Salt Lake since 1970. GSL Minerals produces potassium sulfate (a fertilizer), sodium chloride and magnesium chloride.

The total existing operation of GSL Minerals is 43,000 acres in both Clyman and Bear River Bays. The Clyman Bay, located near Gunnison Island, is comprised of 21,000 acres of solar ponds, pump stations and dikes, including the Behren's Trench, which is a 21 mile long canal along the lake bottom that transports brine from the west to the east side of the lake. The Bear River Bay portion consists of 22,000 acres of diked solar evaporation ponds.

On February 20, 2007, GSL Minerals filed a nomination with the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands for a mineral lease approximately 22,700 acres below the meander line on the west side of Great Salt Lake for expanding its solar evaporation operations in Clyman Bay, Great Salt Lake.

GSL Minerals wants to expand the operation to increase the production of potassium sulfate to meet the global market demand. This lease would be a part of a larger project that would add an additional 8,000 acres of evaporation ponds in Bear River Bay, Great Salt Lake. GSL Minerals has held these leases since 1968.

If both parts of the proposed expansion go forward (for 33,000 additional acres) the footprint of GSL Minerals would nearly double to 76,000 acres. This is equivalent to 119 square miles, which is larger that Salt Lake City (110 sq. mi.).

In more relative terms, GSL Minerals would cover about 7.4% of the total surface of the lake at average lake levels (about 4200' above sea level). This number almost doubles at a low lake level to 13% of the total lake surface at low lake levels (about 4191' above sea level).

On April 25, 2007, comments on the nomination were submitted to the Division by Western Resource Advocates on behalf of the conservation community. The comments focused on the nomination of 23,088 Acres in Clyman Bay and on the proposed development of 8,000 Acres in Bear River Bay.

May 10-29, 2007, the Division solicited competitive bids through the Newspaper Agency Corporation. GSL Minerals was the only bid.

On May 29, 2007, the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands received a Mineral Lease of Sovereign Land Application for 23,088 acres for the Clyman Bay expansion.

On July 2, 2007, a Record of Decision Number 07-0601-200-00107 was issued by the Division granting a mineral lease (200 00107) for 23,088 acres to be issued to GSL Minerals, Inc. for a period of 10 years beginning August 1, 2007 with an annual rental charge of $1.00 per acre/year or $23,088.

At the end of the third year and every third year thereafter, a lease review will be conducted. The lease will expire on September 1, 2017 unless renewed according to the terms and conditions in the lease.

The existing royalty agreement will be amended so that royalties from the new lease will be included in the royalty calculation.

On July 23, 2007, an Appeal on the Record of Decision was filed to the Director of the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands through Western Resource Advocates on behalf of the following groups: FRIENDS of Great Salt Lake; National Audubon Society; Audubon Council of Utah; Utah Chapter of the Sierra Club; League of Women Voters of Salt Lake; League of Women Voters of Utah; The Nature Conservancy of Utah; Utah Airboat Association; Utah Rivers Council; and Utah Waterfowl Association.

A formal hearing is requested by the conservation organizations on the issues raised and relief requested.

The Division is required to respond to the Appeal by 21 August.

On December 3rd, 2007 FRIENDS filed Comments to the ACOE to protest many aspects of the permit.  To download, please click here:   final_friends_scoping_gsl_minerals 160.07 Kb

Potential Cumulative Impacts
Wildlife and habitat: Especially at risk is Gunnison Island, a state protected refuge for breeding American White Pelicans and California Gulls. This island has been protected since 1977. Additionally, the western shores provide valuable bird habitat for nesting and feeding for migrating birds.
Water Quality: There is no allowance or recommendation for ongoing monitoring of water quality.
Navigable waters: Overall size of navigable waters will be diminished, especially at low lake levels.
Aquatic Beauty: The addition of dikes will diminish all future vistas from the western shores. Artist Charles Uibel states, "Maybe instead of taking more of the lake, GSLM should make better use of the lake it already has. It certainly faces this choice eventually. These are not areas to be given up easily. They are significant because they are among the very last unspoiled areas of this, the Greatest of Salt Lakes. Clyman Bay is still the point at which the wonderful, ancient Great Salt Lake touches land just as it has its whole life."


What are the Public Trust Values? The Utah Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands (DFFSL) jointly sponsor the Great Salt Lake Planning Project but DFFSL retains primary management responsibility for the lake's resources. See title 65A of the Utah Code, which governs management of all state lands. Specifically Section 65A-10-8, Great Salt Lake - Management Responsibilities of the Division, requires the division to:

"(1) Prepare and maintain a comprehensive plan for the lake which recognizes the following policies:
(a) develop strategies to deal with a fluctuating lake level; (b) encourage development of the lake in a manner which will preserve the lake, encourage availability of brines to lake extraction industries, protect wildlife, and protect recreation facilities; (c) maintain the lake's flood plain as a hazard zone; (d) promote water quality management for the lake and its tributary streams; (e) promote the development of lake brines, minerals, chemicals, and petro-chemicals to aid the state's economy; (f) encourage the use of appropriate areas for the extraction of brines, minerals, chemicals, and petro-chemicals; (g) maintain the lake and the marshes as important to the waterfowl flyway system; (h) encourage the development of an integrated industrial complex; (i) promote and maintain recreation areas on and surrounding the lake; (j) encourage safe boating use of the lake; (k) maintain and protect state, federal, and private marshlands, rookeries, and wildlife refuges; (l) provide public access to the lake for recreation, hunting and fishing."

Section 65A-2-1 of the Utah Code provides; "The division [of Forestry, Fire and State
Lands] shall administer state lands under comprehensive land management programs using multiple-use, sustained-yield principles." Briefly stated, the overarching management objectives of DFFSL and DNR are to protect and sustain the trust resources of, and to provide for reasonable beneficial uses of those resources, consistent with their long-term protection and conservation. This means that DFFSL will manage GSL and its resources under multiple-use sustained yield principles (Section 65A-2-1), implementing legislative policies (Section 65A-10-8) and accommodating public and private uses to the extent that those policies and uses do not compromise public trust obligations and sustainability is maintained. Any beneficial use of public trust resources is subsidiary to long-term conservation of resources.
www.ffsl.utah.gov/sovlands/GreatSaltLake/resource-fnl.PDF

FRIENDS filed official comments to the ACOE.  Please download a copy for your records.

ACOE PDF file 

Look below to view the application and maps of the current footprint and the proposed expansion.

The Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands is happy to receive public comment on this nomination until he Record of Decision is made. HERE IS WHAT YOU CAN DO! Send comments to:

David Grierson, Ecosystem Manager Coordinator

Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Land

P.O. Box 145703

Salt Lake City, UT 84114-5703

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Or Call 801-538-5504 with any questions you may have

STATE ACTIONS
Resource Development Coordinating Committee
Governor=s Office of Planning and Budget
5110 State Office Building
SLC, UT 84114
Phone No. 537-9230

1. State Agency
Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands
1594 West North Temple, Suite 3520
P.O. Box 145703
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-5703

2. Approximate date project will start:
July 2007

3. Title of proposed action:
Mineral lease, near Clyman Bay, Great Salt Lake

4. Description of Project:
A nomination has been received to lease 23,088 acres in the bed of the north arm of the Great Salt Lake. The intent of leasing this land is to expand solar evaporation operations for mineral extraction of brines from the waters of the Great Salt Lake. This proposal will involve the construction of dikes, feed channels and pump stations, similar in nature, but larger in scope, to the existing improvements on the adjacent lease. The nomination and proposed use conforms to the Great Salt Lake Comprehensive Management Plan of 2000, and the Great Salt Lake Mineral Lease Plan of 1996. The Division is seeking comments and stipulations that may be appropriate for leasing this tract.

5. Location and detailed map of land affected (site location map required, electronic GIS map preferred) (include UTM coordinates where possible) (indicate county)
Township 7 North, Range 9 West, SLBM, Sections: 19, 29, 30, 32 - below meander
Township 7 North, Range 10 West, SLBM, Sections: 2-5, 8-14, 23-25 - below meander
Township 8 North, Range 10 West, SLBM, Sections: 7-10, 15-22, 26-30, 32-35 - below meander
Township 8 North Range, 11 West, SLBM, Sections: 12 and 13 - below meander

UTM (12N) coordinates: Easting 335178 meters, Northing 4581610 meters
Box Elder county. See attached map.

6. Possible significant impacts likely to occur:
Initial impacts of air quality during construction of improvements likely but not significant.

7. Identify local government affected
a. Has the government been contacted? Not yet.
b. When? March 16, 2007
c. What was the response? None yet.
d. If no response, how is the local government(s) likely to be impacted? Some economic benefits through increased capacity of lessee's operations, including workforce increase.

8. For acquisitions of land or interests in land by DWR or State Parks please identify state representative and state senator for the project area. Name and phone number of state representative, state senator near project site, if applicable: Not Applicable
a. Has the representative and senator been contacted? Not Applicable

9. Areawide clearinghouse(s) receiving state action: (to be sent out by agency in block 1)
Bear River Association of Governments
Bear River Association of Governments
Roger Jones, Executive Director
170 North Main, Room 2
Logan, UT 84321
rogerj@brag,dst.ut.us

10. For further information, contact:

Dave Grierson
Phone: 801.538.5504 11. Signature and title of authorized officer
/s/ David Grierson
Sovereign Lands Coordinator
Date: 03/16/2007

To view maps of the proposed expansion, please click below

gsl_EastPondExpansion

gsl_WestPondExpansion

gslminerals_expansion Clyman Bay 135.10 Kb