Tooele County to gain 600 acres in compensation for contaminated land in Salt Lake County

Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation has plans to give more than 600 acres of land in Tooele County to The Nature Conservancy in compensation for contamination of wetlands in Salt Lake County.

The land swap is part of a settlement agreement between Kennecott Utah Copper and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to resolve natural resource damage claims related to historic releases of contamination from Kennecott mining operations near the Great Salt Lake.

"Lake Point is a clean site that Kennecott owns and will transfer to an organization to ensure it will always be wildlife habitat, as compensation for the issues at the Kennecott Smelter Site," said Chris Cline, contaminants biologist and spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Utah Ecological Services Field Office.

A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service draft restoration plan proposes to include a total of 616 acres of land -- salt marsh wetlands, uplands and playa habitats near Lake Point and between I-80 and the Great Salt Lake -- in the deal, as well as 1 cubic foot per second of water rights as compensation for alleged mining-related damage. Kennecott would construct a pipeline to supply water to the Lake Point wetlands to ensure the site will have a permanent supply of fresh water. In addition, Kennecott would provide funds for costs associated with ownership and management of the site.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, mining operations at the North Zone Wetlands near Kennecott's North End copper smelting and refining facility from the early 1900s to the early 1990s resulted in the release of contaminants -- including selenium, copper, arsenic, lead, zinc and cadmium -- into springs supplying nearby wetlands, in turn harming natural resources including migratory birds.

According to a statement issued by Kennecott Utah Copper, "impact to birds attributable to selenium or other contaminants have not been observed in the North End wetlands."

Remedial actions began at the North Zone facilities in the mid-1990s and cleanup was completed at the wetlands in 2003. The company removed more than a half million cubic yards of contaminated soil and wastes, and installed systems to capture contaminated water before it enters the wetlands.

But when the Fish and Wildlife Service realized remedial actions taken by Kennecott at the North Zone wetlands wouldn't fully restore natural resources, they informed Kennecott of their intent to pursue a natural resource damages claim.

"Rather than going to court and deciding the matter of whether they [Kennecott] had indeed caused the damage that the Fish and Wildlife Service claims or alleges, the decision was made by both parties to do a settlement that gets restoration on the ground that's actually good for natural resources," Cline said.

Lynn de Freitas, executive director of FRIENDS of Great Salt Lake -- a group dedicated to protecting and preserving the Great Salt Lake ecosystem -- said the steps being taken to remediate contamination from the area north of Kennecott operations is to be applauded.

"I think it's a wonderful outcome of a situation that definitely had some impact to wetlands," she said. "I think it's a very exciting outcome that we can all look forward to seeing translated into another habitat along the shores of the Great Salt Lake. The habitat has wonderful potential in terms of acknowledging the importance of these wetland areas."

Although the wetland contamination occurred in Salt Lake County and the restoration will take place in Tooele County, de Freitas said she doesn't look at it as a lose-win situation for anybody.

"We all benefit from the fact that there is a 600-acre parcel of wetland upland that has the potential of being a productive habitat, and I think we should all acknowledge that as being a win," she said.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is accepting public comments on the draft plan until April 2.

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