The Kennecott Plume.. which currently spreads over 75 miles under Salt Lake County and has been the source of litigation. Which entites will take responsibility for remediating the contamination, how much will it cost and which entities will monitor the cleanup?
Who will pay for the cleanup if Kennecott leaves before the cleanup is completed?
Some proposed solutions to the contaminate plume
SOUTHWEST
JORDAN VALLEY GROUNDWATER CLEANUP PROJECT
STATE OF UTAH NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGE TRUSTEE
State of Utah Natural Resource Damage Trustee Southwest Jordan Valley Groundwater Cleanup Project
DEQ, JVWCD and Kennecott Prior Meetings and related documents
The Great Salt Lake and Kennecott
Mine and Communitites had this comment: Rio Tinto's wholly-owned Kennecott subsidiary is by far the biggest airbourne polluter in the United States. It is also responsible for the dumping of contaminants which have affected no less than 72 square miles of underground aquifers in Utah.
A proposal by the company to "clean up" these inherited and created
wastes may, according to unionists, environmentalists and local communities,
simply shift the problem overground. This will penalise taxpayers while rewarding
the company with rebates. The campaigners demand that Rio Tinto/Kennencott recycle
toxic metals in the waters, find a secure location for permanent waste disposal
- and pay the bill!
Kennecott Pump and
Dump Pollution Plan Rejected By Broad Grouping
Threats to Property Rights, Community, Wildlife and Environment Cited
A broad array of organizations and individuals today held a press conference
at the Utah State Capitol calling for modification of a planned project that
would allow Rio Tinto plc/Ltd (NYSE: RTP), (RIO.L), (RIO.AX) subsidiary Kennecott
Utah Copper to dump thousands of tons of contaminants into the Jordan River
and, ultimately, the marshes of the Great Salt Lake.
Map
of contaminate plume after Daybreak..which
is located on the hash marks in the middle of the plume. Daybreak is Kennecott
Land. Could this be an effort to recoop some of the cost of the cleanup? What
if Daybreak isn't financially viable? If Daybreak goes bankrupt, Kennecott is
shut down by its parent company, Rio Tinto..who pays for the cleanup of the
entire plume? The taxpayer? The developers? The homeowners that sit on the plume?
Adjacent water companies?