Citing uncertain future water levels and impacts on wildlife, Utah’s leading daily newspaper has called for the state to deny requests from Great Salt Lake Minerals Corp. (GSLM) to take 353,000 acre feet more from the lake each year to increase production of sulfate of potash. According to a Salt Lake Tribune editorial, groups that study and monitor the lake and its migratory bird habitat are concerned that climate change and the water requirements of the expanding population of Utah will continue to impact the lake. “Utah government agencies can act quickly to protect what resources are available to keep the lake viable for recreation, commercial interests and wildlife,” the editorial asserted, insisting that a large draw-down by GSLM would lower the lake by about two feet, which “could spell disaster for the lake’s ecosystems.”
A spokesman for GSLM, a unit of Compass Minerals, Overland Park, Kan., responded that the company is committed to the lake’s future, ecology, and wildlife. “The lake’s water level today is exactly what it was in 1967 before GSLM built its first solar evaporation pond,” asserted Dave Hyams. “Since then, the lake level has gone up and down by almost 20 feet, just as it has gone up and down since record-keeping started 150 years ago. Lake levels are cyclical.”
Hyams stated that GSLM’s water request to the State Engineer is for extraordinary conditions 40 years in the future, but that the company’s anticipated water use in the next 20 years is a small fraction of the amount requested. This minimizes any possible impact on lake levels during the current down portion of the lake level cycle. He said studies have shown that future lake levels are mostly dependent on irrigation, upstream interception of the rivers feeding into the lake, and each winter’s weather – not on GSLM.
Hyams said public trust means balancing all of the public’s needs regarding the lake: the need to protect the lake’s birds and other wildlife, the needs of public recreation, and the economic benefits the lake provides to our society. “Public trust does not mean doing nothing,” he stated. “The Environmental Impact Study – not unsubstantiated claims by opponents – will determine the true impacts of the project. Responsible agencies can recommend an ‘incremental’ project alternative that ensures a sustainable future.” The Army Corps of Engineers is expected to issue a draft environmental impact statement later this year.
Compass President and CEO Dr. Angelo Brisimitzakis recently told analysts that the company continues to progress on proposed expansion of solar pond acreage. “This project would add up to 70,000 acres of pond to our current 40,000 acres on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, and the proposed ponds could produce up to 400,000 additional short tons of SOP annually, assuming we receive all the requested permits from the army core of engineering.
“We would expect to begin extracting SOP from these new ponds approximately four years after we received the permits, as pond construction should take about a year, and the evaporation process takes three years,” said Brisimitzakis. “This project could be developed all at once or in stages. We are uncertain when the permits will be granted. It could be imminent or several years off. Additionally, the permits could have provisions which would affect the way the solar evaporation ponds are built and/or operated. Therefore, the design and cost of the next phase of our SOP expansion aren’t precisely known yet. However, if we develop all of the requested acreage, we would expect a significant investment in both pond construction and associated SOP plant facilities.”