Salt Lake Tribune reported that Environmental groups said that state regulators should not allow Kennecott Utah Copper to expand its massive copper mine on the western edge of the Salt Lake Valley.

The groups said that the Salt Lake Valley simply can’t afford any more pollution which is a lot greater than the company’s telling.

Mr Ashley Sanders representing Utah Moms for Clean Air said that “Utah should stand up to Rio Tinto and demand that they start paying the true cost of doing business. Utahns will continue to pay the price for Kennecott pollution with their health unless the company is forced to switch from fossil fuels to solar and wind power.”

The groups accuse the Utah Department of Environmental Quality of going too easy on the company which already has asked state regulators for changes in two pollution permits that are needed for the expansion to go forward.

Part of the multinational Rio Tinto, Kennecott wants to add nine more years to the productive life of its Bingham Canyon mine by extending its perimeter south in the Oquirrh Mountains and digging deeper for ore. Doing that would mean moving more rock to get to the copper, gold, silver and molybdenum, up to 260 million tons a year compared with the 197 million tons currently allowed.

And that means more pollution, although the company said that it has already found ways by updating its fleet and switching its power plants to natural gas to cut emissions related to the additional digging, hauling, crushing and smelting.

The groups pointed out that Salt Lake City already has gotten low marks from Forbes magazine and the American Lung Association for air quality. They also noted that Utah violates clean air standards for several pollutants including the main components of unhealthy air that plagues the valley in wintertime and summertime.

(Sourced from Salt Lake Tribune.com)