Dear SaveParleys Friends,
Thank You so much for your help this week!!! We won the first battle in the Senate and now we face a new threat in the House.
The opposition that we were able to raise was so effective that Senator David Hinkins sent SB 172 back to the Senate Rules Committee. While it’s still possible for it to resurface, in a different form or with a new sponsor, we think it may be stopped for this session. We’ll keep you updated.
However, a new bill has popped up this week in the House of Representative. HB 502 is the new and sleeker version of SB 172. This bill mandates that a city or county may not restrict, prohibit, or impose any conditions that would unreasonably limit mining or gravel pit operations. See the talking points below. This bill could be heard in committee as soon as Monday of next week.
This is the Devils Slide Quarry in Weber Canyon just off I-84 (it also has a cement plant).
The quarry itself is 475 acres or 2/3 the size of the proposed I-80 South Quarry in Parleys Canyon.
ACTIONS WE NEED YOU TO TAKE:
- Here is the link to review HB 502
- We need you to PLEASE:
Contact your House Representative by Monday morning. Calls are better than emails even if you just leave a voicemail. Let them know you are against HB 502. You can use some of the talking points listed below. (Go to this link to find your House Representative’s information: https://le.utah.gov/GIS/findDistrict.jsp)
- Discuss one or more of these HB 502 talking points with legislators.
- HB 502, sponsored by Rep. Casey Snider (R Cache County) appears to be tailor-made to allow the proposed 635-acre quarry in Parleys Canyon to go forward. The bill has three major impacts.
- Just like SB 172, HB 502 preempts local land use authority and places the property rights of mining / gravel pits above the property rights of residents, businesses, schools, churches, etc. It creates industrial “superzones’ by requiring political subdivisions (cities and counties) to allow mining and gravel pits in any zone where there is land that is more than 1000 feet from a residence AND within 500 feet of an interstate or rail line. So, for example, Salt Lake County could not prohibit mining anywhere in the Forestry and Recreation Zone which covers most of the central Wasatch Mountains, including Parleys Canyon.
- HB 502 requires utility districts to provide water service to these mining operations even if located outside of, but are within 2 miles of the service district’s boundaries. So, for example, Salt Lake City Public Utilities would be required to provide the proposed 635-acre I-80 South Quarry with all of the water it needs for its operations and dust control- water that would otherwise flow to the Great Salt Lake.
- HB 502 requires each county, by November 30, 2024, to assess their sand, gravel, and aggregate supply and demand over the next 20 years and develop a plan to meet that demand from within their county. This scope of a study is not feasible in this timeframe. The legislature in this section is saying, “we don’t have sufficient information to understand whether or not there is enough raw construction material being produced” and in the first section they are saying, “the counties are preventing the production of the raw construction material and are creating a shortage, so the legislature needs to step in and override their land use authority.”
- ***Please contact family and friends and ask them to call, and text their House Representatives by Monday night. Have them give their address and tell them that they are their constituent and that they live in their district. Have them voice your concerns about this attempt to carve out an exemption in state law that would allow the quarry operators and mining companies to bypass local land use authority.
Most particularly reach out to family and friends and ask them to call, email or text their Representatives, especially those that live in the districts of the sponsor (Rep. Casey Snider) and those Representatives that are on the House’s Natural Resources Committee. . Here is their contact information:
- Casey Snider
(He’s the bill’s sponsor and also on the Natural Resources Committee)
County he represents: Cache
Mobile #: 435-770-4081
Email: csnider@le.utah.gov - Walt Brooks
(He’s the chair of the Natural Resources Committee)
County he represents: Washington
Home: 435-817-3530
Email: wbrooks@le.utah.gov - Rex P. Shipp
County he represents: Iron
Mobile: 435-590-1073
email: rshipp@le.utah.gov - Gay Lynn Bennion
County she represents: Salt Lake
Mobile: 385-224-9197
email: glbennion@le.utah.gov - Bridger Bolinder
Counties he represents: Juab, Millard, Tooele
Mobile: 435-255-3093
email: bbolinder@le.utah.gov - Scott H. Chew
Counties he represents: Duchesne and Uintah
Mobile: 435-630-0221
email: scottchew@le.utah.gov - Tim Jimenez
County he represents: Tooele
Mobile: 801-560-8061
email: tjimenez@le.utah.gov - Mike L. Kohler
Counties he represents: Summit, Wasatch
Mobile: 801-420-6158
email: mkohler@le.utah.gov - Stephen J. Lund
Counties he represents: Juab, Sanpete
Mobile: 385-358-3267
email: slund@le.utah.gov - Doug Owen
County he represents: Salt Lake
Mobile: 385-499-3761
email: dougowens@le.utah.gov - Thomas W. Peterson
Counties he represents: Box Elder, Cache
Mobile: 435-720-3516
email: tpeterson@le.utah.gov - Mike Shultz
Counties he represents: Davis, Weber
Mobile: 801-538-1029
email: mikeschultz@le.utah.gov - Keven J. Stratton
County he represents: Utah
Mobile: 801-836-6010
email: kstratton@le.utah.gov - Christine F. Watkins
Counties she represents: Carbon, Duchesne, Emery, Grand
Mobile: 435-650-1969
email: christinewatkins@le.utah.gov
Please remember to use kind communications and encourage family and friends as well. We’ve heard that Senator Hinkins received threats to his family and himself. It helps our cause more, when we are respectful. Thank you so much for your help!!! We all need to continue to work fast since they are trying to fast track these bills at every opportunity. We will be in touch with future updates.
Best Regards, SaveParleys.org
