blm & our permits

An article from the Salt Lake Tribune that may interest some.

Maybe the Bureau of Land Management are going to start approving a few permits now? Interesting that they would approve leasing parcels on the Sevier Lake bed.

BLM approves Sevier Lake potash mining
By Brandon Loomis

The Salt Lake Tribune

First published Feb 17 2011 05:42PM
Updated Feb 17, 2011 11:56PM

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has approved a leasing plan that would allow potash mining from western Utah?s dry Sevier Lake bed.

The approval means Salt Lake City-based Emerald Peak Minerals and any other interested companies are free to seek leases within a 126,000-acre area, where they would pump ground water and build evaporation ponds to extract the potash.

Millard County officials have said they are concerned about water depletion, though they did not oppose the project.

The Audubon Society did oppose it, partly because the dry lake regains water in wet years and can be an important stopover for migratory birds if conditions aren?t ideal at the Great Salt Lake or elsewhere.

Sevier Lake, 30 miles southwest of Delta, was Utah?s third-largest lake during the wet period of the 1980s, and the dry bed contains brine fly larvae that can provide food for birds when water returns.

The approved mining area contains 64 potential lease parcels, and Emerald Peak has shown interest. The BLM?s announcement Thursday said the mine could produce 400,000 tons of fertilizer a year for 6? years after a two-year mine-development period.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said he had discussed the project with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, and he thanked the BLM for the decision. Hatch issued a news release saying the mining could provide 300 jobs.