NATHAN JOHNSON - Daily Herald | Posted: Friday, July 6, 2007 11:00 pm
Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, has been working to direct funding toward state water and energy projects from his seat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water.
The bill that passed out of that committee last week would bring about $84 million to the state in the form of cleanup, infrastructure and research funding.
The bill now will head to the full Senate for consideration.
"Without these funds, many of Utah's cities and towns could not afford to build new water systems that are desperately needed to meet their current demands," said Bennett.
Water, however, is not the only thing that would be funded.
Several million dollars has been allocated for energy research.
Utah is home to some of the largest oil shale deposits in the world. According to documents published on the Department of Energy's Web site, formations in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming contain nearly 1.5 trillion barrels of oil in the form of shale.
But, as Bennett's office puts it, "these resources present significant challenges in recovery and production, transportation and processing."
In order to access that huge reservoir, extensive research is needed.
Enter $3.5 million in clean energy and oil shale development funding targeted to the University of Utah.
Utah State University also would get $1 million for energy research, though their work would be focused on wind power and other renewable resources.
The largest recipient of the funding would be the Central Utah Project, coming in at $44.5 million. The CUP encompasses projects by the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, the Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission and the Department of the Interior.
The appropriations legislation would provide $10 million for communities outside the Wasatch Front that qualify for the Rural Utah 695 water program. The program provides funding for water treatment renovation and infrastructure improvements.
Additionally, $23.9 million would be heading to Moab for cleanup projects along the Colorado River.
The Moab Atlas Uranium Mill Tailing site contains about 11.8 million tons of contaminated debris, metal tailings and groundwater.
"The longer we wait to clean up the Moab tailings site, the more serious the threat becomes to the health of Utahns and the environmental stability of the Colorado River," said Bennett.
Nathan Johnson can be reached at 344-2543 or at njohnson@heraldextra.com.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D1.