Study of Kennecott groundwater sought

State environmental regulators are proposing to launch a two-year scientific study into the impacts of dumping selenium and salts into the Great Salt Lake.

The study is part of a revised plan to clean up sulfate-contaminated groundwater from mining by Kennecott Utah Copper's operation. Officials want to treat that water and use it as a source of drinking water for south county residents.

At issue is a 72-square-mile area of pollution that lies under the communities of West Jordan, South Jordan, Riverton, Herriman and adjacent areas of southwest Salt Lake County. The water, which flows underground from the Oquirrh Mountains toward the Jordan River, is polluted with sulfates, acids and metals.

Kennecott has entered into a partnership with the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District to clean up the water — enough to provide 8,200 acre-feet of drinking water a year to south county residents.

The original unapproved proposal, decried by lawmakers and others, called for dumping the selenium and salts into the Jordan River.

"The primary concern there was the amount of total dissolved solids and the amount of selenium that would have gone to the river and would have hurt wetlands," said Doug Bacon, project manager for the groundwater cleanup plan.

Officials now want to study the effects of the proposal on the Great Salt Lake, home to millions of migratory birds.

The state Department of Environmental Quality, in conjunction with local, state and federal agencies, wants to establish a selenium standard for the Great Salt Lake.

"I think we have addressed the major concerns, and we've tried to do it in a timely and responsible manner, but I am not naive enough to think that we have won over everyone or perhaps addressed everyone's concerns," said Dianne Nielson, executive director of DEQ who serves as the state's Natural Resource Damage trustee.

For instance, well owners say the project will impact them. Nielson doesn't think so, but said those concerns will be addressed on a case-by-case basis.

The public has a chance to comment on the revised proposal until Aug. 2. After the study, the public will once again be invited to comment on the possibility of the waste being dumped into the lake.