Views on Kennecott run gamut

Magna residents Mike Sullivan and Jack Nielsen are about as far apart as two people could be about their feelings these days over Kennecott Utah Copper's track record in Magna.

"I'm sorry, call me cynical, but the only time they've ever fixed anything is when the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has held a gun to their head and said, 'Fix it,"' Sullivan said.

Neither man has worked for Kennecott or had family members employed directly by the company. Sullivan has lived in Magna for eight years, Nielsen for 31 years.

"He's wrong, he's flat wrong," Nielsen said about Sullivan's blunt assessment of Kennecott. "When they see a problem, they address it and they address it aggressively. If people would relax and let them do their job."

Part of Kennecott's job right now is working on trust issues that some Magna residents expressed at a meeting last week when company officials responded to allegations that Kennecott and the state colluded 20 years ago to cover up evidence of seismic safety concerns at a corner of Kennecott's old south tailings pond.

Both men were at that meeting last week and plan on being at a Magna Town Council meeting Thursday at 7 p.m. to hear more from Kennecott.

"I think there's a lot of questions that need to be answered," said Sullivan, who is considering legal action in order to hold Kennecott's feet to the fire.

Kennecott said last week it plans on paying for an independent study of the southeast corner at the old tailings pond, which no longer holds water but still contains tailings waste. The goal now is to determine the corner's seismic safety 20 years after a report that deemed the corner a risk to nearby residents. A Kennecott spokesman said Monday the company is working with Salt Lake County Council member Mike Jensen on details of the study.

Sullivan's goal with a lawsuit would be to preserve the study's integrity, meaning no representation by Kennecott officials or elected leaders.

"Right now, I believe Kennecott about as far as I could bury them beneath that pond," he said. "I don't trust them at all — they're a major corporation." While Sullivan's home probably wouldn't be affected today if the old pond's southeast corner failed in a strong earthquake, he said he's concerned about the impact negative publicity and an associated "stigma" will have on property values in his neighborhood.

"I'm going to watch out for me," he said.

Sullivan moved to Magna because he got a "killer deal" on his property.

Today he's keenly aware that he made his purchase in close proximity to an area the federal government once characterized as badly polluted.