Candidates and residents oppose soil management facility at City Council meeting

The proposed soil repository location is known as the Gordo site at the intersection of Richardson Flat Road and SR 248. Photo: engageparkcity.org

PARK CITY, Utah. — Park City Council discussed the contentious soils management facility in their recent meeting, holding a public hearing, where residents voiced stark opposition to the project.

The resistance from local residents broadly revolved around the effects the facility would have on citizens and the surrounding environment.

The facility would be built along the S.R. 248-Richardson Flat Road intersection in order to store soils with contaminants such as lead and arsenic.

Three candidates for City Council in the upcoming primary election: John Greenfield, Jeremy Rubell, and Michael Francek echoed the sentiments of the crowd.

Franchek said the label “repository” was simply a slanted word for referring to a toxic waste dump.

“This soils containment project sounds very hypocritical to me and to your citizens,” said one resident.

The executive summary of the proposed project states that “historic mining activities present a constant challenge for both the public and private sectors regarding soils management. Environmental impacts, costs, site-suitability, pubic perception, government regulation, health concerns, and externalizing impacts are just a few of the issues related to mitigating our mine-impacted soils.”

A resident who was a soil scientist in Summit County during the 1980s said his biggest fear was giving more control to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He referenced the current EPA-operated Richardson Flat Tailings site.

The repository would have space for 140,000 cubic yards of material. Officials estimate that it would take between five and 15 years to fill. The projected construction cost is roughly $2.7 million.

Park City was founded as a mining town in the 19th century. Contaminants from that time period can still be found in certain city locations today. The project summary states that “Park City is taking responsibility for its soils and not ‘exporting’ them to another jurisdiction.”

The proposed Gordo Bevill Waste Soil Repository would only be permitted to store material classified as Bevill Waste, Soils classified as toxic or hazardous would not be permitted. Bevill waste is defined as waste from the extraction, beneficiation, and processing of ores and minerals such as silver.

Also, in the meeting, City Council officially appointed Margaret Plane as City Attorney and discussed a housing work plan.

The housing program under discussion would seek to incentivize new and existing residents to place deed restrictions on their property in exchange for a cash payment from the city. It seeks to promote more full-time residents, long-term investments in employee housing, and provide down payment assistance to those just outside of the economic market.

The deed restriction would restrict properties to “full-time” residents, meaning they work 30 hours per week within city limits. A long-term renter (more than 6 months) or retiree could also qualify. The deed restrictions would exist in perpetuity.