BOARD OF THE UTAH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MEETING MINUTES
UGS Conference Room
Salt Lake City, Utah
April 4, 2003

Attendance

• Robert Robison, Chair
• Charles Semborski, Vice Chair
• Craig Nelson
• Stephen Church
• Geoffrey Bedell
• Ronald Bruhn
• Kathleen Ochsenbein

Staff:

• Richard Allis
• Kimm Harty
• John Kingsley
• Jo Lynn Campbell

Guests:

• Sherman Hoskins

Chair Robert Robison welcomed new board member, Kathleen Ochsenbein. The remaining board members and DNR staff introduced themselves to Kathleen.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Director Rick Allis stated that under the heading of personnel on the sixth line, should read, "In FY03 if funding allows, incentive awards will be given." Craig Nelson also noticed a typographical error on page 3, under the heading of Action Items, second paragraph and 4th line down the word "position should have an apostrophe rather than the equal sign. No other changes were suggested. Kathleen Ochsebein motioned to accept the minutes as amended. Steven Church made a second, and the motion carried unanimously.

DIRECTOR'S REPORT
Financial Position
Director Rick Allis summarized the Director's Notes handout. Associate Director John Kingsley handed out a copy of the Mineral Lease funding receipts for FY 2003. The UGS is increasingly driven by grants and other projects as the General Fund portion drops from 53% of total revenue in FY2002, to 47% in FY2004. Craig asked how the Bookstore fit in. Director Rick Allis said it is self-sufficient and sells around 20,000 topographical maps a year. Overall, DNR took an 18% to 20% cut in the FY2004 budget, with the UGS cut being 13%. Director Rick Allis' concern is for FY05 because with the federal government now running in a deficit, funding could affect entities such as the U. S. Department Of Energy (DOE). DOE has already experienced some budget cuts, and is a major funding source for the UGS.

Grants and Contracts
Director Rick Allis summarized the projects on Associate Director John Kingsley's contract proposal sheet. UGS has been very successful in receiving funds for the STATEMAP program. The FY03 STATEMAP program was cut a bit. It is a 50/50 match and UGS was fully funded. The UGS is in the top three Geological Surveys receiving a large portion of the funds. These funds have a year's limit to be completed. If they are not completed in one year, then the following year the agency will not be eligible to receive any more funding.

CO2 Sequestration - A handout was distributed explaining the composition of the proposed regional partnership and those partners involved. The target is the reduction of the national CO2 emission intensity by 18% by 2012. The emission intensity target requires a balance between reducing emissions and economic growth. In the West, four partnerships have been formed and the UGS is involved in one of the strongest partnerships lead by New Mexico. There is a potential of $220,000 in funds to Utah participants if the proposal is awarded by DOE. Each partner in the New Mexico proposal was asked to put in at least 20% cost share, and the total grant requests $1.6 million. This project will take about 12% of Director Rick Allis' time, if it is successful.

DISCUSSION ITEMS
Program Update - Mike Lowe
Mike Lowe distributed a handout on the programs two sections: Paleontology and Ground Water. He summarized the regulatory, public education and outreach program, and the research being performed by Paleontology.
The ground-water program currently serves the needs of other state and local governmental agencies. Septic tank density mapping is another service the program provides to local governmental agencies. Water well logging is also being done by the program. The program is always looking to develop new projects in water quality and quantity.

Legislative Update
Deputy Director Kimm Harty stated there was not anything legislatively to discuss since UGS did not have any bills for consideration by the legislature. At the last meeting, Stephen Church suggested that the director of UGS be required to be a licensed professional geologist in Utah and that this be incorporated into the code. A handout was distributed regarding the designation of the state geologist and was compared to the state engineer. Looking at the precedent already set, it would not be feasible to change State Code, although the board can keep the requirement of the director in the board policy.

Annual Board Field Trip
At the last board meeting, it was suggested to tour the northwest Utah. A review of suggestions from the program managers was done. The Board reviewed some ideas so logistics can begin to be considered. These included: Visiting Morton Salt, Aragonite quarry, Onyx veins, Bonneville Salt Flats, Locomotive Springs, Spiral Jetty, and Wasatch Front Hazards.

Kimm and Rick will follow up with a more detailed plan at the next Board Meeting.

OTHER AGENDA ITEMS
Staff Awards
The Crawford Award nominee names will be given to the board for consideration at the next meeting.
Bob Biek was given this year's Employee of the Year Award. The Division had plaques made to display recipients of both the UGS Employee of the Year and the Crawford Award and were shown to board members.

NEXT MEETING
Due to a conflict in Director Rick Allis' schedule, a new date was selected for the next meeting. It was agreed upon to move it up a week to June 20.

ADJOURNMENT
Craig Nelson motioned to adjourn the meeting of the Board of the Utah Geological Survey. Steve Church seconded, and the motion carried unanimously

Meeting adjourned at 11:20 am.