Utah Geological Survey

UTAH HOMEOWNERS CAN EARN THOUSANDS BY SHIFTING TO SOLAR, WIND

Salt Lake Tribune

Utahns who want to tap the sun and wind for energy might be eligible for cash rebates of up to nearly $5,000.

The money — which Utahns now can apply for — would come from the state’s share of the federal stimulus aimed at renewable energy.

It would be available to households, small businesses and nonprofit groups that install solar photovoltaic, solar thermal or wind-energy systems, Chris Tallackson, incentives coordinator for the Utah Geological Survey’s State Energy Program, said Monday.

“This program will stimulate employment in grid-tied renewable-energy construction,” he said, “and increase distributed renewable-energy capacity.”

Rebates also will be available for energy-efficient appliances purchased and installed starting May 12.
Reports from the East Coast said that states began offering the rebates at the end of last week, but by Monday they were all taken. That’s because those states allowed residents to reserve the rebates before they actually bought the appliances or installed the systems, Tallackson said.

READ MORE

*Notes:

1. Renewable energy rebate maximums are as follows:
__ _ ___ _ ____ _ Residential      Commercial
Solar Photovoltaic      $8,750             $50,000
Solar Thermal             $2,500             $10,000
Wind                             $4,800             $4,800

2. Appliance rebate
Applications for rebates will be mailed-in by the consumer after purchasing an eligible appliance. There will not be a reservation process for appliance rebates. Rebates will be paid on a first received, first processed basis until funds are exhausted.

IN THE MEDIA

Sunpluggers.com
ABC4.com
KCPW.org

Utah Geological Survey

STATE DETAILS ITS REBATES FOR APPLIANCES

Deseret News

Folks waiting to buy a furnace or a water heater might want to hold out a little longer. But if, like Glen Jensen, you’re in need of a dishwasher, go for it.

Utah has finally announced the start date for and published the list of items for which it will offer rebates as part of the Utah State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program.

The state has nearly $2.35 million in federal stimulus money to help people exchange energy-hog appliances for more-efficient models.

READ MORE

Utah Geological Survey

UTAH SHAKES, RATTLES, AND ROLLS

Salt Lake Tribune

It wasn’t The Big One, but Thursday’s earthquake did enough shaking to make northern Utah take notice.

A 4.9 magnitude earthquake hit five miles northeast of Randolph at 5:59 p.m. Thursday, according to the University of Utah Seismograph Stations.

The shaking at the Rich County Sheriff’s Office in Randolph knocked down pictures, but did not generate reports of injuries or damages, said dispatcher Russ Handley.

At the Randolph Sinclair station, there was a loud rumble and some bottles tipped over, said manager Tammy Hoffman.

“It kind of shook people up, but some people who were driving [at the time] didn’t even know it happened,” she said.

A 4.9 is a “light” earthquake, according to Kristine Pankow, associate director of the University of Utah Seismograph Stations. It wouldn’t be enough to knock people over, but people would feel it, she said. However, it was the largest quake since 1992, she said. On average, Utah gets an earthquake of about magnitude 5 every 10 years, but this one waited 18.

“I guess it was just time,” she said.

READ MORE

IN THE MEDIA

KSL.com
Deseret News
StarValleyIndependent.com

EARTHQUAKE RESOURCES

Utah Seismic Safety Commission
Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country

Utah Geological Survey
University of Utah Seismograph Stations

Utah Geological Survey

GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES EARTHQUAKE PREPAREDNESS WEEK

ksl.com

Gov. Gary Herbert has designated April 4-10 as Earthquake Preparedness Week.

A website provides tips on what to do in preparation for an earthquake and its aftermath.

The Utah Seismic Safety Commission says about 700 earthquakes, including aftershocks, occur every year in Utah.

Roughly 80 percent of the state’s population would be affected by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake on the Salt Lake City segment of the Wasatch Fault.

READ MORE

Utah Geological Survey

APRIL LECTURE SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED

thespectrum.com

Join Bill Lund, Senior Scientist with the Utah Geological Survey, and learn about the structure of the active earth of Southwestern Utah. Might we experience events similar to those that have recently affected Haiti, Turkey, Chile, and Japan?

April 9: The Geology of Kanab Point

April 16: Pioche; The Early Days

April 23: Earth Day Celebration

April 30: To Be Determined

READ MORE

Utah Geological Survey

COULD A MAJOR EARTHQUAKE HIT SOUTHERN UTAH?

thespectrum.com

A series of springtime lectures starts Friday with a presentation on faults and earthquakes in southwestern Utah, scheduled for noon at the Interagency Information Center, 345 E. Riverside Drive in St. George.

Bill Lund, senior scientist with the Utah Geological Survey, is scheduled to give a presentation on the structure of active earth in southwestern Utah and give insight as to whether the region could experience an earthquake similar to those that recently affected Haiti, Turkey, Chile and Japan.

The April Brown Bag Program series, sponsored by the Dixie/Arizona Strip Interpretive Association, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service, will feature lectures each Friday of the month, covering topics such as the geology of Kanab Point, the history of Pioche, and a musical Earth Day celebration.

Lectures are free to attend, but space is limited and those interested are encouraged to obtain tickets in advance from the Interagency Information Center.

For more information, call 435-688-3246.

READ MORE

Utah Geological Survey

UTAH ENERGY REBATE PROGRAM TO COME ONLINE IN APRIL

thespectrum.com

The Utah State Energy Program is launching a renewable energy incentive program focused on residential and small commercial markets.

The Renewable Energy Rebate Program, funded by $3 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, comes online in April and rebates residents for solar photovoltaics, solar thermal systems and wind turbines. Residential properties could get $2 per watt for solar panels, with a maximum rebate of $8,750, while commercial properties could receive up to $50,000.

FOR MORE INFO

Utah Geological Survey

NEW DINOSAUR SPECIES FOUND IN UTAH SANDSTONE

KSL.com

A new species of dinosaur has emerged from the rocks of southern Utah.

Buried by a collapsing sand dune, perhaps 185 million years ago, the new dino was probably a plant eater and an early relative of the giant animals later known as sauropods, researchers report in Tuesday’s edition of the journal PLoS One.

Named Seitaad ruessi, the species was 10-to-15 feet long and 3-to-4 feet high. Its bones were found protruding from sandstone at the base of a cliff, directly below an ancient Anasazi cliff dwelling.

No humans were around at the time of the dinosaurs, but researchers say the bones could well have been visible when the early Indians lived there.

READ MORE

IN THE MEDIA

Salt Lake Tribune
Deseret News

Utah Geological Survey

PUMPING TOO MUCH WATER IS SINKING CEDAR VALLEY

Salt Lake Tribune

Since 1939, the Cedar Valley spreading west and north of Cedar City has dropped 100 feet and the only way to stop or slow the process is replenish the underlying aquifer with at least as much water as is being discharged through pumping.

That was one of the statistics the Utah Geological Survey delivered to the Central Iron County Water Conservancy District at its board meeting Thursday night in Cedar City.

William Lund, senior scientist with the agency’s southern Utah office, said the practice of overpumping causes noticeable fissures in the ground that sink all the way to the water table and allow pollutants to seep into the water. Most of the water is now used for agriculture, but officials are concerned about polluting the water source should it be needed for other uses.

“They start as a hairline crack and fast erode into gullies,” said Lund of the fissures.

He noted a fissure first noticed in 1960 northeast of Enoch has grown 2.25 miles long and has snaked its way into a subdivision where home construction was set to begin.

Although only one structure was built and affected by the fissure, it has disrupted the infrastructure that had already been completed, including cracking curbs and gutters, streets and the sewer system, which now runs backward.

Lund said it is the only location in Utah he is aware of that has been damaged by a fissure.
Lund’s updateis part of an $85,700 study the Geological Survey is conducting in conjunction with the conservancy district. The agency is nearing completion of its final report after nearly two years of study.

READ MORE

CORRECTION

Cedar Valley has not dropped 100 feet! (it has subsided 4 feet at the most). Erroneous information was reported by most of the media.  Please note the Utah Geological Survey’s following corrections to

  • The water table beneath Cedar Valley has lowered as much as 100 feet in some areas because ground-water pumping has exceeded the natural aquifer recharge since 1939.
  • Due to the lowered water table, Cedar Valley’s ground surface has subsided 4 feet at the most in some areas since 1950.
  • One of the effects of land subsidence is the development of earth fissures (cracks in the ground surface).  Several fissures have formed in the western and northeastern parts of Cedar Valley.  One fissure has damaged the partially developed Parkview subdivision in Enoch.

IN THE MEDIA

The Spectrum

Localnews8.com

Ironcountytoday.com

Utah Geological Survey

Snake Valley water deal stalled for this year

Salt Lake Tribune

A court ruling, and the inaction of Nevada lawmakers, means any agreement on Snake Valley water won’t happen until at least 2011, according to Mike Styler, executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources.

During a session of the Utah Water Users Workshop, Styler said the Nevada Legislature did not take significant action last month on a Nevada Supreme Court decision that called into question the rights concerning the water resource beneath areas of western Utah and eastern Nevada.
In a shared water agreement with Utah, the Southern Nevada Water Authority has proposed pumping water from the aquifer 300 miles south to satisfy the growing needs of Las Vegas.
Utah water users are concerned the proposal could have a negative impact on their water rights and air quality from dust that could result as areas become more parched.

Styler took his audience through a history of the proposed agreement that began in 1989. The Nevada court decision was significant because a lower court must now decide if Nevada state engineer Tracy Taylor “violated his statutory duty” when he failed to make a decision by 1991 on 34 applications by the Southern Nevada Water Authority for rights to water in aquifers under three Nevada valleys.

READ MORE