Tag Archive for: geological

Utah Geological Survey

IS TAR SAND MINING VIABLE IN UTAH

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Tar sands development often conjures images of a bleak northeast Alberta landscape, scraped and scalped of its vegetation after being converted to sprawling strip mines from which much of Canadian oil imports to the United States originate.

But if a proposal by Alberta-based Earth Energy Resources survives environmentalists’ appeal, eastern Utah’s canyon country could become a backdrop for the only tar sands mine in the United States.

In 2009, Utah mining regulators approved EER’s proposed PR Spring Mine on state institutional trust land in Uintah and Grand counties northwest of Grand Junction, Colo. If the mine is successful, it could prove the viability of a Utah tar sands industry, possibly bringing a new level of energy development to the Colorado Plateau.

Tar sand, also called oil sand, bituminous sand or asphaltic sandstone, is oil-laden sedimentary rock most commonly extracted in Canada. Utah’s tar sands, however, are generally half as rich as Canada’s and require more processing to extract the oil.

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that Utah tar sands harbor between 12 billion and 19 billion barrels of oil, with at least 2 billion barrels to be found at PR Spring.

The push to develop tar sands in Utah is a fairly recent phenomenon.

Determined to find a way for American oil shale and tar sands to become sources of domestic energy production, Congress required the U.S. Department of Energy to start up a tar sands and oil shale leasing program as part of the 2005 Energy Policy Act.

In 2008, the DOE completed an environmental study of its tar sands and oil shale program, outlining 11 potential tar sands development areas in Utah, the only state in which tar sands are thought to be economically recoverable.

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Utah Geological Survey

MIDSIZE QUAKE HITS SOUTHWESTERN UTAH MONDAY MORNING

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A 4.6 magnitude earthquake hit southwestern Utah early Monday morning.

The 5:06 a.m. quake could be felt in the sparsely populated area about eight miles northwest of Circleville and eight miles west of Junction. Several people called the Seismograph Stations at the University of Utah to report they experienced the pre-dawn shaking. No damage or injuries have been reported.

“It’s a moderate-sized earthquake, so we’re unlikely to have significant damage,” said Keith Koper, director of the U.’s Seismograph Stations. “But people will definitely be aware of it if they are relatively close to the epicenter.”

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Utah Geological Survey

TWO NEW DINOSAUR SPECIES FOUND AT UTAH SITE

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Utah’s Cedar Mountain Formation has yielded two new species of iguanodont, cousins of the famous iguanodon, the plant-eating, beaked-mouthed dinosaur known for its ability to walk on its hind legs.

Working on federal land in two eastern Utah sites, teams led by the Utah Geological Survey discovered the two specimens in 2004. It took years of careful fieldwork to extract the bones, which include a nearly complete skull, and prepare them for study.

The most carefully dated of the two was discovered near Arches National Park by Andrew Milner, of the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site. It was estimated to be 124 million years old and dubbed Hippodraco.

The survey’s Don DeBlieux discovered the other specimen near Green River. This one was dubbed Iguanacolossus.

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Utah Geological Survey

73 UTAH SCHOOLS TO GET SOLAR PANELS TO GENERATE ENERGY, TEACH CHILDREN

deseretnews.com

A wet and gloomy Monday, the sun nowhere in sight, was the setting for the announcement at Hillside Middle School that 73 solar panels will be installed atop 73 schools across Utah.

The solar photovoltaic arrays will be placed on the roof of at least one school in each of Utah’s 41 school districts to generate renewable energy for the schools and teach schoolchildren about energy efficiency and alternatives.

“I think it’s really cool that as a school, we can make a difference by being ‘green’ and not wasting as much energy,” seventh-grader Annie Connolly said. “It’s cool that we are different from other schools that pollute the earth.”

“This is an incredibly exciting day,” said Gil Sperling, a U.S. Department of Energy senior adviser for energy efficiency and renewable energy. “As far as I know, Utah is the first state in the country to systematically implement this kind of program.”

Educating students and teachers about energy is one of the main goals of the Solar for Schools programs.

“Solar for Schools gives us an opportunity to educate students about the role of energy in their lives,” said Elise Brown, renewable energy coordinator for the Utah Department of Natural Resources. “It is our hope that students who benefit from this program will go on to inform and inspire others about this very important topic.”

More than 200 Utah teachers will attend a class this year sponsored by the National Energy Foundation. They will learn how solar, wind and geothermal energies work, with a special focus on the implications of renewable energy in Utah.

Sperling said the Solar for Schools program has four major benefits — strengthening the economy by reducing dependence on imported oil, offsetting carbon emissions by the increased use of solar energy, creating jobs, and increasing awareness and education about energy efficiency.

The DOE estimates that over a 20-year span, the effect of the Solar for Schools program will be the equivalent of planting 11,000 trees.

“This program is about educating students, teachers, parents and the community at large,” Sperling said. “People are going to look at these panels and say, ‘This is what we ought to be doing.’ ”

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Utah Geological Survey

SAGA OF SNAKE VALLEY: BATTLING OVER UTAH WATER

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Dean Baker, a rancher and activist for the protection of water rights in west-central Utah’s Snake Valley, could become wealthy by selling his property to the Southern Nevada Water Authority. The principal communities in the Snake Valley, from north to south, are Callao, Trout Creek, Partoun, EskDale, Baker, and Garrison.

“People don’t understand me,” Baker said, referring to his refusal to sell.

What makes Baker’s property valuable is that it is a coveted water source. But after 55 years of ranching, Baker isn’t ready to give up his home or see his agriculture and livestock suffer because of underground pumping.

According to the Great Basin Water Network, the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), the water agency for Las Vegas and Henderson, Nev., proposes to pump up to 200,000 acre-feet annually from eastern Nevada and western Utah and send it through 300 miles of pipeline to support larger cities. This comes to about 65 billion gallons of water per year.

Ecologists and hydrologists estimate the water table will drop as much as 100 feet in the first 10 years of the pipeline, killing the current vegetation and wiping out the wildlife and livelihoods of the rural communities including the Snake, Spring, Cave, Dry Lake and Delamar valleys.

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Utah Geological Survey

Keeping Zion National Park Visitors Safe from Geologic Hazards

A new geologic-hazards investigation, published by the Utah Geological Survey, could help Zion National Park (ZNP) keep its 2.5 million annual visitors safe. The results of the investigation will provide the National Park Service (NPS) with geologic-hazard information for future park management.

Zion National Park is subject to a variety of geologic hazards that may affect park development and visitor safety. “One of the nation’s scenic jewels, Zion National Park, is also home to a variety of geologic hazards. By supporting this study of geologic hazards in high-use areas of the park, the National Park Service has taken a proactive approach to protecting visitor safety,” says William Lund, UGS Senior Geologist.

The ZNP geologic-hazards study area is a 154-square-mile area that encompasses Zion Canyon, Kolob Canyon, Kolob Terrace, the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway corridor, and all developed and high-use areas of the park. This investigation includes nine 1:24,000-scale geographic information system (GIS)-based maps that show areas subject to flooding, debris flows, rock fall, landslides, surface faulting, liquefaction, collapsible and expansive rocks and soils, and/or soil piping and erosion.

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Summary of 2009 Utah Mineral Released

Utah’s mineral extraction industry recorded a successful year on 2009, according to a recently released publication.

The Utah Geological Survey’s (UGS) 2009 Summary of Mineral Activity in Utah publication reveals that despite a recession induced dip from peak commodity values in 2008, Utah ranked third nationally in the value of nonfuel minerals produced in 2009, accounting for about 7% of the total value of U.S. production. Utah mines and energy companies produced a gross value of $6.97 billion in mineral and energy commodities in 2009 from oil gas (37%), base metals (31%), industrial minerals (14%), coal-uranium (9%), and precious metals (9%). All sectors suffered a dip from mid-2008, except for precious metals which expanded on higher prices.

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Utah Geological Survey

UTAH RANKED NO.3 NATIONALLY FOR MINERALS PRODUCTION

deseretnews.com

On the same day a group of lawmakers was pressed about the need to increase “mineral literacy” in Utah, a new report showed the state now ranks No. 3 in the nation for the value of non-fuel minerals produced in 2009.

Overall, Utah’s contribution was logged at 7 percent of the total value of the country’s production, according to a report issued Wednesday by the Utah Geological Survey.

It is the first time, Utah geologists believe, that the state has been able to edge out rival California, which has historically come in third behind Arizona and Nevada because of its production of industrial minerals for the construction industry.

“Because of the recession, California fell from three to four, and we moved up to three,” said Ken Krahulec, senior geologist with the Utah Geological Survey. “I would not be surprised if this was the first time ever. Historically, we are in the top 10, but I think four is as high as we have been before.”

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Utah Geological Survey

UTAHNS WARMING TO SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS

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nvironmentalists long have dreamed of a time when the massive coal-fired plants that generate much of the nation’s electricity will fall idle, replaced by small, nonpolluting power production on individual homes and businesses.

For a slowing growing number of Utahns that dream no longer seems so far-fetched.

When Doug Shipley of Intermountain Wind & Solar opens the power bill for his 2,400 square-foot home in Farmington, most of the time it shows he hasn’t taken any energy off of the state’s power grid during the month.

Instead, the 24 solar panels on his property — installed at a cost of approximately $24,000 — produce all the electricity his family needs.

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Utah Geological Survey

IRON COUNTY POSTPONES VOTE ON GEOLOGIC ORDINANCE

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The Iron County Commission was poised to vote Monday on a geologic hazard ordinance that has been in the making for about six months when Commissioner Lois Bulloch threw a wrench in the works.

Bulloch recommended that an independent group review the proposed ordinance and make recommendations.

“I’ve heard a lot of consternation over this issue and had input in letters and calls and am just not comfortable moving forward,” said Bulloch. “Sorry to drop this bomb.”

Bulloch suggested that a committee with representatives of the county’s six municipalities, a city attorney and engineers look at the ordinance line by line and make specific changes.

“This way we won’t be accused of not listening,” said Bulloch.

Bill Lund, a geologist with the Utah Geological Survey, told commissioners a review by new eyes is a good idea and recommended including an official of a city or county in Utah that has already dealt with a similar ordinance.

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