Word: utah
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Putting these riches beyond reach amounts to a "felonious assault" on Utah students, says Phyllis Sorenson, president of the state's education association. According to environmentalists, however, that is the only way to protect the land. Coal mining requires not just mines but also related aboveground structures, such as office buildings and parking lots. In addition, coal mined at the Grand Staircase would have to be hauled to the nearest port--in this case Los Angeles--in as many as 400 truckloads a day over highways that in some cases do not yet exist. Building such a modern-day Silk...
...course that outlay seems insignificant compared with $4 billion in coal revenues, but whether even so princely a sum is a fair price for Utah's mineral riches is uncertain. The developer that was closest to signing a mining agreement before Clinton's announcement--and the one with whom Utahns still want to cut a deal--is the Andalex mining company. Recently, though, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and other environmental groups have publicized the fact that Andalex is based in the Netherlands. The net profits from any dig--beyond the $4 billion--would thus not even remain...
...Clinton Administration, citing these revelations, remains committed to protecting the disputed land. It promises to compensate local mining interests by swapping federal lands of equal value for those that lie within the monument. Utah Senator Bob Bennett sniffs at this, insisting that there is no land of equal value. Bennett is also unimpressed with Clinton's promise that all the current uses of the region, except mining, would be unchanged by its new status. The Senator wants that pledge written into law. "We'll see how sincere they are," he says...
...Many in Utah are similarly unpersuaded by the suggestion that they will benefit from an increase in free-spending tourists. Rancher Dell LeFevre, whose land is surrounded by the monument, was told by an entrepreneur that he could get $5 million if he sold his spread to a developer. "I don't give a damn if they offer me $10 million," he asserts. "I just want to be a cowboy...
Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt has taken pains to respond to sentiments like this. Last month Interior officials flew to Utah to begin consulting with the Governor and other officials on how to protect both the monument and the local economy. Such joint planning has rarely been tried before in land-use disputes, and Babbitt has high hopes for it. "This is a brand-new model," he says. "We want to live together out there...