The Utah Community Impact Board has approved an emergency grant to conduct a hydrologic study on the water seeping into Skyline coal mine.
In the board’s latest funding actions, the CIB panel allocated $594,000 to the Carbon County Municipal Building Authority.
The emergency grant monies are specifically earmarked for completing a hydrologic study to determine the size of the aquifer located below the local coal mining operation.
The municipal building authority received the CIB funding on behalf of Carbon, Emery and Sanpete counties. The aquifer is located in parts of the three counties.
The hydrologic study will also determine if water from the nearby Electric Lake reservoir is seeping into the aquifer below the Skyline mine.
Carbon municipal building authority officials indicate that the results of the hydrologic study will help set the course of economic development for the three-county area, whether through water development or expanded coal mining activity.
In addition to allocating the emergency funding to Carbon’s building authority, the CIB granted Moroni city $53,500 in the preparation of a master plan for wastewater collection and treatment.
The Sanpete County city’s wastewater treatment plant was issued a notice of violation by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality.
The master plan will help with steps to bring the facility in compliance with state regulations.
The community impact board is a program of the Utah Division of Community Development.
The CIB helps state and local agencies and entities directly or indirectly impacted by mineral resource development on nearby federal lands and the exclusion of the public parcels from the local tax base.
The board provides assistance through grants and low-interest loans for the planning, construction and maintenance of public facilities.
The funds also help community agencies provide public services.
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