Editor’s Note: When the subject of fracking is raised, we Mid-Atlantic residents usually think of Pennsylvania, but the topic provokes controversy elsewhere, too, even in far-flung Utah, in the town of Kanab, just north of the Arizona border.
Brian Maffly reports for the Salt Lake Tribune
Proponents of a sand mine outside Kanab won support from two local boards recently, but they have a long way to go before convincing many residents — particularly those who moved there to retire or run tourism businesses — that their project won’t harm the community and undermine an economy dependent on the geological wonders that abound in this corner of southern Utah.
Dozens of people crammed into a July 9 meeting of the Kanab City Council in a display of intense opposition to the project that would produce 700,000 tons of sand to be used for fracking oil and gas wells 300 miles away in the Uinta Basin. Ultimately, City Council members unanimously approved a deal to supply up to 600 acre-feet of water to the mine and processing plant proposed by a company called Southern Red Sands at a site 10 miles northwest of town on U.S. 89.
But it was clear many residents will never welcome the open-pit mine, even though the region’s elected leaders uniformly support it and contend there is plenty of groundwater available to feed the mine’s processing plant while meeting the town’s future needs.
The proposal has exposed a long-standing divide, distinguishing those embracing “rural values” from those like Tom Carter and Will James who moved to Kanab to enjoy a quality of life afforded by proximity to Vermilion Cliffs, Grand Staircase, Glen Canyon and other protected landscapes.
Extractive industries may support a rural economy, but many see a sand mine as a threat to Kane County’s well-being.
“It’s a Trojan horse, folks,” Carter told the City Council. “They will be removing the aquifer. We will lose this world-class beautiful area that defines this wonderful place I moved to some 25 years ago. Don’t sell the water.”
