US Mag doesn’t understand why the spotlight is on them. We do.
Photo courtesy of NOAA Research.
US Magnesium said in a recent Salt Lake Tribune article that they don’t understand the spotlight on their Great Salt Lake water use. This is the same company who applied to extend their intake canals in 2022. The year Great Salt Lake hit a record low.
This same company was fined by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for environmental violations, including “releases of hydrochloric acid, chlorine and particulate pollution into the Wasatch Front airshed that exceeded the company’s permitted limits,” along with a myriad of administrative and testing errors and negligence. They somehow (could it be the campaign donations to Utah lawmakers?) avoided a much larger fine than the $430,000 that they paid.
Research from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration previously found that bromine emissions from US Magnesium Corp operations are responsible for 10-25% of our typical winter inversion pollution.
Last year, Utah moved to revoke US Magnesium’s permit, saying the company deliberately dumped hazardous material on the lakebed, among other issues.
So not only are they a massive siphoner of lake water, but they are a massive contribution to the materials on the lakebed that pose the greatest threat to us if the lake continues to dry.
US Magnesium wants us to believe their role in Utah’s air and water crises is overstated. But the record shows otherwise: decades of violations, toxic emissions that choke our winter air, and reckless water use that pushes the Great Salt Lake closer to collapse. In a time of climate change, when every drop of water and every breath of clean air matters, Utahns cannot afford to let companies whose priorities lie in profit dictate the future of our health and our environment. Our priority must lie in protecting our communities, our air, and the Great Salt Lake itself.
Background on Great Salt Lake issues:
