Utah wins $30M bid to secure US Magnesium facility, water rights for Great Salt Lake
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — The State of Utah won a $30 million bid to take control of the now-defunct US Magnesium facility on the Great Salt Lake.
The winning bid offered by the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands would see the Beehive State take ownership of the facility, as well as roughly 144,790 acre-feet of water rights.
Utah acquired the facility as it finalizes its bankruptcy, following a catastrophic failure in 2021. Despite the facility becoming defunct, reports showed it continued to pump large volumes, including more than 52,000 acre-feet of water in 2024.
Senate President Stuart Adams (R-District 7) said the acquisition shows a commitment the state has to the lake, calling it a “big deal.”
“The state probably has an obligation to clean up what’s there, and I think it’s probably good that we took those assets,” said Adams. “This is a big commitment to the lake.”
Adams could not say how the water would be formally dedicated to benefit the lake. State leaderemphasized they were working on the details of the acquisition, with Sen. Scott Sandall (R-District 1) calling it a “complicated” issue going back to a 1960s contract.
“We’re trying to make sure that we don’t let that water go into somebody else’s hands,” Adams added. “We’re trying to save the lake, and we are doing everything that we can to do it.”
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