Council updates on rule changes after HP 4 53 and HP 5 13; voluntary agreements and severance tax provisions highlighted

State staff updated the Utah Great Salt Lake Advisory Council on ongoing rulemaking tied to recent legislative changes, outlining how those laws will be folded into administrative rules and how they affect mineral extraction on the lake.

Speaker 6 said the office will delay submitting the preexisting rule package until the provisions of this year’s legislation (referred to in the meeting as HP 4 53 and HP 5 13) can be incorporated. "We don't feel like it would be advantageous to anybody if we put the rules that we had proposed for 05/13 in, knowing that some of those things were encapsulated in statute," Speaker 6 said.

Key elements discussed include a statutory distribution plan that integrates Great Salt Lake diversions with prior‑appropriation doctrine, changes to severance tax that reduce the tax rate (the presenter described a general severance tax now applying to extracted minerals and a reduced 2.6% rate for lithium under certain elevation conditions), and new statutory authority to require feasibility assessments from mineral operators so they must demonstrate they can produce lithium without harming the lake.

Speaker 6 described incentives for voluntary agreements with operators; those agreements, he said, can reduce severance tax exposure and may reduce the need for eminent‑domain actions to roll back nonviable leases. Staff noted they are working on voluntary terms with Compass (Compass Minerals) and engaging other firms including US Magnesium.

Water‑quality staff said the new provisions also require DWQ to set salinity limits for discharges and will need coordination with the salinity committee. Speaker 2 noted that DWQ must provide salinity limits by June and that those limits differ from a salinity standard in that they do not require EPA approval.

Council members asked for opportunities for another public meeting once the new combined rule draft is ready. Staff said they plan to solicit input, refine draft rules to remove items now in statute, and then proceed with D.A.R. submission after public review.